North Yorkshire County Council Executive Member 4 March 2016 Tour de Yorkshire Update Report of the Assistant Director – Highways & Transportation The appendices to this report contains information of the type defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). 1.0 Purpose of report 1.1 The purpose of the report is: i) To update on the preparations for the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire in North Yorkshire between 29th April – 1st May 2016 ii) To seek authorisation for the use of underspend from the Tour de France 2014 budget to fund the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire iii) To seek authorisation to enter in to a legal agreement with Welcome to Yorkshire and Amaury Sport Organisation for the delivery of the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire. 2.0 Background 2.1 Building on the success of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ and inaugural Tour de Yorkshire 2015, the second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire will take place this year. The race is a joint venture between Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY), supported by British Cycling. 2.2 The 2016 edition will be held on 29 April to 1 May 2016. It is expected to reinforce the race as one of the flagship cycling events in the UK and as an outstanding cycle race in the international calendar, including the participation of top international teams and cycling stars. 2.3 The 2015 edition was recognised as a great success for the region and North Yorkshire in particular, with hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the County’s roads to watch the race, which was broadcast to over 120 countries worldwide. 2.4 It is estimated that the race brought close to £50 million of economic benefit to the Yorkshire & Humber region, with a significant proportion of this within North Yorkshire. 2.5 In response to feedback last year, WTY have agreed in principle with TV broadcasters to increase the coverage of the race from 2 hours live per stage, to full live coverage of all three stages from start to finish in 2016. This is a significant coup for the race as no other international races (with the exception of 4 stages of the Tour de France per year) has this level of television coverage. The race is due to be broadcast to over 170 countries across the world. NYCC – 4 March 2016 – Executive Members Tour de Yorkshire Update/1 2.6 North Yorkshire jointly hosts all three of the stages, with a total of just over two thirds of the race route being within the County. 2.7 The first stage (Friday 29th April) starts in Beverley and finishes in Settle. Within North Yorkshire, the route passes through North Duffield, Riccall, Cawood, Ulleskelf, Tadcaster, Kirk Deighton, Knaresborough, Ripley, Burnt Yates, Smelthouses, Pateley Bridge, Greenhow, Grassington, Threshfield, Cracoe, Gargrave and Long Preston. The race finishes with a circuit through Settle. 2.8 The second stage (Saturday 30th April) starts in Otley and finishes in Doncaster. Within North Yorkshire, the route passes through Sherburn in Elmet, South Milford, Monk Fryston, Hillam, Birkin, Beal and Kellingley. This stage will host a women’s race in the morning, with Stage 2 of the men’s race taking place in the afternoon. 2.9 The third stage (Sunday 1st May) starts in Middlesbrough and finishes in Scarborough. Within North Yorkshire, the route passes through Great Ayton, Stokesley, Hutton Rudby, Northallerton, Thirsk, Sutton Bank, Helmsley, Kirbymoorside, Blakey Ridge, Castleton, Danby, Egton, Grosmont, Ruswarp, Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay, Hackness, East Ayton, Seamer and Oliver’s Mount. 2.10 Unlike the Tour de France Grand Départ where road closures were typically in place for over 9 hours, the bulk of the 2016 race route will be managed under a rolling road closure programme managed by the Police. In general, roads will be closed for no more than one hour. In total, the race (including all relevant support vehicles) will take approximately 30 minutes to pass a specific location, with road closed for 30 minutes before the first rider. 2.11 At the start, finish and at some en-route locations, closures may be in place for longer to allow for the construction and removal of race infrastructure, and the safe build-up and dispersal of crowds watching the race. 2.12 The locations for longer, fixed closures have been identified as per the following: Table 1.0 Location of proposed fixed road closure points 2016 Tour de Yorkshire – Approx. Closure times in brackets Stage 1 29th April 2015 Stage 2 30th April 2015 Stage 3 1st May 2015 Greenhow Hill No closure points Northallerton High Street (1200-1700) identified (linked to May Fair) Settle Town Centre A170 Thirsk to Duncombe (0600-2000) Park including Sutton Other key routes in to Bank (1030-1530) Settle (1530-1730) Grosmont Climb (1300- 1600) Whitby (1330-1630) Scarborough South Bay (1400-1730) North Bay (0600-2000) 2.13 Where longer closures are required, appropriate diversion routes will be put in place, alongside local engagement and publicity to inform local residents and businesses. These longer closures will be managed by the County Council utilising specialist traffic management suppliers and resource from Scarborough Borough Council. NYCC – 4 March 2016 – Executive Members Tour de Yorkshire Update/2 3.0 Governance & Legal Update 3.1 WTY and ASO are the event organisers. They are establishing agreements with the Local Authorities of the start and finish locations. For the 2016 race, Craven and Scarborough are the two Local Authorities who will be considering these agreements. 3.2 In addition, WTY and ASO are in the process of establishing agreements with all other Local Authorities on the race route to outline respective roles and responsibilities associated with the safe delivery of the event. The race route passes through areas within the County Council’s responsibility. 3.3 At present, the agreement between ASO / Welcome to Yorkshire and North Yorkshire County Council has not been formally signed and completed. Further details of the County Council’s proposed responsibilities pursuant to the agreement are set out in Appendix 1 and the full working draft of the proposed agreement is contained in Appendix 3. Legal Services are continuing dialogue with WTY and ASO to finalise details relating to this contract. 3.4 It is understood that ASO and WTY require the agreements signed in principle at the start of March 2016. As specific requirements for the race are not finalised by ASO until the week leading up to the race (April 2016), there is a small risk that the responsibilities of the County Council may alter slightly after signing the agreement in principle. However, given experience from the 2015 race, officers are of the belief that any changes are unlikely to be significant between signing the agreement and date of the race. Should any significant changes be made, Executive members will be updated as required. 4.0 Operational Update 4.1 The County Council is working closely with all partners to assist in the safe delivery of the event and is on track to complete and fulfil all of its responsibilities in advance of the race. 4.2 Using valuable experience gained during the planning and operation of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ and 2015 Tour de Yorkshire, the County Council has helped to develop a C3 (command, communications and control) plan for stages 1 & 3 of the event. C3 planning for stage 2 is being managed by West Yorkshire Police, with the County Council and other partner agencies feeding in to this process. 4.3 Throughout the planning process, the County Council is working closely with the District Councils to ensure that a cohesive delivery and operational plan across the County is in place. 5.0 Communications 5.1 Communication to residents and businesses within North Yorkshire as well as to spectators is key in ensuring a safe and successful event. Many of the potential risks to the event will be mitigated by providing accurate and useful information to the public. NYCC – 4 March 2016 – Executive Members Tour de Yorkshire Update/3 5.2 Letters will be sent to residential and business properties on the race route who are likely to be impacted by fixed road closures as outlined in Table 1.0. This is to ensure that they are aware of the race and that they fully understand the road closures and parking restrictions that will be in place. All impacted parish councils throughout the race route will also be contacted with general information on road closures and the race itself. 5.3 Information to residents will be largely web-based, using the County Council’s website. Details of road closure timings will be made public after Easter, allowing residents to understand the impact of the event and allow them to make any necessary plans. 5.4 An independent review of the 2015 race was carried out, assessing both the public’s views of the race and the economic impact of the event. In general, the response from the public and businesses was largely positive as the impact was far less than that experienced by communities on the route of the Tour de France in 2014. Many communities view the race as an opportunity to hold a community event and as something different and interesting for their area. 5.5 Information for spectators will largely been distributed and managed by WTY. They will be supplying copies of the Tour de Yorkshire spectator guide, which alongside their website and social media channels has resulted in a significant media footprint.