REDDITCH will need to find between £40,000 and £50,000 if it wants to hold the highly successful Pearl Izumi town centre bike race in 2017.
The race has become a fixture on the borough calendar and is the biggest annual showcase for the town with a TV audience spanning the globe.
Such is the profile of the race it attracts the very best athletes, including Laura Trott, Britain’s most successful female Olympian ever, who won the women’s event in 2015, and Team GB gold medal winning team time trialist Ed Clancy.
The borough has been left to find the cash following the withdrawal of funding by Worcester County Council.
Council leader Councillor Bill Hartnett (Lab, Church Hill) told a full council meeting on Monday night: “It looks like Redditch, the council, members, local businesses, will need to raise the lion’s share of the costs, so we are looking for £40,000 to £50,000 in the next couple of months.”
Speaking afterwards he added he would be meeting with representatives of the county and local businesses to see if the funds can be found.
“It’s a wonderful event and we want to see the race continue. Two of our county councillors have already agreed to contribute towards the cost from their community fund and I am hopefully the money can be raised.”