Cycle race organisers find way to allow hundreds of residents to maintain access to homes over June weekend

The organisers of a cycle race have said residents living in a Peterborough neighbourhood will have access to their homes during a weekend long festival – after concerns were raised hundreds of people living there would not be able to get in or out.

The Tour of Cambridgeshire will be based at the East of England Showground in Peterborough, with hundreds of cyclists set to take part in activities over the weekend of June 10 and 11.

The event will see cyclists racing across a route across Cambridgeshire, with people of all abilities able to take part in activities across the weekend.

However, concerns had been raised about access to homes in the Orton Northgate area of the city.

Earlier this week, a Peterborough City Council spokesman said they were in talks with organisers Golazo about the issue – but today a spokesman for Golazo said a solution had been found.

The spokesman said: “We have been talking to the builders about removing the concrete blocks that block the other end of the estate for the duration of the event. They are due to be replaced at the end of the month with bollards.

"We have received confirmation that the Peterborough City Council will hold the keys and the bollards will be able to be removed during the event. Northgate residents will thus be able to get in and out of their estate via Orton Southgate.”

Orton Waterville Councillor Julie Howell welcomed the news – but called for changes to be made at future events. She said: “While I'm pleased to hear that measures will be put in place to ensure disruption for local residents is kept to a minimum, this event, which results in the closure of the only road into Orton Northgate for three days, takes place every year, and every year there has been a failure to keep residents informed of how they can expect to access their own homes during the event's duration.

"As you can imagine, residents are very concerned about how emergency services will access the estate during this time, and also need to plan for social events and deliveries over the weekend. I note that no provision for East of England Way is mentioned, which is on the other side of the estate. Presumably, East of England Way, Linden Gardens and Arena Drive residents will have no vehicular access to their streets for the entire weekend.”

This year’s Tour of Cambridgeshire will feature an extensive festival at the venue with food concessions, a cycling Expo, family activities, talks, and live music, in addition to the many races and rides starting and ending in the Arena's grounds.

Cyclists of all abilities will be able to take part in events – with those looking to challenge themselves even able to win a chance to qualify for the World Championships by taking part in the UCI Gran Fondo World Series event.

For more information visit https://www.tourofcambridgeshire.com/