North West 200: Council decision to increase funding put on hold

A council decision to contribute £275,000 towards the 2023 North West 200 has been put on hold.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council agreed earlier in October to increase its support for the road racing event.

As well as grant funding, it pledged to build the course and provide office accommodation in 2023.

However the decision is now subject to legal advice following a request from at least 13 councillors.

The concerns of a number of Sinn Féin, SDLP and independent councillors were laid out in two separate call-in requests.

A call in is a process of asking for a decision to be looked at again.

Their concerns included a lack of information about the event organiser's accounts.

If the funding decision were to go ahead it would mean the event in 2023 would cost the local authority £96,000 more than it did in 2022.

Last week, a council official said "a deep dive" into the accounts of organiser Coleraine and District Motor Club had not occurred in recent years.

Sinn Féin representatives also questioned the legality of entering a partnership with a limited company.

They added that there was no information to make an informed decision with regards to the council's financial position or capacity to deliver the event.

The council will now take legal opinion on the decision before it is brought before the full council again at a later date.