York Maze owner Tom Pearcy seeks flexible opening hours

8:20am Thursday 26th February 2009

Comments (2) Have your say »

ONE of York’s newest tourist attractions is looking to shake up the times it is allowed to open – to secure its future in the face of North Yorkshire’s soggy summers.

The owners of the York Maze, near Elvington, have applied for permission to welcome visitors and stage events at different periods throughout the year, rather than being restricted to throwing open its fields from July to September.

Currently, the site – which moved to its present home after being forced to move from its original location next to the Grimston Bar park & ride to make way for the University of York’s Heslington East expansion – can only open for 13 weeks a year, with extra events requiring special dispensation.

And although Maze owner Tom Pearcy does not want to extend those opening limits, he is asking City of York Council to give the go-ahead to his suggestion that the attraction, which employs three full-time staff and around 30 seasonal workers and drew 50,000 visitors last year, should operate more flexibly.

He believes it would allow more room for manoeuvre following the huge debut fireworks display last November, which attracted 2,500 people and filled the void left by the lack of a civic Bonfire Night event in York. In a statement to the council, Mr Pearcy said: “York Maze is the country’s leading maze attraction – it is the largest and most visited maize maze in the UK and a vibrant and important part of the city’s tourist economy.

“The new site we are operating from has a much higher level of fixed costs than the old site. The two recent wet summers have given me concerns over the future viability of the business while depending on an eight-week opening window.

“Allowing the maze more flexibility would spread the fixed costs of the current operation and hopefully ensure the financial future of the business.

“Many of the other leading maize mazes across the world are having a great deal of success by opening for short periods during other seasons.

“Following the success of the York Maze Fireworks Spectacular, I would like the flexibility to open the site for such seasonal events which fall outside my current permission, as well as allowing the site to be used for private hire on occasions.”

Mr Pearcy said he was not asking to extend the 13-week opening limit, but would consider opening the Maze for eight weeks during summer and two or three weeks over Hallowe’en, leaving the remainder for “other possible uses, such as a Christmas event”.

He said: “I am not seeking to open the year round and it is not anticipated that daily visitor numbers would exceed those already experienced during the summer maze.”

The maze application is expected to go before the council’s planning committee in mid-April.