A Nottinghamshire council plans to spend £75,000 as the town prepares to host the finish of the Tour of Britain’s fifth stage in September.
The district was confirmed as the location for the stage finish when the major cycling event returns to Nottinghamshire this year for the first time since 2018.
The event, on September 8, will begin in Central Avenue, West Bridgford, before passing through several villages across Nottinghamshire on its route to Chesterfield Road South in Mansfield.
This includes East Leake, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Calverton, Southwell, Retford and Worksop, as well as the recently-opened Colliery Way – formerly known as the Gedling Access Road.
Only Ashfield and Broxtowe are not featured on the 190km route, working out at about 118 miles, which will take in some of the county’s iconic landmarks including the legendary Sherwood Forest and the Trent Bridge cricket ground.
Labour-led Mansfield District Council confirmed its plans for a ‘festival finale’ when the route was confirmed in March, building upon a similar event hosted outside the Civic Centre when the Tour visited in 2018.
Now the authority has outlined plans to allocate £75,000 to host the stage finish, with £50,000 of this to be given directly to the Tour of Britain as a partner organisation.
This funding will be provided from the council’s Towns Fund destination project.
The remaining £25,000 will be spent on the authority’s events budget in hosting the ‘festival finale’, which the council hopes will “put Mansfield on the map and in the spotlight”.
The funds are expected to be approved during a delegated decision by James Biddlestone, the council’s head of people and transformation, on May 12.
A report published ahead of the decision states: “The event will put Mansfield on the map and in the spotlight as a host venue. There are direct promotional benefits to hosting the finish.
“In 2018 35,000 visitors attended the Mansfield stage seven finish.
“Hosting the Tour of Britain will demonstrate once again the council’s ability to stage major events, inspire our community to become more active, and help to instil civic pride in our town.
“We hope it will help to attract more visitors to the district not just for the race but in the future and in particular to spend money in our town centres.”
The report adds Mansfield district will host about 8km of the race, passing schools, residential areas and businesses.
Event plans and safety groups have been set up to ensure the event is held “safely and effectively”, with cyclists entering the district at Warsop before passing Mansfield Woodhouse and Forest Town.
Further details of the route are expected to be announced in the summer.
Andy Abrahams (Lab), Mansfield’s executive mayor, previously said: “Mansfield was keen to support Nottinghamshire County Council and district councils to secure the Tour of Britain for a third time, and the opportunity to host a stage finish once more in our district.
“With support from the Towns Fund, we will be able to have a festival finale at the Civic Centre.
“We’re looking forward to giving the tour the warmest of Mansfield welcomes again.”
The eight-stage 2022 tour starts in Aberdeen on Sunday, September 4 before heading through Scotland, the north east, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset, finishing on the Isle of Wight on Sunday, September 11.
Live TV coverage of the event, which could include Tour de France stage winners, Olympians and world champions, will be aired on ITV4 and around the world.
