"Ascot is our chance to show what York can offer"

GILLIAN Cruddas has very eloquent eyebrows. Ask her what she thinks of York's new evening parking charges and they take flight: a quizzical expression that speaks volumes.

If I'd been able to take a shorthand note of what those eyebrows had to say, it would have made a great story. When it comes to the spoken word, however, she has to be a bit more diplomatic.

So she contents herself with pointing out that the evening parking charges came in about the same time York Tourism Bureau launched its Good Evening York campaign aimed at making York a livelier night out - leaving the impact of one on the other to my imagination.

Then she hands me a carefully worded, pre-prepared statement. "We are concerned about the impact of evening car parking charges on York's tourism economy," it says. "We understand the reasons behind the introduction of charges but we are concerned these measures could potentially have a negative impact on York's visitor numbers and on York's evening economy as a whole. We are in dialogue with the City of York Council to discuss all the issues, and to endeavour to find a way forward for the benefit of businesses, employees, residents and visitors."

It's one of those guarded, carefully-crafted statements that smacks of having been approved by committee. Thankfully, she's willing to expand on it a little - this is, after all, a woman who has signed the Evening Press's Stop The Highway Robbery petition, even though she stresses she did so "as an individual" rather than in her role as York's tourism chief.

That 'way forward', I ask - might it involve pushing for the evening charges to be scrapped?

She chooses her words with care. "Reviewed, I think is the best way of putting it. We are concerned, particularly because our members, who are tourist businesses, are saying that they have seen a decline in trade over the past three months and they are attributing it to parking charges."

To be fair to the council, she says, parking charges are not the only cause for that decline. There are a number of factors, including the fact that there has been a steady, gradual decline for several years now in the number of overseas visitors coming to the city.

She also accepts that part of the strong reaction against evening parking charges and the sudden appearance of so many double yellow lines (some of which should actually have been there some time ago, she points out) may be partly down to people taking a little while to get used to the changes, and to new ways of getting around the city.

One of the jobs of the tourist bureau now is to make sure that people wanting to come into the city centre in the evenings - whether they be residents, tourists, or people from outlying towns and villages - should have accurate, easily-available information about where best to park, how much it will cost, and even what change they will need, she says.

Nevertheless, she is sufficiently concerned to be discussing the future of the charges with the council. "We represent businesses who are dependant on tourism and we would like the council to review this," she says. And are they listening? "They are. Hopefully they will listen to a lot of views out there."

It's about as far as she will be drawn on the controversy that is raising more hackles in York at the moment than any other. But that's fair enough: it's really Royal Ascot that I've come to talk to her about.

The dates for York's Ascot have now finally been confirmed - it will be June 14 to June 18 next year. So just how important an event will it be for York?

Hugely important, she says - and not just during Ascot week itself. The benefits to the city could well continue long after the fashionable hats, toppers, tailcoats and cut-glass accents have gone back to more familiar haunts further south.

"A lot of the Ascot visitors will be new visitors to York. So it will be a great opportunity to showcase exactly what York has to offer, not only for a great day at the races but also as a short-break holiday destination. We hope that a lot of the people who come here for the first time for Ascot will come back."

The TV coverage that will accompany Ascot week will also help to put York on the map to a potentially huge audience, she points out. With estimates of the number of people visiting during the five days of Ascot put as high as 250,000, all the signs are that next year could be a record-breaker for tourism in the city.

But will York be able to live up to the expectations of the Ascot set? They will know already that York Racecourse is a superb, world-class racing venue, Mrs Cruddas says. As for the rest of the city - people who have not visited before tend to think of it as a "quaint, historic town," she admits. "But it is our job to show that there is a lot more to York than that."

Part of the success of the event will depend on the way it is managed. Some York residents may be anxious over the sheer number of visitors during the week, and the resulting congestion and potential for trouble.

Drunken yobbery over the weekend of the John Smith's Cup a couple of weekends ago - not all of it down to racegoers - resulted in 30 people being arrested and will have done little to dampen such concerns.

But Mrs Cruddas says she is confident the police, the city council, the racecourse management and the Ascot organisers will all work together to ensure the event goes off smoothly.

"The challenge is to get the balance right between making the city a safe, comfortable place for visitors and residents to walk around in, and to not damage the potential for the evening economy," she says.

"We do want the Ascot visitors to be able to go into the city, into the restaurants, and be able to enjoy themselves. That's the challenge that faces the police and council and other authorities."

And what about the expectations of York people themselves? Is there a danger we could expect too much of what is, after all, only a five-day event?

There is no doubt it will be a great opportunity for residents to try out new fashions, to get a glimpse of royalty and the high life, Mrs Cruddas says - and it will be great news for businesses in York, from flower sellers and hat makers to hotels, restaurants and guest houses.

She does advise caution, however, on the part of home-owners who may want to make a killing by letting their home out for the week. There will be a demand for accommodation - but it will be largely for the 'right kind' of accommodation, in penthouse flats or very smart homes, for example.

If people are serious about letting their homes, they should do it through a proper agent, who can make sure all the right certification and insurance is in place. "But I think I would urge a little bit of caution about expecting houses to be rented for a lot of money," she says.

Call for better conference facilities

COUNCIL chiefs could have done more to insist on a state-of-the-art conference centre as part of a redeveloped Barbican, Mrs Cruddas says.

With inquiries from conference organisers up by 20 per cent on last year, the new £41m redevelopment offers a great opportunity for first-class conferencing facilities, she says.

But while the council's brief for the redevelopment had quite rightly put a lot of emphasis on the swimming pool, the importance of the Barbican as a conference venue had been "slightly overlooked."

She says she is delighted that there is going to be a 1,500 seat auditorium. A four-star hotel on the site will also help. But modern conference organisers will also expect more - exhibition spaces and 'break-out' areas for holding workshops and seminars.

It is vital now that the council and other organisations work with the developers to encourage them to "appreciate the economic benefits of having a conference base," she says.

But it is fair to say the council could have been clearer in its original instructions as to the importance of proper conferencing facilities?

"Yes," she replies.

Updated: 11:24 Friday, July 23, 2004