Public inquiry could delay £60m Kex Gill scheme by 15 months

A major project to realign the A59 near Kex Gill could be delayed by 15 months if a public inquiry is called.

The £60 million North Yorkshire County Council scheme will see a section of new road built between Harrogate and Skipton to divert traffic away from the landslip-prone part of the route.

This current road has a history of unsafe driving conditions and delayed journeys, as well as high maintenance costs.

Work on the project could start as early as this autumn. Earlier this year, the government declined to have a final say on the scheme, clearing the way for it to begin.

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However, Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, has said the project could face delays if objections are lodged against the compulsory purchase orders required for the scheme.

In a statement expected to be made to a full council meeting next week, he will say:

“The compulsory purchase and side roads orders have been published with a formal consultation period until the end of August. 

“The project programme without a public inquiry indicates that construction could start this autumn. On the other hand, if a public inquiry is required, the start of works could be delayed by up to 15 months.”

Construction work on the project is expected to take 18 months.

The government has committed up to £56 million in funding for the Kex Gill project, with the county council covering the remainder of the cost.

More than half-a-million pounds is also to be given to Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for environmental and tree planting project in an effort to offset “irreversible damage” of the project.

Funding for Tour de Yorkshire to be reviewed next year

North Yorkshire County Council has said it will review whether to continue funding the Tour de Yorkshire from the public purse.

Senior county councillors agreed yesterday to give next year’s race £200,000 worth of support but agreed to review its future after it has been held.

Councillors approved a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

It comes after Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns the event and co-organises it with Welcome to Yorkshire, said last week it would not cover the costs of the race.

A meeting of the council’s executive heard “most if not all” local authorities responsible for next year’s start and finish towns and cities of Leyburn, Barnsley, Beverley, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Redcar and Skipton have agreed to pay race organisers up to £100,000 extra if Welcome to Yorkshire fails to raise sufficient sponsorship for the event.

The tourism body approached the councils, which have also approved paying hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees to ASO, to help guarantee the event after the French media group firm stated it was no longer prepared to shoulder any potential losses despite standing to profit from it.

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The meeting saw the county council’s leading members agree to the funding on the condition the authority undertakes two reviews following the sixth edition of the race.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, the county council’s deputy leader, said twin reviews would examine the event’s impact, such as how much sponsorship and media coverage it generated, and “the principle of support” for one-off events.

Growing unease

Whether public money should be used for cycling races has not been thoroughly examined by any council in the region since council tax was first used to help host the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014.

The reviews follow growing unease among some of the region’s councillors, and strong opposition being voiced by others, about council tax being prioritised for an elite cycling race over community infrastructure and services. Many residents financially struggling from the pandemic are being asked to pay more council tax.

Sources at a number of district and borough councils in North Yorkshire say there is little appetite to fund cycling events in the near future, particularly after the rain-affected 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Harrogate caused such disruption and travel problems.

However, numerous elected members continue to point towards the economic impact of the events on the region’s economy. An independent study found in 2018 alone the Tour de Yorkshire generated £98 million as some 2.6 million spectators lined the route and many others saw some of the area’s most spectacular landscapes on television.

After county council leader Cllr Carl Les left the meeting because he is a Welcome to Yorkshire board member, Cllr Dadd emphasised to the executive the vote over whether to agree to underwrite next year’s event was “not a decision over Welcome to Yorkshire and its existence” but purely about the Tour de Yorkshire.

He said: 

“It is a vital part or has been a vital part of North Yorkshire’s economy. Now more than ever we shouldn’t be turning our back on opportunities.

“The information that we have received is that all those councils that have a start and finish have been asked to contribute in a similar manner and I think most of them if not all have pledged to do so.

“We have a leadership responsibility in North Yorkshire. As the top tier authority I think we have a duty to support anything that could have potential benefits to tourism.”

Council urged to consider social benefits of 20mph North Yorks speed limits

Engineers behind decisions over the introduction of 20mph speed limits across North Yorkshire have been urged to consider the social benefits of such a move.

Councillors who helped shape North Yorkshire County Council’s new 20mph zone policy said numerous communities and schools, which had spent years trying to get consent for the low speed limit had recently been left frustrated again, due to highways officers sticking to a fixed and often unachievable set of criteria.

