For those of you interested in motorsport (if there's any of you left!!), you will probably want to have a look at this. I was told about this last weekend at a hillclimb
MSA Petition (http://petition.co.uk/msa)
The UK is losing out both in sporting and economic terms as a direct result of the law that requires an Act of Parliament to suspend the Road Traffic Act on a stretch of the public highway. Throughout Europe (and also in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man), ‘closed road’ events bring great benefit to the local communities in terms of tourism, economic prosperity and sporting kudos.
The UK government should provide a mechanism to deliver a Temporary Suspension Order (in association with local authorities) that would enable a limited annual number of ‘closed road’ events to take place in England, Wales and Scotland, with the associated benefits for the regions selected.
The Motor Sports Association is currently undertaking an economic impact assessment to support this proposal. Previous studies undertaken on behalf of the Jim Clark Rally, put the figure for that one event in excess of £3m – this leads the MSA to estimate that closed road rallying for a limited number of approximately 20 events a year, could deliver substantial benefit to local areas, particularly in the low season, of between £20m and £60m a year.
This could be an important step forward for motorsport in the UK, so support for this petition is vital.
Thanks everyone!
