Tour of Britain cycle race will not return to region this year

The Tour has had a stage in Montgomeryshire for the last five years, but Powys County Council says it has been told it will not be returning this year.

The authority said 70,000 people came to the county in September to see the stage, which started in Newtown town centre and ended in Abergavenny. It attracted cycle enthusiasts from across Mid Wales and Shropshire and is estimated to have boosted the region's economy by £700,000.

Councillor Avril York, cabinet member for regeneration, said she is disappointed the event - which has brought the likes of Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish to the region - will not be coming back this year, but said she is in negotiations to bring it back in 2016.

She said: "Thousands of cycle enthusiasts visited Powys during last year's Tour of Britain and it was a significant boost to our economy.

"Our economic impact assessment of the Tour of Britain 2014 showed that 70,000 people, mostly from outside of the county, visited stage three of the tour which started in Newtown and ended in Abergavenny in September.

"The findings of the report shows the value to the county of these high profile events. The financial boost to the local business during the few hours that the event is in Powys is quite remarkable and fully justifies the efforts taken to attract the race to Powys.

"The event also provides a huge opportunity to showcase the beauty of the county. Last year, the event produced three hours of live coverage attracting more than 500,000 viewers and overall coverage was broadcast by 16 companies with worldwide audience of 206 million.

"Of the visitors who came to Powys, 18 per cent stayed overnight with an average spend in the county of nearly £90 and even those who just visited for the day, the average spend for a group was just over £50."

Councillor York said the feedback from the event also found that more than half were inspired to take up cycling.

"It is also pleasing to see from survey feedback that the Powys event will have a lasting impact on residents' health with an impressive 61 per cent saying the day inspired them to take up cycling in the future.

"It is disappointing that the race will not visit Powys this year, it has been in the county for five years in a row so we can't be greedy, but we are trying to negotiate a return for 2016."

Mayor of Newtown, Councillor Rina Clarke said the tour had brought a huge boost to the town.

"It certainly put Newtown on the map," she said.

"Thousands of people came to Newtown for the start of the stage. And with such great weather on the day it certainly showed the town off at its best.

"I am sure that many people who visited for the first time will have enjoyed themselves and I hope will return to spend some more time in our beautiful area."

A Tour of Britain spokesman said this year's Tour of Britain will be held between September 6 and 13 and the route will be announced in the spring.