Agenda item

(Item 6 – Report by Director, Kent Highway Services)

(Consideration of this item was deferred at the November meeting.  As a result paragraphs (15)-(18) below were an update on the original report)

(1)       The report outlined the latest position on delivering the Grand Départ for Tour de France 2007.  The Tour de France was the premier event in the world cycling calendar. It was the most popular annual spectator event in the sporting world. The race was organised by the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO). However the location, route and facilities were provided by the host city.

(2)       In August 2003 Transport for London (TfL) submitted a proposal on behalf of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to host the start of the Tour de France 2007 in London. The start, Grand Départ, included an opening ceremony, prologue time trial and Stage 1 of the Tour.

(3)       TfL approached Kent County Council to facilitate Stage 1 of the Tour. A letter of understanding was signed on 3 August 2005 highlighting KCC’s commitment to the Tour and briefly outlined the expected responsibilities and outputs.  TfL signed contracts with the ASO on 9 February 2006 at a press launch held at the Excel Centre, London. Kent signed a contract with TfL on 6 April 2006 to be a key stakeholder and facilitate hosting Stage 1 of the Tour.

(4)       The Tour was expected to generate approximately £16million for Kent’s economy. However, this was considered to be a conservative estimate and was likely to be higher. In addition up to 3million spectators were expected to travel to Kent to enjoy the event.

(5)       TfL’s bid was to host the following:-

·                    Opening Ceremony – Trafalgar Square on the evening of Friday 6 July 2007. This ceremony presented the riders and their teams to the public.

·                    Prologue Time Trial – 7.9km course around central London during the daytime of Saturday 7 July 2007. This was a short individual time trial which established who would be wearing the leader’s yellow jersey on Stage 1.

·                    Stage 1 – 209km race route through London’s and Kent’s roads during the daytime of Sunday 8 July 2007.

(6)       KCC were required to provide the following:-

·                    Allow the use of the highway for the race riders and to provide a route that met with ASO approval.

·                    Provide traffic management of the route including publication of road closures and the provision of public information.

·                    Ensure planned works did not conflict with the event.

·                    Provide appropriate barriers, cones, and signage for technical and safety reasons for the race riders and spectators.

·                    Ensure the road surface was clean, free from damage and obstacles or obstructions. This might require repair work where necessary.

·                    Grant licences or permissions required for the event and supporting events.

·                    Carry out all post-event cleaning and restorative works.

(7)       The cost of staging the Tour de France on the Kent Highway network was estimated at £400,000.  This would be funded through sponsorship from, for example, Transport for London, District Councils and SEEDA.

(8)       To ensure successful delivery of the event, KHS had developed a structure that sat within the overall KCC structure.  TfL had contracted Innovision, Event Management Company, to deliver all aspects of the Tour in the Greater London area and ensure that partners outside of the area delivered the outputs they had been contracted to provide.

(9)       KCC had identified the major risks by holding such a prestigious event in Kent. This could be seen in Appendix B – TdF Business Risks, of the report.  Amanda Lumley was appointed in August 2006 as KCC’s Tour de France Project Manager. Amanda was responsible for co-ordinating the event for KCC.  Key priorities had been identified to create a cycling legacy for Kent which included:-

·                    Communication of the race and its route to key stakeholders ready for the major press launch on 26 October 2006 in Paris.

·                    Co-ordination of events for a promotional campaign running for 2007, ‘Year of the Cycle’.

(10)     KHS had been working with public transport partners to encourage spectators to travel by public transport wherever possible over the weekend of 6, 7 & 8 July 2007 and facilitate managing traffic volume and movement on the highway network. Ideas that had been discussed included combined ticketing, car share, park and ride etc.

(11)     KHS had identified a route through the county that would require a minimum amount of work to ensure it met the ASO requirements for the road race. Stage One would start in central London and enter Kent at Dartford, proceeding through Gravesham, Medway, Maidstone, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford before reaching the Stage Finish in Canterbury. The ASO had inspected the route in mid October 2006 ready for the major press launch in Paris.

(12)     Stakeholder meetings had been co-ordinated between KHS, Emergency Services, Emergency Planning Officers, Public Transport Operators, Medway Council, TfL, Districts and Borough Councils and KCC Officers. At the meetings timely distribution of information to stakeholders, businesses and residents had been highlighted as a key to ensuring the race had minimum impact to the day-to-day lives in Kent, management of people and traffic movement in a safe and effective manner.

(13)     The success of the event represented an opportunity to show Kent as an international stage for World-class sporting events. The event would demonstrate on the world stage the ability of Kent to host complex international sporting events and demonstrate our capacity for hosting Olympic events and training camps.

(14)     The Tour would also create a legacy to generate a long-term increase in interest and participation in cycling for sport and for recreation and transport.

(15)     The Tour de France Stage 1 race would commence from Central London with the Publicity Caravan (235 vehicle procession) leading the race at a start time of 08:40.  The race peleton (200 cyclists plus support vehicles) would start at the same place at 10:25.  The race peleton officially started the stage 1 race from the official start line (Depart Reel) at Greenwich at 11:00 hours.  The Publicity Caravan and race peleton would arrive in Canterbury at the finish line at approximately 17:00.

(16)     KCC would be sending out a detailed press release which would show the race route and a detailed list of streets affected and contact details at KHS for additional information.

(17)     The revised contract for TdF between TfL and KCC was in the process of being finalised in terms of the fine detail and it was anticipated that this would be signed off by the end of January 2007.  The contract would build upon the existing contract that was signed back in April 2006.  It would provide clarity on what was expected of KCC on the day of the event.

(18)     With only six months of planning left KHS were getting into the final stages of organising the event.  The final route assessment giving full details of road closure timings and resources required for staging the event would be completed by end of January 2007.

(19)     The Board noted the report.