Tour de France: Edinburgh councillors told 'take back control' over £1.7m reserves spend on cycling event

Edinburgh councillors need to “take back control” from officials, one has claimed, amid a row over calls to spend £1.7 million of council reserves on the Tour de France.

In a report published before Thursday’s full council meeting, officers had asked councillors to sign off on £1.7m for the Tour de France, saying council political group leaders had agreed to it.

Britain's Mark Cavendish (centre) celebrates as he crosses the finish line during the third Tour de France Singapore Criterium race in Singapore. The Tour de France will start from Edinburgh in 2027. | AFP via Getty Images

However, at the full council meeting, several group leaders spoke out to say that they had not approved the spend, and the last they had heard of Tour de France planning was in October.

The row has emerged with the Tour de France - the world’s biggest cycling race - to start in Edinburgh in 2027.

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One councillor said the planned spend on the tour was “unacceptable”, while another admitted they did not yet know how the spend would benefit the city.

The decision on approving the £1.7m Tour de France spend – and £2m in other reserve use for related issues – has now been pushed back to a committee meeting on Tuesday.

Race Director Christian Prudhomme presents The Duchess of Edinburgh with a yellow jersey at the 2027 Tour de France launch event, at Edinburgh Castle

The event will mark the third time Britain has hosted the start of the world-famous race after cyclists set off from Leeds in 2014 - when the West Yorkshire city overcame an earlier bid by Edinburgh - and London in 2007.

Conservative group leader, councillor Iain Whyte, said of the allocated spend: “We were given some information. We were not given all the information. We agreed that officers should keep working on it, but I would have expected that to come to committee.”

SNP group leader, Councillor Simita Kumar, said: “On the 7th of October 2024, group leaders were confidentially informed about discussions with Scottish Government and VisitScotland about the Tour de France leaving from Edinburgh in 2027.

“Group leaders were happy for officers to explore this with a decision to rightfully take place in an executive committee. There was no agreement from group leaders to authorise any funding – we simply do not have the power to do so within this forum.

“The governance of this decision has been wholly absent especially when there has been adequate time to bring this decision to committee.”

The report for councillors said they intended for the £1.7m spend to be replenished from income from the city’s coming visitor levy, which comes into effect in the summer next year.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Kevin Lang shared the confusion of the other group leaders. But he also clarified that in October, officers had explained the use of visitor levy money to backfill the £1.7m was intended to be extra income brought in by the event.

The 2027 edition of the Tour will be the first time that both the men’s and women’s races have started in the same country besides France.

SNP councillor Kate Campbell said: “There is very little explanation really of why we’re making those allocations. Group leaders I’ve spoken to do not have recollection of making a decision on this.

“We’ve had no reports to councillors, no notes to committee, about the value we’re getting from £1.7m for the Tour de France. It’s a huge amount of money. We really don’t know what the benefit to the city is.”

Conservative councillor Phil Doggart said: “This is unacceptable. We are the council. So let’s take back control of the council from the officers. We make decisions.”

Councillors agreed with a motion put forward by the city’s Labour administration, which saw the matter pushed back to the next meeting of the city’s finance and resources committee on Tuesday.