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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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!