The policy is currently under review and a number of recommendations have been made, including the council compiling a list of schools which have 20mph limits outside them.

However, a full report on the new policy is not expected until a later date.

Councillors said despite the apparent change in policy designed to enable more communities to feel safe, the council’s criteria for a 20mph zone appeared to have remained “quite stringent”.

They were told value for money and accident statistics were two criteria highways engineers considered.

But Harrogate Bilton and Nidd Gorge division member Paul Haslam said figures such as deaths from vehicle emissions and the social return for a community could also be examined.

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Meanwhile, the committee’s chairman Cllr Stanley Lumley told officers: 

“There has to be a technical element to this with regard to data collection, but we strongly recommended to the executive this shouldn’t just be about numbers.

“It should be about local perception and local need. That part of the recommendation is the bit that’s failing in my experience since that report went back. This committee felt local need should have more weight than just statistical evidence.”

Senior officers said although residents’ feelings would in future be given further consideration the authority would need to continue to use Department for Transport guidance when setting speed limits.

They added combining statistics with subjective factors was difficult, but that the authority had been receiving money from the government’s Safer Roads Fund for a few years to tackle areas with perceived rather than actual road safety issues.

An officer told the meeting:

“We are guilty in the past of looking more at that statistical side of things, there’s a need for that, but the mindset is changing, certainly over the last 12 months.”

Blanket 20mph policy

Meanwhile, the committee heard a key recommendation of its inquiry into whether a blanket 20mph zone should be launched in all built up areas of the county was that residents’ perceptions should be prioritised in decision-making.

Ainsty division Cllr Andy Paraskos told the committee a speed survey in a small, linear village in his area had revealed it had a clear speeding issue, but highways officers had concluded £100,000 of works would be needed just for the village to meet the criteria for having a 20mph speed limit.

Cllr Paraskos said while there was no way a small village could raise £100,000, it would also struggle to meet the criteria as the road was too narrow to include a cycle lane and there were too few verges for a roadside route.

‘We have a duty to support Tour de Yorkshire’

Senior county councillors have today backed awarding the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire up to £200,000 to host the Tour de Yorkshire.

It comes after Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns the event and co-organises it with Welcome to Yorkshire, said last week it would not cover the costs of the race.

This has prompted the council to offer Welcome to Yorkshire up to £200,000 to stage the race next May in the hope it will boost tourism.

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Senior county councillors approved a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

Council bosses said the money set aside would only be paid if Welcome to Yorkshire make a “final evidenced request”.

Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of the county council, said at a meeting of the authority’s executive today:

“We have a leadership responsibility in North Yorkshire and I know that one or two of the district and borough councils have shown their support by passing a similar recommendation.

“But as the principle authority, I think we have a duty to support anything that could have potential benefits to tourism.”

Cllr Dadd added that a review of the race would be carried out to determine the benefits to the county of holding it.

Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities which are host towns for the race in case it fails to get sponsorship.

Harrogate Borough Council is not one of them but Harrogate district people will still fund the event through the portion of their council tax payments that goes to North Yorkshire County Council.

If all the payments are approved, Yorkshire taxpayers could underwrite the event by up to £900,000.

 

County council publishes new plan to cut emissions

North Yorkshire County Council’s three-year plan to help the organisation become net carbon neutral by 2030 includes adding more solar panels to its buildings, cutting down on staff travel and reducing waste.

Senior councillors on the Conservative-led authority are expected to rubber-stamp a draft carbon reduction plan tomorrow that lays out how it plans to reduce emissions across its offices, libraries and care homes.

However, it has been criticised by local environmental group Zero Carbon Harrogate who says the measures don’t go far enough.

The council says it’s aiming for net carbon neutral by 2030, which means it won’t reduce carbon dioxide emissions entirely but will offset the remainder of any emissions through carbon sequestration programmes and tree planting. 

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The report says the authority currently spends £1.8m a year on energy bills but this figure does not include schools.

It also highlights a recent project to replace its 50,400 street lights with more environmentally friendly LED bulbs.

