Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Yorkshire taken by surprise as it turns out hosting the Tour depart might cost some money

And preparations for the Tour will affect county's highway maintenance programme next year...

Yorkshire councils, having studied the proposals for the winning Yorkshire Grand Depart bid for the 2014 Tour de France, have said that preparations for the race might affect road maintenance plans for next year, as the budget will have to be diverted towards the race.

Planned repairs might now not go ahead, and other roads will have to be made good, the York Press reported.

A report by David Bowe, corporate director of business and environmental services, appears to only now acknowledge the “clear financial implications” for the council.

“There could be a requirement for highway improvement works along the route within North Yorkshire, predominantly to mitigate the risk of injury to the competitors,” it said.

“It is understood the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) [who organise the Tour] will provide details of any works they require, which could include measures such as resurfacing roads and removal of street furniture. The programme for 2013/14 could therefore need to be reprofiled to enable the required works to be completed prior to the event.

“This would clearly have an impact on the overall programme, meaning planned maintenance schemes elsewhere would be delayed.”

The report said that said the “exact financial implications” of the Tour would not be confirmed until technical contract documents are provided from Welcome To Yorkshire, and the official signing off with the ASO will depend on all the finances being in place.

The York Press wrote: "Welcome To Yorkshire has said the 2014 event could surpass the £73 million London gained by staging the 2007 Grand Depart, with up to £1.8 million expected to be spent on accommodation, as much as £12.2 million per stage forecast to be spent on retail, food and catering, and about £15 million worth of publicity tipped to be generated through media coverage."

So perhaps all the other potholes might get mended too - eventually.

Add new comment

15 comments

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 11 years ago
0 likes

Let's hope their arms grow longer or their pockets get shallower then  3

Avatar
Karbon Kev | 11 years ago
0 likes

this is just laughable, first they want it so badly and now they can't afford it, could have been hosted by a more deserving county.

Avatar
Littlesox | 11 years ago
0 likes

Got visions of Hale & Pace's "Yorkshire Airlines" sketch.

Avatar
mikeyboy247 replied to Littlesox | 11 years ago
0 likes

Just watched that! very funny!
And Yes that is how it will be run ok!  16

Avatar
Simmo72 | 11 years ago
0 likes

So it's fine to endanger the average cyclist with their shit roads, well as long as a pro isn't hurt then that's all right then.

Avatar
FMOAB | 11 years ago
0 likes

I take it the committee paper was titled "No Shit Sherlock".

Avatar
rob hoogenboom | 11 years ago
0 likes

i grew up in huddersfield and know the roads off the beaten track,the tour will demand alot of resurficing.for the last ten years i,ve lived in the netherlands and seen the work thry put into roadwork...  22

Avatar
Ghedebrav | 11 years ago
0 likes

This is just part of the textbook media narrative for any large sporting event, just as in the months/weeks prior to Grand Depart 2014 there'll be stories of how the roads aren't fit for cycling/there's not enough safety for spectators/the route hasn't been planned properly/the weather'll be rubbish/etc.

Ignore it.

Avatar
matttheaudit | 11 years ago
0 likes

Looks like Leeds might have to review their plans for their share of £4m LSTF money they recieved. Although they did state that cycle routes were part of the plan so fingers crossed.

Avatar
antonio | 11 years ago
0 likes

A bit like the dustman applying for a directorship, getting the job then finding he's out of his depth. Governments are run a bit like this as well.

Avatar
mikeprytherch | 11 years ago
0 likes

Councils are run as departments and these do not look at the bigger picture... they don't look at what's good for Yorkshire, only what's good/bad for me. This guys is bang on the money, of course this is going to cost his department, will we stop complaining that a pot hole hasn't been fixed because we got the tour... nope of course not, and we should continue to complain because they should fix them no matter !, but his department will not see any of the extra funds coming into the Yorkshire.

Saying all this though, why the hell is this being reported in the press, this should of been kept internal and not leaked, he is covering his arse like most councils do, thinking about themselves before anything else, he is an idea, why don't you spend you time looking for solutions instead of complaining, its called being proactive and is a much better use of time.

Avatar
mrmo | 11 years ago
0 likes

you have to wonder if the council aren't using this for political reasons. ie Government give us money.

I can not believe that they would have got this far without being aware that they would have to spend money, common knowledge you pay to host stages, that AMO demand that road furniture and finish are upto spec etc.

Avatar
badback | 11 years ago
0 likes

They could always leave them like they are and tell the organisers that crap roads are part of our heritage - a bit like when the Tour does a Roubaix based stage !

(Irony alert before someone starts going off on one).

Avatar
Colin Peyresourde replied to badback | 11 years ago
0 likes

I think it's more to do with sarcasm than irony.

But even the best laid road would likely require extra vigilance with an event like the Tour.

If they ran it in Scotland it would probably sink the country to fill in the open cast mines they've got on their roads.

Avatar
Bob's Bikes | 11 years ago
0 likes

A report by David Bowe, corporate director of business and environmental services, appears to only now acknowledge the “clear financial implications” for the council.

“There could be a requirement for highway improvement works along the route within North Yorkshire, predominantly to mitigate the risk of injury to the competitors,” it said.

Surprise surprise the local councillors have just been told their roads are not good enough to cycle on safely.

Only this time they can't ignore the people telling them!

Latest Comments