大象传媒

Businesses based along the RideLondon cycle route have told 大象传媒 Essex they're going to lose thousands of pounds worth of trade because of road closures.

Up to 25,000 cyclists are expected on routes running through Essex.

The event starts on Friday and runs until Sunday.

大象传媒 Essex speaks to William Drake, who owns Hanging Gardens Nurseries in Writtle, Iain Moran who is landlord of The Theydon Oak in Coopersale in Epping, Councillor Lee Scott who is responsible for Highways at Essex County Council, and Hugh Brasher who is Event Director for RideLondon.

A statement has also been provided by RideLondon:

"We have been undertaking an extensive engagement process in Essex since announcing the routes of the inaugural RideLondon-Essex events in February. The engagement process has included sending a Save the Date letter and then bespoke Road Closures leaflets to 860,000 addresses on the route and holding drop-in community sessions in 16 communities across Essex including sessions in Writtle and Epping.

"We met with Mr Drake from Hanging Gardens at the Writtle drop-in session and listened to his concerns regarding the impact of RideLondon on his business. The RideLondon team was able to go away and confirm an event plan that would enable vehicles to access Hanging Gardens from 15:30 on Sunday 29 May. This has been communicated to Mr Drake. We continue to be in direct correspondence with Mr Drake to ensure a workable solution is found.

"We held a virtual meeting with Mr Moran from the Theydon Oak pub last week. We are delighted the pub will be encouraging people to attend the venue as a location to watch the finale of Stage Two of the RideLondon Classique on Saturday 28 May.

"We are sorry to hear Mr Moran feels he has to close his pub on Sunday (29 May). The roads in Epping will re-open no later than 12:30 and we have offered to manage access so that pub staff can arrive earlier and we are awaiting a response.

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