The report suggests that covid has forced the council’s hand in reducing emissions as around 40% of the estimated reduction is due to changes in working practices, such as working from home.

Zero Carbon Harrogate said the report contains many “appropriate and prudent” initiatives but questioned how they will be monitored and delivered.

It also said NYCC could go further than what it proposes in the report to tackle transport emissions:

“The plan, almost exclusively, discusses decarbonising the NYCC’s own estate, with no mention of the significant decarbonisation impact that the NYCC can leverage as a policy maker.

“This is a major omission from the action plan, as NYCC is the policy gatekeeper for many infrastructure changes that can unlock decarbonisation across the county, particularly for transport.”

Plans to bid for more cycling and walking funding

North Yorkshire County Council looks set to bid for further government funding for walking and cycling projects.

Louise Neale, transport planning officer at the authority, told a Transport scrutiny meeting this morning that the Department for Transport had announced plans for further funding last month.

While no detail has been revealed on the bid, officers are expected to submit an application for funding by August.

Ms Neale told councillors this morning that a report on the bid would be made public later this week.

She said:

“We will hopefully find out the outcome of that in the Autumn and we will have until March 2023 to spend that funding.”

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for access, told the Stray Ferret that he hoped the government would award the county council “roughly the same” funding as in the last bid.

He said:

“I’m hopeful that what we will get is the same as the last tranche. But I would be happy to get more.”

Cllr Mackenzie said no detail was yet available on what projects would be included in the bid, but added that Harrogate had “its fair share” in the last tranche of funding.

The county council has already outlined two projects in Harrogate as part of a previous bid to the government’s active travel scheme. A third is planned in Whitby.

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Ministers awarded the county council £1,011,750 last year to help fund the projects, despite the authority bidding for more.

It includes plans for cycle lanes and junction upgrades on the A59 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as a scheme on Victoria Avenue in the town centre.

Meanwhile, a proposal to make Oatlands Drive more friendly to cyclists met with fierce backlash from local residents.

The plan originally included a scheme to make the whole of Oatlands Drive one-way. However, this was dropped in March after 57% of respondents to a council consultation opposed the scheme.

The scheme moved forward and included making nearby St Winifred’s Road and St Hilda’s Road one way but this was similarly unpopular with residents.

In May, the council decided to withdraw the scheme altogether from its bid.

Instead, the council has commissioned an ‘Oatlands Constituency Feasibility Study’, which it says will “reassess opportunities” for infrastructure improvements across a wider area than the government scheme allows.

The woman shaping the Harrogate district’s roads

Barely a day has passed in the Harrogate district this year without some sort of controversy about roads and transport schemes.

Roadworks on Skipton Road, new cycling initiatives, the Harrogate Station Gateway, low traffic neighbourhoods, a park and ride, low-traffic neighbourhoods, speed limits… the list goes on.

Everyone who uses roads seems to have an opinion on them and often they’re not very complimentary towards the highways authority, North Yorkshire County Council.

The chief flak taker is usually Don Mackenzie, the Conservative councillor for Harrogate Saltergate, who as the council’s executive member for access sets the policy. But it’s Melisa Burnham, area manager for the Harrogate district, who is effectively the head civil servant in charge of delivering it.

Ms Burnham, a former Ripon Grammar School pupil, has day-to-day oversight of 1,100 miles of road in the district. The junction improvements at Bond End in Knaresborough in 2018 is among the projects she helped complete. Does she wince when she reads some of the more brutal comments directed at Cllr Mackenzie?

“Very much so. I’ve worked with Don for a number of years and I know he has the best interests at heart.

“A person said to me in Harrogate the other day: ‘You must have thick skin because all you hear are complaints’. They can get quite personal.

“Sometimes we don’t always get it right but we do strive to deliver the best service we can.”

Ms Burnham, who studied geography at Hull University, oversees a capital budget of £7.7 million, of which £2.5 million is being spent on surface dressing 200 sites this year. Leeds Road’s four-week resurfacing cost £800,000 and involved cleaning 105 gullies.

Jayne Charlton (left) and Melisa Burnham in front of a new NY Highways vehicle

Melisa Burnham (right) and Jayne Charlton, the council’s area manager for Richmondshire and Hambleton.

