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Cycle Race: Road Closure Legitimacy Questioned

I am concerned regarding various 'rumours' that are circulating in the Aberfeldy area regarding the Etape Caledonia Cycle Race and would clarify the situation as follows:

“The £49 (incorrectly being quoted as £50) is the entrance fee to the cycle race for each competitor, and is going directly to Perth & Kinross Council”.

This is not true. The £49 constitutes the entrance fee, payable to and retained by Étape Caledonia, to off-set their operating costs for the event.

“That Perth & Kinross Council will derive an economic benefit of £500,000 from Étape Caledonia”.

This is not true. What Étape Caledonia has stated is that by staging this event an estimated £500,000 economic benefit will be generated by businesses in the area. On the basis of 2,500 cyclists, that would mean that each cyclist would effectively generate £200 worth of business. Étape Caledonia must have a very large crystal ball!

“Perth & Kinross Council are sponsoring this event in the amount of £20,000”.

This is true. However to clarify, this amount is being given by the Council to Étape Caledonia to off-set possible losses incurred by Étape Caledonia in running this event. This amount is coming out of your Council Tax payments.

For next year (2008), and the following 2 years, the Council has, I understand, committed themselves to further sponsorship of this event and that such payment commitments, in similar amounts, are understood to be for the further off-set of possible, and probable, losses incurred by Étape Caledonia, for the ongoing cycle race to be held in this area.

Why should our Council Tax payments be used by the Council to off-set potential losses incurred by a commercial enterprise? I wonder if this is legal?

Where are the Beds?

It is understood that 2,000 to 2,500 cyclists will enter for this event. Étape Caledonia tell us that one can expect a back-up of 2.3 persons per cyclist. This equates to a possible 7,500 people descending upon Pitlochry and its immediate area. Where are the beds for the night? They are simply not there! Where are the majority of these people going to stay? In lay-bys, farmer fields, etc? Étape Caledonia and Perth & Kinross Council have known of this problem for a considerable number of months now and I would doubt if it has been resolved.

Everyone will have now received the Étape Caledonia circular which I understand has been sent to all residences, churches and businesses which will be affected by the proposed, but not yet applied for, Road Closure Notices. This circular is dated April 2007 and was received by myself on Saturday 21 April 2007. On the reverse side of the circular, is a detailed map showing the times that the various sections of the route will be closed.

This circular from Étape Caledonia points out that a change in the route, regarding a short cancelled section of the A827 between Fearnan and Kenmore, "will reduce the impact on residents and visitors”.  I would argue that this change has little or no impact on the remaining 99% of the route and as a consequence, do not understand their statement that this ''will reduce the impact on residents and visitors".

A number of issues should be emphasised which affect people and businesses along the route of this cycle race.

• While it may be to the economic advantage of Pitlochry, it would adversely affect the economics of the businesses directly affected by road closures in the Fortingall/Keltneyburn/Dull/Weem area where some businesses are already borderline.
• It will force the cancellation of other events which had already been planned long in advance of this Étape Caledonia event.
• It will cause considerable problems to those who are effectively "locked in" to their homes by the race, as unlike many other rural areas, there are no alternative roads.
• As pedestrian access has to be maintained, there is the serious likelihood of pedestrian injury as people including children have to walk on roads, without footpaths and with blind comers round which cyclists will be travelling at high speed. I assume that in promoting the vehicular road closures - as pedestrians cannot be prevented from walking when there is no other road - Perth & Kinross are accepting full legal liability for any injury caused.
• It means that people will be prevented from exercising their right of freedom of religious worship, because roads between homes and churches will be closed to vehicular traffic.

Road Closure

According to an article in The Courier on Saturday 28 April, a spokesman, presumably from Étape Caledonia, stated that "no road closures have yet been confirmed and that road closures will only be announced once the necessary traffic regulation orders are in place."

As the various roads forming the event route come under the responsibility of the Local Authority, will Étape Caledonia now confirm that they have already applied to Perth & Kinross Council for road closures and under which regulations have they done so - either (a) The Cycle Racing on Highways (Scotland) Regulations 1960 or, (b) the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act of 1994?

It should be noted that a principle amendment to the 1960 Cycle Racing Regulations was enacted through the (Scotland) Amendment Regulations of 1996 whereby in regulation 5(1)(a)(i) the number of competitors was increased to a maximum of 80. A far cry from the anticipated 2,500 competitors envisaged by Étape Caledonia.

However, the Cycle Racing on Highways (Amendment)(Scotland) Regulations of 1969 had previously amended the 1960 Regulations by inserting paragraph 9 - "Exceptions and relaxations - Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of these regulations, the Secretary of State may relax any prohibition or restriction imposed by the foregoing provisions of these regulations."

As a consequence, Étape Caledonia would have to petition the Secretary of State, or the Scottish Executive, to seek a relaxation to the Regulations restriction of a maximum of 80 competitors.

The Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act of 1994 was specifically introduced in order that Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO's) could be made to control the movement of traffic.

In reading the Scottish Executive publication - (Galas and Events affecting Public Roads - Guidance to Organisers), it becomes apparent that the introduction of the Special Events legislation was to limit the informal basis of police involvement at a local level to close off roads etc., as it brought into question the legality of the police activity, as exceeding the powers available to them. The legislation was specifically aimed at the holding of town galas, festive celebrations, military processions and other similar events which involved the whole community and affected a great part of a town's fabric, including the main streets and major routes in and out of the towns.

I am of the opinion that the Special Events Act does not envisage a situation where there would be a requirement to close, in this case, 83 miles of public rural roads which would affect many communities, with no alternative routes. As a consequence, the Special Events Act of 1994 is inappropriate and invalid for this planned event.

Ian A Caskie

Rockhill Cottage, Kenmore Street, Aberfeldy