York Guides

Julie Hemmings (Yorkshire Post)
RESIDENTS are supporting moves to bring more international events to York following the success of Royal Ascot in the city this summer.

The Royal meeting moved to York's Knavesmire for five days in June during the £185m redevelopment of its home course in Berkshire.
York Council surveyed thousands of residents for their views on how the event passed off and whether they would like to see York host more major events of that kind.
The council sent questionnaires to 2,300 members of its regular residents' panel, Talkabout, which is broadly representative of York residents in terms of age, gender and social and cultural groups, drawn from six geographical areas of the city.
Questionnaires were also sent to residents in Micklegate ward, one of the parts of the city most affected by Royal Ascot at York.
More than four-fifths of Talkabout panelists who responded said they would support the opportunity to host other major events in York and a similar number agreed the council had taken adequate steps to minimise the level of inconvenience the event caused. Nearly three-fifths said Royal Ascot at York had less impact on their lives than they had expected.
The council organised the Streets Alive! festival in the city centre in Royal Ascot week, a move supported by 86 per cent of panelists.
Of the Micklegate residents who responded to the questionnaire, 28 per cent said Royal Ascot at York had little or no impact on their lives and 20 per cent said they had enjoyed the event. Fifteen per cent made negative comments about the event, although there was no collective theme to their responses. Of the range of measures put in place by the council to assist residents and racegoers, the most popular was the designated walking route for racegoers.