Powys councillors disappointed at Tour of Britain no-show this year

Councillors in the Welsh borders have expressed disappointment that the Tour of Britain will not be visiting the area this year, but emphasised the economic benefit of the tens of thousands of spectators it has attracted in the past.

The race has visited Montgomeryshire for the last five years but according the Shropshire Star Powys County Council says it has been told the route won't include the region this year.

Stage 3 of last year's race started in Newtown and finished on The Tumble in Abergavenny. It drew 70,000 spectators and Powys County Council estimates it brought £700,000 into the local economy.

Powys County Councillor Avril York, cabinet member for regeneration, said she is disappointed the event will not be coming back this year, but is in negotiations to bring it back in 2016.

She said: "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.

"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.

"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."

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.

This year's Tour of Britain will start on September 6 and finish September 13. The route will be announced in the Spring.