Leyburn Town Council would like to extend its sincere thanks to all businesses, residents, volunteers and community groups who supported the delivery of the Stage 4 finish of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men’s Race in Leyburn.
Hosting a nationally significant sporting event of this scale was a tremendous opportunity for the town. The television coverage and online exposure generated through British Cycling, ITVX, live streaming platforms and social media channels reached audiences across the UK and beyond. This visibility has showcased not only Leyburn but also the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire to millions of viewers, creating a lasting legacy that we hope will attract visitors to our area for many years to come.
Delivering a Major Event in Just 12 Weeks
While the event brought many benefits, we recognise that it also presented challenges for some businesses and residents. Delivering an event of this size for the first time inevitably provided valuable learning experiences.
Leyburn was only confirmed as a stage finish location in mid-June, leaving less than 12 weeks for a small group of volunteers, supported by the Town Clerks, to work alongside British Cycling and partner organisations to facilitate the event. Despite the short timescale, the team worked tirelessly to ensure the race day ran as smoothly as possible.
Feedback from the event organisers was overwhelmingly positive, with comments that Leyburn was among the most organised host locations they had worked with. We recognise that this would not have been possible without the support, understanding and cooperation shown by the vast majority of residents and businesses throughout the planning and delivery process.
Learning for the Future
We acknowledge that some residents felt communication could have been better and we take that feedback seriously. Should Leyburn have the opportunity to host a similar event in the future, we hope that a longer lead-in period would allow more time for community engagement, information sharing and volunteer recruitment.
Communication is always a two-way process, and we encourage anyone with questions about future events to contact the Town Council. We are always pleased to hear from residents who would like to become involved in supporting community events.
A Tribute to Our Volunteers
The volunteers who helped deliver this event all have full-time jobs, businesses and family commitments, yet they dedicated countless hours to supporting the town and helping make Leyburn an even better place to live, work and visit.
While a small number of negative comments were directed towards volunteers and Town Council staff during the event planning process, the overwhelmingly positive feedback received afterwards has been greatly appreciated. We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to every volunteer for their commitment, enthusiasm and hard work.
Thank You to Our Partners and Supporters
The successful delivery of the Tour of Britain required many organisations working together. Leyburn Town Council was just one part of a much larger team, working alongside British Cycling, North Yorkshire Council, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and North Yorkshire Police.
We are especially grateful to the landowners who kindly made fields available for event parking, along with Wensleydale School, Tennants Auctioneers and Wensleydale Rugby Union Football Club for providing facilities that were essential to the event’s operation.
Special thanks also go to:
- Tennants Auctioneers for hosting team buses and support vehicles.
- House & Home for providing decorations for businesses around the Market Place.
- Wensleydale Railway for operating additional services for spectators.
- Little White Bus for shuttle services between Tennants, the railway station and the town centre.
- The Golden Lion for hosting hospitality arrangements for Lloyds and British Cycling.
- Lynn Ward Artist for creating the popular peep board and refreshing the decorative bicycles displayed around the town.
- Bellerby community for lending bicycles used in the displays.
- BlueBoxt and their team for coordinating a fantastic programme of entertainment featuring local performers and community groups.
We would also like to thank Forbidden Corner, Bolton Castle, Swale Cycles, Richmond Bike Park, Your Fitness Needs, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream, Dales Dog Deli, Halls Family Butchers, Wensleydale Rotary, Leyburn Arts and Community Centre, Visit North Yorkshire, Culture North Yorkshire, Wensleydale Railway and all organisations that contributed to the community stands and activities throughout the day.
Our gratitude extends to St Matthew’s Church for providing refreshments, Leyburn Methodist Church for hosting the steward rest centre, and A Better Leyburn for their work maintaining public spaces, planters and street furniture in preparation for the event.
We would also like to thank the many other local businesses and organisations who participated in discussions and planning, even where their services were ultimately not required.
Looking Forward
This was a major undertaking with a very short planning period, and Leyburn rose to the challenge.
As Chair of Leyburn Town Council, Councillor Alison Littlewood Laws said:
“I am immensely proud of what Leyburn was able to deliver to the world. I am proud of our achievement and thankful to live and work alongside such supportive businesses, residents and volunteers. We are all trying to do our best for Leyburn and, whilst we cannot get everything right, we gave it our all and delivered something truly special for our community.”
Get Involved
Leyburn Town Council currently has vacancies for Town Councillors, and there are many opportunities to support local community groups through volunteering.
If you would like to get involved in helping shape the future of our town, please contact us at:
Together, we can continue to make Leyburn a vibrant and welcoming place to live, work and visit.
Photos provided by The Tour of Britain, LTC & Sally 🙂
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