WREXHAM could see some road and cycle route improvements ahead of the Tour of Britain being hosted in the city later this year.
The council’s executive board has voted to spend between £124,000 and £154,000 to bring a Final Stage of the prestigious cycling event to the city.
Last year the authority’s executive board agreed for Wrexham to host the Tour Series funding the £80,000 host fee from the council’s Placemaking budget.
But in February the organisers told the council the Tour Series was no longer going ahead due to a lack of support from other local authorities to make it viable.
As an alternative Wrexham Council has been offered the chance to host a stage finish of the Tour of Britain in September this year.
Presenting a report lead member for economy and regeneration, Gwenfro Cllr Nigel Williams (Ind) said the tour is expected to bring a £4m boost to the North Wales economy based on 2015 when Wrexham previously hosted it.
Opposition councillor, Rhosnesni Cllr Andy Gallanders (Plaid), who declared an interest as he has a town centre business, asked about the legacy of the event and whether road surfaces would be improved.
“I fully support the event coming to Wrexham”, he said.
“But there are questions about the legacy of the event on cycle routes, on road surfaces in the area.
“Could we get some clarity on what improvements to the road surfaces will take place for this Tour to be able to actually happen in the city?”
The council’s regeneration manager Rebeccah Lowry said no details had been provided about the route the tour will take, but assessments would take place and routes made good to the standard required for the race.
She added that some traffic restrictions, such as speed bumps, which may need to be removed for the race are replaced afterwards, but if there are improvements made then that legacy is left.
“It would be in our interest to retain any benefits to our infrastructure that result from the race”, she added.
Lead member for the environment, Rossett Cllr Hugh Jones said talks were already taking place about how funding can be invested in improving roads and cycle routes.
He said: “As a cyclist I can understand the questions.
“All I can say is that I had a meeting with the environment department yesterday and we are looking at how the new additional funding is going to be invested in our roads.
“A plan is being worked up and will be shown to members in the coming weeks but we are on the case.”
Both Cllr Nigel Williams and Johnstown and Pant Cllr David A Bithell, deputy leader of the council, scotched what they described as ‘negative publicity’ about the spending on the event which they had seen on social media.
Cllr Bithell said: “Sometimes you have to invest in big showcase events to bring more money in and this is one of them.”
Earlier in the meeting, opposition Labour group leader, Ruabon Cllr Dana Davies, queried figures in the report which showed the total cost could come to £154,000 rather than £124,000.
Cllr Nigel Williams said that while the council had to put the money up first, it is actively looking for sponsorship to alleviate some of the costs.
The executive board voted to press ahead with the bid to bring the Tour to Wrexham.
