Elite cycling to find a home in Lancashire when it hosts Tour of Britain’s Women’s race

While Lancashire has welcomed the men’s race before - though not for 11 years - it has never hosted the women’s.

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On Wednesday, we reported that the cases of Preston Davey and Damion Russell had deeply concerning parallels - most notably that Damion had been seen at Blackpool Victoria Hospital the day before Preston Davey was treated there. In both instances, the hospital did not raise the alarm despite opportunities to do so. In both instances, the children would go on to be murdered.

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Lancashire briefing

💐 A 33 year-old woman who died the incident at a level-crossing in Hoghton has been named as her family pay tribute to their much loved daughter, sister, partner and devoted mum. Emergency services were called to a level-crossing on Station Road following reports at 8.50am on Thursday (25 June) that a train had struck a car. Two people were in the car and Kerry Coombes, a 33-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. An eight-year-old girl – Kerry’s’ daughter – remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition. British Transport Police confirmed it has launched a criminal investigation into the incident - but exactly who is under investigation is not yet clear.

🌳 The company awarded the main contract to build the Eden Project in Morecambe says they will ensure there are opportunities for smaller firms and young people during the build. VINCI Construction is to create the Eden attraction on Morecambe’s seafront, where a ground-breaking ceremony was held this week marking the first phase of garden work starting this summer. The Eden scheme includes two shell-shaped domes, a significant reduction on the four originally planned, and is expected to kickstart Morecambe’s regeneration and the wider regional economy. Eden bosses said the original Eden Project in Cornwall has generated £6.8billion for the local economy over 25 years. Speaking at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool at an event to celebrate the start of the building phase, VINCI’s Nick Hamer mentioned other large projects that had completed in the region. He said: “With the Blackpool King Street office, 52 per cent of supplier contracts, worth £38m, was spent within 30 miles. And a higher ration went within 50 miles. “And we have done work all over the north-west including Kendal and Preston. We have loads of connections and will be following them up for Eden in Morecambe.”

🏠 Preston City Council has moved a step closer to striking a deal that will see local authority-owned social housing return to the area after an absence of more than two decades. During a meeting of the full council on Thursday, members gave the green light to the purchase of 18 new-build properties in an as-yet-unidentified location. The move – which was agreed in a private session for reasons of commercial confidentiality – secured unanimous cross-party support. It means the Labour-run authority can now enter into a formal contract with the developer to acquire the dwellings. A conditional offer had been made and accepted in March. The cost of the arrangement remains under wraps for now, but £5m was ringfenced for new council housing when the authority’s current budget was set earlier this year. However, as the LDRS has previously revealed, the town hall is hoping to be able to fund further purchases from the same pot – coupled with other sources of finance – to develop between 40 and 50 new properties by April 2028.

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Elite cycling to find a home in Lancashire when it hosts Tour of Britain’s Women’s race

Clitheroe

By Michael Holmes

A “carnival atmosphere” is expected to grip Lancashire when it hosts the Tour of Britain’s Women’s race for the first time later this season.

The elite race’s second stage will start in Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley and end in Blackpool by the north-west coast, with millions expected to tune in to see some of cycling’s finest female athletes speeding through the county.

While Lancashire has welcomed the men’s race before - though not for 11 years - it has never hosted the women’s.

Jonathan Day from organiser British Cycling Ventures said: “We are excited to be bringing the prestigious Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to these fantastic locations in August.

“For the first time, there is parity in the number of stages with the men’s race a few

weeks later, so it is a huge opportunity to create a real festival of cycling, with the women’s race kick-starting a brilliant few weeks of elite racing.”

A leg of the men’s race started in Clitheroe - and finished in Colne - in 2015, while Blackpool has seen a number of the cycling greats ride to victory, including Sir Mark Cavendish who won the stage in 2012 wearing his rainbow stripes of world champion.

Over in the resort, town hall bosses have pledged £50,000 to the cause and hope to showcase the “pinnacle of women’s professional road racing” and give the seaside town’s economy and reputation a welcome boost.

They also hope the publicity and buzz around the five-stage event, which will arrive in Lancashire on August 20, will spark a love of cycling in local women and girls.