Bring bikers back to Benone - councillor

The Quay Vipers Motorcycle Club have been travelling to the Roe Valley on an annual basis for the past seven years, providing a welcome boost to the tourist economy in the process.

The ‘Vipers’ say they will not be returning for their annual event at Benone Beach this year, which brings crowds of approximately 2,500 people from both local areas and from England, Scotland and Wales.

SDLP Councillor Gerry Mullan raised the issue at a Development Services meeting at the council recently, saying that the “loss of the ‘Vipers’ is an extreme loss for the Borough. We should pull out all the stops to make sure we get them back.” He added: “We would need to be bending over backwards to try and bring them back, if it is at all possible.”

The timing of the event is understood to have been among the main stumbling blocks to hosting the event in Limavady.

Valerie Richmond, Director of Development at Limavady Borough Council spoke about some of the difficulties involved with organising the events under questioning from Councillor Mullan: “In terms of the time of the event, we like them to come in at the end of the tourism season, with the caravan park and the beach being mainly used by families at the height of the tourism season.”

Speaking to the Sentinel after the meeting, Councillor Mullan said: “If it is possible at all we should be doing everything we can to get them back. There are practical issues too, as outlined by Valerie during the meeting, but we really should be bending over backwards to bring them back, if it is possible at all.

“I have spoken to local business people, who complained bitterly about the loss of it.”

Quay Vipers Motorcycle Club were set up in 2001, when a group of motorcyclists who gathered on the quayside of Carrickfergus Castle began to attend local runs and events. The idea of forming a club was formalised in September of that year, which has grown exponentially in terms of numbers since.