Mansfield Council to spend £75k on Tour of Britain as ‘festival finale’ plans are developed

The district was confirmed as the location for the stage finish when the major cycling event returns to Nottinghamshire this year for the first time since 2018.

The event, on September 8, will begin in West Bridgford, before heading around the county on its route to finish outside the Civic Centre on Chesterfield Road South, Mansfield.

Only Ashfield and Broxtowe are not featured on the 190-kilometres route – about 118 miles – which will take in some of the county’s iconic landmarks including the legendary Sherwood Forest.

Mansfield Council confirmed its plans for a ‘festival finale’ when the route was confirmed in March, building upon a similar event outside the Civic Centre when the Tour visited in 2018.

Now the authority has outlined plans to allocate £75,000 to host the stage finish, with £50,000 for the Tour of Britain as a partner organisation.

The remaining £25,000 will be spent on the ‘festival finale’, which the council hopes will ‘put Mansfield in the spotlight’.

The funds are expected to be approved by James Biddlestone, council head of people and transformation.

A report published ahead of his decision states: “The event will put Mansfield on the map and in the spotlight as a host venue. There are direct promotional benefits to hosting the finish.

“In 2018, 35,000 visitors attended the Mansfield stage seven finish.

“Hosting the Tour will demonstrate once again the council’s ability to stage major events, inspire our community to become more active and help instil civic pride in our town.

“We hope it will help attract more visitors, not just for the race, but in future and in particular to spend money in our towns.”

Mansfield district will host about 8km of the race, passing schools, residential areas and businesses, with cyclists entering the district at Warsop, before passing Mansfield Woodhouse and Forest Town.

Andy Abrahams, Mansfield mayor, previously said: “We’re looking forward to giving the tour the warmest of Mansfield welcomes again.”

The eight-stage 2022 tour starts in Aberdeen on Sunday, September 4 before heading through Scotland, the north east, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset, finishing on the Isle of Wight on Sunday, September 11.