This very popular event, enjoyed by so many, has been forced out of the calendar by the City Council block booking the Hoe for the whole of July in favour of a Television Company’s requirements. The last weekend of July has always been the regular planned date for the Bus and Vehicle Rally to take place. Regular Supporters, Caterers, Visiting Bus owners and side shows etc., all plan their calendar up to twelve months in advance. This year they are not able to attend on the dates the City Council have offered for our use. We planned that this year would be a special two day event in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Rally. We hoped to run the ever popular free bus rides over the old 1975 Plymouth Joint Service routes.
The reason behind this situation is to accommodate the television company MTV by allowing it to block book the Hoe for the whole of the month whilst only televising two nights performances as part of their Plymouth “Crashes” programme. They have yet to publish their actual dates required but we have, in fairness to all the participants both near and far, had to cancel the Rally as the regular date is currently unavailable due to the above and they must be given the opportunity to examine alternative scheduled events they can attend.
With the popularity of The Hoe for big events, I am sure the bus rally isn't the only event planned for The Hoe that has had to be cancelled due to this bizarre ruling. Surely MTV will have a good idea when their event will be held? Why should everyone else's events be held hostage by the council and MTV? Of course, Bus Rallies are not "cool" so wouldn't be seen as such good publicity opportunities for senior councillors, or am I being too cynical? s
