How UCI Road World Championships is taking its toll on Harrogate – Yorkshire Post Letters

I AM astounded and appalled at the state of West Park Stray and the way it is being churned up by the construction work in advance of the UCI World Championships.

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Likewise there is no respect for the grass verges along Beech Grove. Contractors are taking no care in sticking to protected areas where these have been provided and are driving all over the grass. In other areas, where no protection has been provided at all, it is starting to resemble a ploughed field.

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It begs the question of all 
those involved in the organisation of this event if they fully realised the major intrusion to our town and if they had any real idea of the extent of the works or the disruption it is already causing.

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In this respect I have no confidence in Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council or the actual organisers of this event.

This view is supported by other Harrogate residents I have spoken with. What will the impact be in terms of inconvenience to us, the residents of Harrogate?

How much will it cost to reinstate West Park Stray back to its former glory and, of great concern, who will bear the cost? Under no circumstances should it be the council tax-payers of Harrogate.

How soon will the reinstatement works commence and how long will it take for this area to fully recover?

It is a great pity that all those involved with the organisation of this event did not give more thought to the consequences and impact.

From: D Temple, Harrogate.

I AM aghast at the news that our council is going to commission Ernst & Young to report on the beneficial outcome to Harrogate of the UCI event.

These people do not come cheap so how much do they intend to spend to tell us what they want us to hear? Most local people I have spoken to regard the whole event as a considerable inconvenience we could have done without. May I ask how Ernst & Young will measure the delays and cancellations of things like doctors’ and hospital appointments, delays in getting to and from schools and banks, businesses which have to close because their customers are local residents, and so on?

The only gain will be the catering and hotel businesses, whose profits are unlikely to be distributed to local residents. We don’t need to spend taxpayers’ money on hiring a high-powered accountancy firm to tell us that.

From: David Prince, Pateley Bridge.

THE UCI cycle race in Harrogate and surrounding area is creating a massive disruption to the lives of thousands of people and businesses. It is creating havoc on our roads, although suddenly there is money to repair them, and there are signs every few yards with too much information on to be able to read without stopping. They’re also placed where they create a severe traffic hazard, apparently by staff or volunteers with inadequate training. The sooner they all go home so we can get to hospital if we need to, the greater the chance that we will be alive when we arrive at A&E.