She’s also in charge of gritting from October to April. There are 13 priority routes in the district, including the A59 and the A61. The A1 is Highways England‘s responsibility.

Most criticism, she says, is due to a lack of knowledge. The guy sat in the van apparently doing nothing at roadworks is probably operating the traffic lights, she says, and just because someone doesn’t see gritters doesn’t mean they aren’t operating. Highways officers hold two briefings a day in winter to decide whether to activate the fleet of 13 gritters. Ms Burnham says:

“Sometimes people just don’t have the knowledge and information. The more you can share information with them and the more you can inform people, maybe they complain less.”

There have been plenty of complaints this year about specific projects, not least the biggest one: the £10.9 million Harrogate Station Gateway. The scheme, which aims to transform town centre travel by encouraging cycling and walking and reducing traffic, has upset some businesses that fear the proposals to reduce Station Parade to one lane and pedestrianise part of James Street could damage trade.

Ms Burnham says she wasn’t surprised by the reaction and adds the council has been “listening to both sides about their concerns” and is confident of a “positive outcome for the town”.

Cycling schemes

She acknowledges the Otley Road cycle route has had a “lot of problems” due to delays caused by the exchange of Stray land, utility works and covid but is confident work will finally begin in October.

The county council secured £715,000 funding for three other cycling improvement schemes on Oatlands Drive in Harrogate, Victoria Avenue in Harrogate and the A59 Knaresborough Road but the consultation generated such fierce opposition to the Oatlands initiative from residents in the nearby Saints area that it didn’t proceed.

But change to Oatlands is still very much on the agenda. Ms Burnham says a feasibility report at the end of August will consider measures to ease congestion. She says:

“We recognised we needed to take a step back.

“The feasibility study will look at the options. Residents parking was a key issue — that has been a historic problem in the area, especially with the hospital and schools.”

The £215,000 allocated for Oatlands has been diverted to the other two schemes although it seems the funky cyclops junction mooted for the junction of Victoria Avenue and Station Parade to totally separate cyclists from traffic won’t happen. Ms Burnham says it was just one option and there “might be something similar” instead.

She seems cool on the Pannal park and ride idea, saying further details should be available in a couple of months. She insists it’s still on the table but adds “it has to work financially for the bus service too”.

Low-traffic neighbourhoods

Low-traffic neighbourhoods, which reduce motor vehicles in residential areas, have been another bugbear.

An experimental order was introduced on Harrogate’s Beech Grove in February, which closed the route to through traffic. The move took many people by surprise and some cars were driven across the Stray by motorists determined to keep using the route as a cut through between West Park and Otley Road.

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Ms Burnham says reaction was “mixed”

“There was some positive and that sometimes gets lost in the media and social media.”

The experimental order was extended from 6 months to 18 months before decision is made on whether to close the road permanently to through traffic — why? Ms Burnham says it was to allow more time to see how the initiative ties in with other schemes, such as the Otley Road and Victoria Avenue cycling projects.

She says it’s exciting to see a network of connecting cycle routes emerge in Harrogate.

But a Bilton low traffic neighbourhood, suggested this year, is off the agenda, at least until autumn next year. Ms Burnham says the council wants to assess Beech Grove before considering any other low-traffic neighbourhoods.

No more roadworks than usual

She insists that, contrary to popular belief, there are currently no more roadworks than usual.

Harrogate, she says, often has more roadworks than other parts of the county because it is an urban area, adding:

“There’s also a lot of development taking place and because of that a lot of road works need to happen.”

Ms Burnham says the council tries to stipulate that work takes place between 9.30am to 3.30pm on key routes and can insist on night works “when it’s reasonable”.

As for permits to carry out roadworks being extended, and traffic lights lasting for months, which happened on Skipton Road in Harrogate, she says:

“It’s difficult when a company comes to you and says ‘we need to do more work’. Sometimes they do find issues on site.”

Female role model

Ms Burnham, a mother of two young girls who enjoys camping and walking, is one of two women out of 11 senior officers in the highways senior management team. She lives in Northallerton.

