Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report and said that as part of the Financial Outturn report 2015/16 a budget of £100K was committed towards the hosting of the Tour of Britain for 2017. This was approved by Council in July 2016.  The intention has been to maximise the benefits that could arise from hosting the event, whilst minimising the overall costs to the council, through partner contributions, sponsorship and other income streams.

She explained that the race represented a major cycling event for the UK. It also had the potential to draw a large number of visitors and spectators, bringing considerable economic boost, increased overnight stays and provided the opportunity to showcase the town. She gave the example, of the 2013 Sidmouth to Dartmoor stage which attracted 188,000 day visitors and 62,000 overnight visitors, so a total visitor number of 250,000 who spent a reported £13,950,674 during that stage.

She highlighted that hosting such a major event, did have potential risks relating to weather conditions, success of funding activities and the continued support from other stakeholders and partners. In committing to host the event those risks should be carefully considered and these have been identified throughout the report.

To secure the hosting of the event, the council was required to satisfy contractual logistical requirements that were set out in the ‘Host Venue Agreement’. These requirements were significant and involved some obligations that were not within the council’s direct control (for example highways matters).  The council was currently involved in detailed discussions with the county council to ensure that these requirements could be met by the county council or other appropriate body. She highlighted that it would not be possible to proceed with the contract until the detail of these matters had been resolved.

There was wide support from partners for this event to happen, however the Cabinet Member urged members to note that there remained a risk that appropriate terms or arrangements could not be reached with the race organisers and partner organisations, or if the financial risk profile changed.  In these circumstances a report would be brought back to Cabinet setting out the reasons why the contract had not been signed, which would likely result in the event not being held in Cheltenham.

The recommendation being put before Cabinet was not to sign the contract but to allow that delegated authority be given to proceed and do so should all of the considered risks be answered. 

Members felt this was an exciting event which should be supported providing that the risks were mitigated. The Cabinet Member said that the race was going through Gloucestershire so it was vital that the county discussions were right.

The Leader added that the Business Improvement District were also supportive of the event. He believed that, if successful, the event could be built upon in the future but acknowledged that there was much work to do.

RESOLVED THAT

the Managing Director Place and Economic Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member Finance and Leader of the Council, subject to the satisfactory finalisation of outstanding contractual issues, be authorised to enter into a suitable contractual agreement with Tour of Britain Limited to host the Tour of Britain finish event on the 9th September 2017.