Finish line in sight for Glentress Masterplan development
It's been confirmed the start/finish line at Glentress is to be kept following the success of the UCI Cycling World Championships.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), which has taken back control of the site from the event's organisers, is seeking retrospective planning permission from Scottish Borders Council to make the temporary feature permanent.
It means mountain bikers in the Tweed Valley will be able to follow in the tracks of some of the world's best riders, and re-create their own moments of sporting glory.
FLS has announced it's also looking to set aside two areas - known as sandboxes - that could accommodate temporary features for future events.
It follows concerns that the UCI course is set to be dismantled before the public has a chance to try it out.
While FLS has confirmed "the temporary UCI event-specific trails and features will be removed", it's also confirmed work's getting underway on a new mountain bike skills park, and trails.
A spokesperson said: "Forestry and Land Scotland is getting ready to complete the final stage of its Glentress Masterplan programme as the UCI team clears the last of the 2023 Cycling World Championship infrastructure.
"It is anticipated that the carparks will re-open and access will begin to return to normal from August 18th, this will coincide with FLS starting work on the final stage of its £6 million investment in the Masterplan development.
"Final stage works include the construction of a new mountain bike skills park, work around the gateway building, final linkage of several of the new trails and the installation of a short skills loops of various grades. In parallel, over the next few weeks, the temporary UCI event-specific trails and features will be removed."
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Work - all of which is due to be completed next year - is also set to resume on the construction of 56 holiday cabins, which it's hoped will help the region attract more big events in future.
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John Dougan, FLS’ South Region Manager, said: “The UCI 2023 Cycling World Championship events in the Tweed Valley were a great success and helped to put the name Glentress and the wider Borders in front of a millions-strong global TV audience and herald the beginning of a new exciting chapter for Glentress.
“The success of the event was in no small part thanks to what had already been achieved over the last 18 months in terms of delivering the Masterplan, which has already significantly improved the offering for visitors and reinvigorated this amazing attraction, increasing the range of its appeal and further enhancing its value to the area.
“Although the Championships are now over, we’re not resting on our laurels and are looking to add the finishing touches that we couldn’t complete before the event was held. Once fully completed, our regular – and hopefully many new - visitors will soon find a destination that lives up to their expectations and offers something for everyone.”
Around 30,000 visits were recorded over the six days of events at Glentress for the World Champs last week, providing a major economic boost to the area.
And it's anticipated that the revamped trails will help draw over 300,000 visitors to the area, and inject around £1million into the local economy every year going forward.
But FLS says the UCI course was designed to be temporary and, as well as being developed to test the skills of the world's best pro riders, it says it doesn't meet the standards needed for the sustainable trails envisaged in the Glentress Masterplan. And it is to be "deconstructed and repurposed or recycled".
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World Mountain Bike Champion, Tracey Mosely said: “The UCI 2023 Cycling World Championships has given us some momentum that will help our efforts to make cycling more inclusive and encourage more people across the country to take on two-wheels.
“Glentress was an outstanding venue that is set to become a beacon for everyone involved in promoting cycling by showing how the one destination can appeal to families, young people, novice riders, adaptive riders as well as the wider mountain biking community.”
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