The long-term future of the Tour de Yorkshire and the Women's Tour de Yorkshire has once again been darkened after the Yorkshire Post reported that tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY) on Thursday asked the local council to agree to a £1.4 million emergency fund This is due to reports that.

Welcome to Yorkshire chairman Peter Box is believed to have written to "all" local councils requesting emergency relief. However, one local council, Ryedale, is said to have stated that it "feels like we have a gun to our heads."

The letter sent to each council states that "without a commitment from all local councils to contribute a total of £1.4 million in emergency funding, WTY simply cannot continue to operate and the WTY board will be forced to make a decision to discuss options, not whether to close the organization, but when It is written that "this will be the case.

The Ryedale Council responded: "... Many Ryedale City Council members are not convinced of the future viability and credibility of the organization."

"The Council is not convinced of the future viability and credibility of the organization.

"It is clearly unsustainable and unfair that local governments are being asked to hand over increasingly large amounts of cash every time they are told that if they do not, WTY will be dissolved. It feels like we are being held at gunpoint."

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with predictions of economic collapse due to lost business rates, has taken a heavy toll on local government finances.

With 20,000 jobs projected to be at risk due to the impact of the pandemic and a funding crisis for local services, WTY's collaboration with ASO, the promoter of the Tour de France, is no longer a priority, but the cooling relationship between the two organizations actually began after the departure of former CEO Gary Verity in March 2019.

Two independent investigations commissioned after Verity's departure cost nearly £500,000 over allegations of bullying and questionable expenses. Last July, it was announced that £900,000 in expenses related to Verity and other parties within WTY were being investigated.

Investigators stated that forensic examination of receipts showed "an increase in the use of luxury hotels and fine dining restaurants during the most recent period we examined." This year's Tour de Yorkshire was scheduled to run from April 30 to May 3, the final year of the existing contract with ASO, but was postponed due to the pandemic.

James Mason, who became the new chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire in January of this year, described the 2020 edition of the race as a "pivotal moment" and said that "the business case for this race, the goodwill case, and other projects We need a platform."

"We have to bring it back in full force," Mason said of the race. We must listen to all stakeholders and work for them."