Tour de France ‘will boost Sheffield economy’

Senior councillors will be asked to approved the contribution by the authority towards the estimated £2m cost of the stretch of the race through Sheffield at a meeting next week.

The city is due to host the finish of the second stage of the world’s biggest cycle race in July.

Sheffield City Council estimates the event will generate about £15 in economic benefits for every £1 it is proposing to spend.

Councillor Isobel Bowler, the council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and leisure, said: “I am really excited that the Tour is coming to Sheffield.

“It gives us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the city and promote it as a tourism and investment destination.

“I know that we can create a superb visitor experience for followers of the Tour here. The whole city will be able to get involved, not only in enjoying the race but also associated events leading up to it.

“There is a real chance of a British rider winning the stage in Sheffield which would be the icing on the cake.”

Alongside its £900,000 contribution, UK Sport is expected to pay £500,000 while the council says £600,000 of improvements needed to the city’s roads will be covered by the authority’s existing £2bn project to overhaul Sheffield’s streets.

Sheffield is also expecting to receive funding from the Arts Council to help pay for the cultural festival that is due to run alongside the race.

In return, the city hopes businesses will enjoy a £10m boost to their bottom lines and Sheffield will receive media exposure worth a further £5m.

More than 250,000 spectators are due to watch the cyclists as they race through the city’s streets with another 500 taking an active role as volunteers.

The start of the Tour de France, known as the Grand Départ, will be held in Yorkshire in July, with the first stage taking cyclists from Leeds to Harrogate and the second starting in York and winding through the Peak District before finishing in Sheffield.

A third stage will take the peleton from Cambridge to central London before the race returns to France.

The total costs of Yorkshire’s hosting of the event has been put at £21m with councils along the route together contributing £11m and the Government and UK Sport picking up the rest of the bill.

In addition to rubber-stamping their financial contributions, councils are also starting to think how they can maximise their returns.

Harrogate Council has announced a planning amnesty for people setting up campsites and car parks along the route.

Organisers of the Grand Depart are keen to put the event back on a positive footing after a summer of criticism.

North Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan expressed concerns about meeting the costs of policing the event.

The Yorkshire Post revealed that the Government and national tourism agency VisitEngland had discussed rebranding the Grand Depart as an all-England rather than Yorkshire occasion.

Tensions also emerged between the Government and Welcome to Yorkshire, the tourism agency which successfully bid for the event, over the funding arrangements.

Organisation has now been past to TDF2014, a company set up to manage the event chaired by experienced sports executive Sir Rodney Walker.

Last month, TDF2014, then Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and Welcome to Yorkshire staged a show of unity on the steps of Leeds Town Hall insisting the organisation of the Grand Depart is on track.

In Monday’s Government reshuffle, David Cameron moved Mr Robertson, who has played a key role in agreeing the financing for the event, to the Foreign Office with Maidstone MP Helen Grant taking his place.