The county council workforce is 76 per cent female but highways remains male-dominated. She says:

“Some people still have a surprised reaction when I tell them my job title. That said, we are certainly seeing a positive increase in women into the service. I now have four females in my team.”

Ms Burnham worked for Harrogate Borough Council for four years from 2005, during which she helped deliver the Nidderdale Greenway scheme.

She joined North Yorkshire County Council in 2009 and was a senior engineer in the special projects team and a lead officer in the transport and development team before moving to her current position in 2018.

More than anywhere else in North Yorkshire, the Harrogate district presents both rural and urban transport challenges. She says:

“Harrogate is just that little bit more demanding in terms of its urban nature and popularity of events.”

 

 

Extra safety measures announced for Great Yorkshire Show

Further control measures have been announced today for next week’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate following the increase in Delta variant covid cases.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the farming charity that organises the event, has been working with public health officials at North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to discuss measures.

It means the 162nd show will be held mainly outdoors and considerably different to previous ones.

Capacity has been limited to a maximum of 26,000 people a day to minimise crowding and to ensure social distancing.

It means about 104,000 people are expected to attend from Tuesday to Friday as opposed to the usual 135,000 that pass through the gates over three days.

Opening hours have been extended from 8.00am to 6.00pm to allow visitors to arrive and leave in a more staggered way to avoid queues.

Ticket sales were temporarily halted while the capacity numbers were finalised, and the final raft of tickets are now on sale via the Great Yorkshire Show website.

Lateral flow tests

Visitors are encouraged to have a lateral flow covid test before they arrive and to download the NHS app before arriving in order to be able to scan QR codes where necessary, such as in hospitality areas.

People working at the show, including catering and trade stands, will be required to have a negative lateral flow test within 24 hours before arriving at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

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Tickets can only be bought in advance only and should be printed out as e-tickets. They will not be on sale on the gates.

This year most of the event will be held outdoors and it has been extended to run over four days for the first time in its history.

Show director Charles Mills said:

“This will be a very special Great Yorkshire Show and one we are all so looking forward to after these difficult times.

“It will be a slightly different show to normal but we have done our best to bring you an event which will fly the flag for farming and celebrate our industry.”

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council’s director of health and adult services, said:

“We, along with partners from Harrogate Borough Council, have been working very closely for some months with the Great Yorkshire Show organisers and Public Health England to make sure the event is as safe and successful as possible, being mindful ofcCovid transmission rates and national restrictions.

“However, we recognise the importance of the show, not only for the people of North Yorkshire and Yorkshire but also for the farming community which has played such a vital role during the pandemic with food supplies and keeping the whole supply chain going.”

Sections that will not feature in this year’s show include the fashion show, the WI stand, the pole climbing competition and the cookery theatre in the food hall although the game cookery theatre will go ahead as usual.

Other safety measures this year

• Track and Trace at hospitality points
• Grandstand capacity reduced to 25% – 30% with tickets purchased in advance
• Extra security to disperse any crowding
• One way system around the Food Hall
• Hall 2 closed to public although the entrance will be a celebrity meet & greet
• Face coverings to be worn in all indoor areas, including toilets and the grandstand, and encouraged when in queues
• Enhanced cleaning
• Table service only at bar areas

 

Just 10 fly-tipping fines in Harrogate district despite 2,000 reported incidents

Just 10 fines have been handed out for fly-tipping in the Harrogate district over the last three years despite almost 2,000 reported incidents.

Of those 10 fines, only four have been paid in full by criminals caught in the act dumping mounds of waste across streets, parks and the countryside.

These eye-opening figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service reveal how fly-tippers are going largely unpunished.

Harrogate Borough Council, which is responsible for investigating dumped waste and has powers to issue £400 fines – has insisted it is standing firm and is asking the public for help to bring those responsible to the book in court.

A council spokesperson said officers will not hesitate to take strong action against those who are caught in the act but also admitted in many cases there is nothing they can do due to a lack of evidence.

The spokesperson said: 

“Fly-tipping is a selfish crime that blights the landscape and spoils everyone’s enjoyment of our towns and countryside.

“In order to prosecute we need to carry out thorough investigations and provide substantial evidence. This can be a challenge as not all fly-tipping contain personal or business details we can investigate.

