Decision details

Kirklees Council has accepted the opportunity to host a stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2027, with the race route passing through Kirklees as part of a nationally coordinated UK hosting programme. This presents significant opportunities for global visibility, civic pride, promotion of women’s sport, active travel, and alignment with the Council’s strategic priorities around health, wellbeing, culture and place.

The decision has been taken to proceed with delivery of the event on a One Council basis, utilising existing officer capacity and a capped delivery budget of £150,000, focusing on core event responsibilities such as traffic management, stewarding, safety, communications and city dressing.

A cross?service Project Delivery Working Group has been established to ensure coordinated planning, risk management and operational readiness.

Alternative options considered included:

·       Declining the opportunity to host the race stage, which was discounted due to the reputational risk of Kirklees being bypassed while neighbouring authorities host the event, and the missed opportunity for economic, cultural and community benefit.

·       Limiting involvement to a minimal compliance role only, which was rejected on the basis that it would significantly reduce the Council’s ability to mitigate risk, manage disruption effectively, and deliver positive community impact.

The decision relates solely to the Tour de France Femmes 2027.

Background information

The United Kingdom will host the Women’s Tour de France event in 2027, marking the first time the event will start outside France. The Tour de France Femmes race will travel from Leeds to Manchester, with Kirklees included as a host authority along the route.

The decision builds on:

·       Executive Leadership consideration of the opportunity and associated risks and benefits

·       Negotiations led by UK Sport and the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO)

·       The establishment of a Project Delivery Group with agreed Terms of Reference

·       Early engagement with Highways, Events, Communications, Emergency Planning, Finance and other services

Supporting documents include:

·       Executive Leadership Team discussion paper (July 2025)

·       Project Delivery Group Terms of Reference

To approve Kirklees Council’s participation as a route authority for the Tour de France Femmes 2027; signing of the Heads of Terms produced by Tour de France Grand Depart 2027; confirmation of the governance and delivery approach via a cross service Project Delivery Group; and authorisation of officers to progress detailed operational planning, procurement, community engagement and risk management within the agreed delivery budget.