NEWS

 

Although this website has international appeal, the items on this page relate to Hartlepool and the North East of England.

Phoebe Waller, 8, Agathe Waller, 7, Neil Mitchell from Sustrans and Phil Roxburgh, HSBC branch manager in Hartlepool, with some of the Tall Ships cycle route signs.

The global banking giant HSBC is the latest business to join the wave of sponsors backing The Tall Ships Races – Hartlepool 2010. It is sponsoring cycle route signage and a secure cycle park that will provide free storage for up to 500 bikes a day in Greenland Road, close to the event site. Now people are being urged to consider travelling to The Tall Ships' Races by bike - in line with Hartlepool Borough Council's desire to make the event as environmentally-friendly as possible.

Tall Ships Project Manager Michelle Daurat said: "We have an on-going commitment to plan and deliver the event according to the British Standard (BS) 8901 framework for Sustainable Event Management and the cycling initiative fits perfectly with that. "We have been working closely with Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport charity, to develop cycle routes to the event site and we would actively encourage
people to use them."

Phil Roxburgh, HSBC branch manager in Hartlepool, said: "We are delighted to be sponsoring The Tall Ships' Races cycle initiative, which reflects our corporate commitment to sustainable business initiatives that safeguard the environment. "HSBC was the first carbon neutral UK top 100 company and we are a Sunday Times top 60 Green Business. We are also an integral part of some of the biggest environmental projects in the world, working alongside respected organisations such as the WWF, Earthwatch and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, as the HSBC Climate Partnership. "This is a ground-breaking five-year partnership that aims to tackle climate change by inspiring action by individuals, businesses and governments worldwide. It's really exciting that Tall Ships is not only a green event in itsel, but that we can add to that by working with Sustrans to ensure there are accessible and safe cycle routes."

Neil Mitchell, Area Manager for Sustrans in the Tees Valley, added: "I have received an increasing number of calls in recent days from people saying that they intend to travel to The Tall Ships Races by bike, so it’s important that they can do so easily and safely. The routes and storage facility have been designed with this in mind."

One cycle route will bring cyclists from the south via Seaton Carew, another from Hart Station will bring visitors in from the north and a third from Summerhill will serve the western side of the town. The north and south routes both link into National Cycle Route 14. All will be clearly marked with specially-produced Tall Ships signs. The cycle store will operate on a wristband system. On arrival, cyclists will receive two numbered bands. One should be fixed to the bike, while the other should be retained by the cyclist. When leaving the site, the two bands must match. There will be different coloured bands for each day of the event. Event marshalls will ensure the security of bikes.

For more details of the cycle routes log on to: Cycle Route 43, Cycle Route 44 or Cycle Route 45.

Meanwhile, other sponsors to sign up to back the Tall Ships 2010 in Hartlepool include Heerema, the leading engineering and design company for the offshore energy industry. The company, which has its headquaretrs in Holland, has a major site in Hartlepool which employs more than 200 people, but this can grow to more than a thousand when a project is at its peak. Also the global specialist subsea company, CTC Marine Project, has also joined the wave of sponsors backing The Tall Ships Races. CTC Marine Projects, which is in Darlington, operates some of the world's largest, most technically advanced fleet of marine installation and trenching vehicles, serving the international offshore construction industry.

The company has offices around the globe including Dubai, Singapore and Perth Australia and provides project-driven solutions for a variety of industries including Oil and Gas, Telecommunications, Offshore Renewables, Power and Subsea Defence. As part of their sponsorship deal, CTC Marine Projects will have a marquee within the Tall Ships Village and several banners will be placed at key locations.

The Young 'Uns - Photograph © Stan Laundon.

A Hartlepool folk singer is bringing the best in the world of traditional music to the town next month during The Tall Ships' Races. The Headland Folk Festival will run over the four days of the Tall Ships celebrations with a continuous programme of music from 7pm on Saturday, August 7th right through to 5.30pm on Tuesday, August 10th on a special Sea Stage in the Town Square in old Hartlepool. Admission is free.

Local musician Sean Cooney has been working with the Hartlepool Tall Ships' 2010 Team to secure the bands. He has performed at maritime festivals across Europe with Hartlepool group the Young 'Uns and when the Tall Ships came to Liverpool in 2008 he sang on board several of the ships that will also be visiting the town this year. "There’ll be everything from rousing sea shanties, tender ballads of love and loss, local Hartlepool songs and plenty of rollicking foot-stomping tunes which would once have filled the air of many an old sailor town," says Sean. "The sea has inspired many different types of music and songs and it’s that eclectic mix that I want to put on show. Where better to celebrate the colourful musical heritage of the sea than the Headland?"

Topping the bill on Monday, August 9th and celebrating a homecoming to the town he grew up in will be multi award-winning, globetrotting singer-songwriter Jez Lowe, recognised as one of the finest writers in the country. A selection of Europe's very best and most popular sea song performers will be led by Brasy, a five-piece vocal tour de force from Poland. They will be joined by Four 'n' Aft from Liverpool, the Keelers from Newcastle and the Young 'Uns. The very best of the new wave of young, vibrant English musicians will be led by the Askew Sisters of London, Coracle of Somerset and from Cambridge the wonderfully named Mrs Trevor's Deep Freeze Secrets! There’ll also be the unique country blues sound of Serious Sam Barrett, songs hewn from the Northern earth by Benny Graham and Ian McKone and fished from the North Sea by renowned songwriters Richard Grainger and Wendy Arrowsmith. In all, over 20 groups will be performing on the Sea Stage. There will also be afternoon concerts in St Hilda's Church on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and lots of music around the pubs of the Headland.

For more information contact Sean at seancooneyfolk@tiscali.co.uk or call him on 01429 244350.