“But we will not give up tackling fly-tippers and bringing them to justice.”

Of the 1,967 dumping incidents reported to the council over the last three years, 388 have been investigated by environmental protection officers.

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These investigations have resulted in 10 fixed penalty notices being issued but only four have been paid in full at a total cost of £1,600.

The issue of fly-tipping often stokes debate over whether charges at recycling centres are driving individuals and illegally-operating waste removal businesses to dump their rubbish at the roadside.

North Yorkshire County Council, which runs recycling centres in the Harrogate district, introduced charges for dumping waste including rubble, soil and plasterboard in 2014 but said there has been little evidence to suggest these have resulted in any increase in fly-tipping levels that would warrant a rethink.

Peter Jeffreys, the county council’s head of service for waste and countryside services, said: 

“The absence of a causal link between charging and fly-tipping suggests that the removal of charges may not reduce fly-tipping levels.

“It is important to remember that there is a large percentage of fly-tipped waste that can be disposed of for free at our Household Waste Recycling Centres.”

“The majority of residents and businesses take responsibility for the waste they produce. We will continue to educate, communicate and where necessary take enforcement action to protect the environment so it is safe for all to enjoy.”

The Harrogate and District Green Party said in a statement that cheaper and more accessible ways of recycling could help reduce fly-tipping.

The party also questioned whether private landowners should face the “onerous burden” to remove dumped waste at their own expense.

The party said: 

“We need a solution that doesn’t cost individuals and small businesses to recycle their waste that is easy and convenient to access, such as smaller satellite facilities.

“The council also needs to ensure that waste is responsibly recycled and can be re-used where possible, even as an opportunity for the council to recoup costs. Most importantly, waste is not dumped in other countries.”

In numbers: How Harrogate Borough Council has investigated fly-tipping

Race organisers ‘not prepared’ to cover Tour de Yorkshire losses

The company that owns the Tour de Yorkshire is “no longer prepared” to underwrite the event, according to a county council report.

A paper to be considered by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday next week says Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns and organises major sports events, would not cover the costs.

This has prompted the council to offer the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire, which organises the Tour de Yorkshire in conjunction with Amaury Sports Organisation, up to £200,000 to stage the race.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s strategy to fund the elite international cycling event in May next year has emerged as it was revealed Yorkshire taxpayers are being asked to underwrite the event by up to £900,000.

Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities which are host towns for the race in case it fails to get sponsorship.

Harrogate Borough Council is not one of them but Harrogate district people will still fund the event through the portion of their council tax payments that goes to North Yorkshire County Council.

Senior county councillors have been recommended to approve a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

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Asked to comment about whether Amaury Sports Organisation should underwrite the event as it stood to make profits, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

He said:

“You could argue that. Clearly Amaury Sports Organisation don’t want to do that. The alternative then is to not hold the race and, but bear in mind it is an important part of the cycling calendar and it can also serve as a great marketing tool for the areas it goes through, it is worth our while to continue with the race.”

Meanwhile, plans to overhaul the Tour de Yorkshire’s image by aligning the event with prevalent societal values, such as equality, diversity, mental health and sustainability, have received a mixed reaction.

Welcome to Yorkshire said that, following a very difficult two years for all involved, the race needed to be seen as a genuine celebration of Yorkshire as opposed to just a bike race.

This will mean a much longer lead into the race featuring events celebrating Yorkshire’s culture, heritage, arts, crafts, food and drink with the race being the headline act of “nine months of activation”.

Nevertheless, the sponsorship strategy of highlighting the event’s values, such as equality has already been questioned, with some critics highlighting how the event features a two-day race for women and a higher profile four-day race for men.

The unveiling of the proposals, which include aligning the Tour de Yorkshire with the value of diversity, comes just a week after Nic Diamini made headlines by becoming the first black South African to ride in the Tour de France, the pinnacle of what has been dubbed “the world’s whitest sport”.

Cllr Les, who is also a Welcome to Yorkshire board member, said the fresh approach to sponsorship along social value lines was “a very sound idea”.

However, councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the authority’s Independent group, said staging a two-day women’s race and a four-day men’s event would “not promote equality in any way, shape or form”.