THE company behind the planned £250m Valleys racing complex is informing residents of its potential with just weeks to go before its fate is decided.
Consultations by the Heads of the Valleys Development Company hope to detail how the Circuit of Wales will boost the area around the proposed track in Rassau, Ebbw Vale.
The first of these is on Monday, as Blaenau Gwent Council gears up to decide whether or not the huge project will be given the green light by the end ofMay or early June.
The head of MotoGP, Carmelo Ezpeleta, has previously estimated the track would attract around 70,000 people to a Grand Prix, boosting the area’s economy by around £2.5m per event. If plans get the go-ahead the circuit could be ready by 2015.
The project recently received a celebrity endorsement in the form of Charley Boorman, whose documentaries Long Way Down and Long Way Round saw him and Ewan McGregor travel the world on motorcycles.
Mr Boorman tweeted: “Love the idea of [Circuit of Wales]. Looks fantastic. Fingers crossed.”
But the council’s decision will come on the back of negativity for the region after the Wales Audit Office ranked Blaenau Gwent as the least attractive place in the UK for inward investment.
Michael Carrick, chief executive of the Heads of the Valleys Development Company, said the project directly challenges this.
He said: “Our on-site developments will help to bring forward supporting off-site commercial investments in leisure, social and business activity that will be potentially greater and lead to a range of employment activities.”
The project team behind Circuit of Wales said they are already in advanced negotiations with regional and global companies with a view to being located on and around the proposed site.
Factfile
FIND out more about the Circuit of Wales project at one of six consultations.
Unless otherwise stated, they will take place at the following locations from 3pm-7pm:
● Gwent Shopping Centre, Tredegar, April 29
● Salem Chapel, Blaina, April 30
● Ebbw Vale Institute, May 1
● The Met, Abertillery, May 2
● Brynmawr Community Centre (3.45pm-6.30pm), May 7
● Llanhilleth Institute, May 8
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