Tag: wales?

Report: Circuit of Wales gets key go-ahead vote by local government

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Government/Legal, UK

Circuit of Wales proposal

A development company called Heads of the Valleys, led by Michael Carrick, is working through the steps to build a 250-million-pound ($378M US) motorsports facility in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, about 33 miles due north of Cardiff. After more than a year of work so far, the latest success is that the Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council has given approval to the outline plan of the circuit.

Called the Circuit of Wales, the 830-acre site will be a “low carbon automotive center of excellence” that will comprise a 3.5-mile car track, motocross, karting and off-roading tracks, hotel and commercial and retail complexes. To fulfill the low-carbon bit, the facilities will also include an R&D park for entities exploring “the boundaries in environmental technology and energy solutions.”

The plan is ultimately to host World Touring Car, MotoGP, World Superbikes and World Motocross. All of the facilities will be available to locals, a motorsports academy will assist new talent, and Welsh universities are expected to be able to tie their expertise in with the stakeholders in the technology park. The next step is for Heads of the Valleys to draw up and get approval for the detailed plan of the circuit.

Circuit of Wales gets key go-ahead vote by local government originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 Jul 2013 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear blokes get death threats after jabs at Wales?

Filed under: Etc., UK, Celebrities

Top Gear UK presenters

If you thought you were going to make it through a week without hearing about how the wily hosts of Top Gear ruffled someone’s feathers, think again. According to WhatsOnTv, James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond have begun receiving death threats after making disparaging comments about Wales in a recent program. The BBC program hosts reportedly remarked that fast cars should be test-driven on Welsh roads because no one wants to live there.

That latest bit of bashing was apparently the last straw. The trio has taken turns giving the Welsh a hard time in the past, with May calling their language “baffling and dangerous” among other offenses.

The death threats are only the latest in a series of cultural mishaps that have befallen the show. Last year, Top Gear riled Muslims by donning the traditional headwear of women, and it irked Christians by portraying a baby Stig in the traditional role of the newborn Jesus. Most recently, the show invoked the ire of the Mexican ambassador to the UK by unleashing a rash of stereotypes about his countrymen.

[Source: WhatsOnTv | Image: Gareth Fuller/AP]

Top Gear blokes get death threats after jabs at Wales? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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