“Without events such as this, towns die”: Council defends major British Cycling race and calls frustrated locals’ traffic complaints a “brief moment of inconvenience”

A local Devon council has launched a staunch defence of a major British Cycling crit race which was recently hosted in its town, but attracted some criticism from residents frustrated by the impact of the event on traffic and congestion.

Pulling no punches, Dawlish Town Council told the critics that “without special events such as this, towns die” and called traffic complaints “moans” over a “brief moment of inconvenience”.

Last month’s event was the town’s first time hosting a round of British Cycling’s National Circuit Series, a nationwide series of elite criterium races contested by Britain’s best domestic riders.

A representative for Dawlish Town Council stated: “We have been reading all of your concerns (the constructive ones) and positive comments. We appreciate everything from both sides. This has been a big learning curve for us and we plan on making it a positive experience for Dawlish.

“While we greatly understand the moans regarding traffic, there must also be an understanding of what it takes to keep a town alive. Without special events such as this, towns die. Full Stop.

“A perfect cautionary tale would be Winner Street in Paignton. Once a lively, bustling High Street of Paignton, now filled with empty shops, empty flats, streets of rubbish and broken dreams. These are the towns we look at and wonder ‘What happened here?’

“We truly love Dawlish and would never want to see that happen to our beautiful town. So there must be a balance. We must all come together for the greater good of the town, and not just our own selfish needs. Yes, traffic may have been bad for a short while on that one day, but it’s clear and back to normal now. And the town has greatly benefitted from that brief moment of inconvenience. Once again thank you Dawlish for your support and understanding.”

Pictures from the event show crowds lining the streets as Anna Morris and Matt Bostock rode to their victories in the respective races, the message from Dawlish Town Council clear that it wants people to think about the positive economic and cultural impact that hosting a major national cycling event had.

The council’s defence of the event has attracted praise online, a photographer thanking the local authority for bringing the race to the town and urging others to give it “time to grow and improve”.

“Hopefully all the local residents will come together and understand that where things weren’t perfect, it certainly made for an impressive show, and benefit to all local businesses,” Paul Venning said.

A council spokesperson concluded: “No, it was not perfect, but rarely does an event of this size go perfectly on the first try. It was a learning experience and we plan on examining things much closer to help future town events.”

It’s the latest version of a similar story that has been heard numerous times up and down the United Kingdom — cycling events, professional or amateur, becoming controversial in local communities for their impact, often on traffic and road closures.

While it is rare to see a council so forthright about why such major events are often a net positive for the community, the discourse around road closures and traffic ‘chaos’ is nothing new with races and sportives.

RideLondon’s move from Surrey to Essex was widely reported to have been in part due to Surrey County Council and residents’ frustration at the day-long widespread road closures required to host the event.

In June, a ‘protester’ blocked part of the London to Brighton charity bike ride after claiming he’d missed his Father’s Day plans because of “chaotic” road closures.

> Councillors say “community is at breaking point” due to road closures for popular multi-day triathlon as route changes proposed — but some locals say event is a “lifeline to our village economy”

Scotland’s hosting of the UCI World Championships in 2023 was also subject to a seemingly never-ending stream of road closure complaints.

In fact, such was the backlash at the original plan, the location of the finish of the Gran and Medio Fondo road races in Perth was changed. Elsewhere on the route, some Aberfeldy residents suggested they would need to undertake a 100-mile diversion if they wanted to drive to the other side of town on event day.

However, others were keen to point out the information around road closures “has been circulating for months” and accused their fellow townsfolk of just “liking to moan about anything these days”.

Similarly, for the time trial events in Stirling there were road closure complaints and criticism of a decision to shut a car park at the city’s iconic castle.

Much of the criticism was found online, everyone we spoke to on the ground in Stirling happy to have a world-class event hosted in their city. Summing up the mood of those bored by road closure complaints, one local who stopped to catch some of the action on the way to his shift at a local supermarket told us the World Championships was great for the city and that in a few days the critics “can all go back to their boring lives”. Dawlish Town Council’s response to the recent crit complaints wasn’t far off that, if admittedly slightly more diplomatic.