North West 200: Council to increase funding to £275,000

The event in 2023 will cost the local authority £96,000 more than it did in 2022.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has agreed to contribute £275,000 towards next year's North West 200.

It means the event in 2023 will cost the local authority £96,000 more than it did in 2022.

The organiser, Coleraine and District Motor Club, told the council the event had grown beyond its control.

It asked for extra help to resource building the course and provide office accommodation.

A request to employ an event manager was turned down.

A council meeting on Monday night heard the local authority was the "single largest funder" of the road races.

A majority of councillors agreed to further support the event in 2023 on the basis that a number of conditions were met.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor John McAuley said organisers needed to provide a business plan to make the event self-funding within five years.

He said they also needed to develop a succession plan.

"The North West 200 is worth £16m to the local economy, so for us as a council it would be wrong not to help in some way," he said.

"To lay the full responsibility on whether the North West 200 goes ahead or not at the council doorstep is wrong."

Mr McAuley said he hoped supporting the event 2023 event would "pave the way to make the North West 200 sustainable".

BBC News NI contacted Coleraine and District Motor Club, which said it did not wish to comment at this time.

'Massive contributors'

Sinn Féin's Leanne Peacock said it was wrong for the responsibility of financial issues to be passed on to the council and ratepayers.

"There's no doubt it's a fantastic event, but we're already massive contributors to this event," she said.

"I have a number of concerns that after all these years of success, the North West 200 is not already sustainable and profitable."

Independent councillor Padraig McShane said the current event leadership should be "questioned and we want to see how we go forward before we spend hundreds of thousands of pounds".

Norman Hillis questioned whether the council had ever "done a financial deep dive" on the organisers' accounts

Both he and independent councillor Stephanie Quigley said they had concerns over the legality of entering a partnership with a limited company.

Ulster Unionist councillor Norman Hillis questioned whether the council had ever "done a financial deep dive" on the organisers' accounts and said: "I do think it's worrying about the overall finances".

However, he added: "Our borough would be a lot less well-off without it.

"I certainly think that if we don't support the North West in 2023, it'll never run again."

A council official confirmed the local authority had not fully looked at the event's accounts in recent years.

Independent councillor Angela Mulholland said: "Now is not the time or the environment to be doing a deal such as this.

"We should be discussing how we partner with local communities who are struggling."

Twenty one councillors voted to pledge the extra support to next year's event.

Eleven voted against the proposal and three councillors abstained.