Councillors in Tenby have welcomed the fact that health and safety aspects are being addressed for athletes taking part in the Long Course Weekend this year, with the announcement of several road closures.

However, they have also raised concerns about issues the restrictions will present to those visiting the resort on a busy summer weekend.

Activity Wales Events, organisers of the Long Course Weekend, which this year will celebrate its 10th anniversary, recently announced that this year’s Wales Sportive, to be held on Saturday, July 6, will have comprehensive road closures, restrictions and diversions in place for cyclists taking part on the second day of the triathlon

“For the past nine years we have run the Sportive on open roads, but the demand for the event, television coverage and locals moving in their day to day business, means we have now moved to dedicated roads for traffic, and dedicated roads for cyclists,” explained Matthew Evans, of Activity Wales Events, in correspondence that came before members of Tenby Town Council at their meeting on Tuesday night.

Responding to the news, Clr. Tony Brown welcomed the road closures on part of the route, with the first wave of bikes departing from The Salterns car park in Tenby for the 112-mile course at 7 am, as it showed that the event organisers were taking on board concerns about safety.

“There have been dangerous aspects pointed out over the last couple of years for the cycling event, and I’d thank the organisers and Pembrokeshire County Council for listening.

“It might be a case of trial and error for the first year of the road closures, but I’m sure they will monitor it closely,” continued Clr. Brown, with his colleague Clr. Trevor Hallett agreeing that the road closures were ‘badly needed’ as there had been a few accidents along the route involving cyclists and motorists.

The Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, thought that the road closures would present a lot of traffic problems for those wanting to visit the town on one of the peak weekends of the summer, pointing out that the bypass by New Hedges would be completely closed between 8.30 am and 5 pm on the Saturday, along with areas such as Penally, which would be closed off from 6 am to 2.30 pm.

“This needs to be monitored very closely,” she stated, with her colleague Clr. Laurence Blackhall echoing her concerns.

“The Long Course Weekend has made a fantastic contribution to Tenby and the area, and without wanting to criticise, a lot of people have expressed their concerns about these road closures, especially taking into account Narberth Road in Tenby, as it will be a prime holiday Saturday in terms of changeover for people leaving and coming into the resort,” he remarked.

“It could be chaos, and cause significant traffic problems, as with any road closures, comes difficulties. Looking at the route, areas such as Devonshire Drive could also get really clogged on that day.

“At this stage it could be difficult to change the decision, but serious consideration needs to be given as to whether this is the right decision,” he continued, stating that he hoped the event organisers and PCC would work with the town council to overcome any difficulties.

The town clerk, Andrew Davies, said he had discussed the road closures with PCC’s head of street care, Marc Owen, who has considered the concerns raised.

“Mr. Owen indicated that if councillors had concerns on how the road closures would affect Tenby, then he’d be willing to come to a meeting to discuss them, but the time is ticking,” he told members.