Local residents and business owners directly affected by the Wales Velothon aired their grievances at a public meeting in Llanfoist on Tuesday night.

The meeting, arranged by Monmouthshire County Council, should have started with a video presentation by the new organisers Run4Wales, emphasising the positive aspects of the event which will see up to 18,000 cyclists pass through the county on May 22.

But when technical difficulties delayed proceedings and someone called out ‘Just TELL us what’s happening, without the pretty pictures!’… the meeting was thrown open to questions from the floor.

Run4Wales were taken on to manage and organise the high profile event after bitter recriminations last year about the lengthy road closures and lack of communication with those affected.

Monmouth MP David Davies said the organisation of last year’s velothon had been ‘a disgrace’ and he was hoping for ‘transparency’ this year, with the new organisers showing awareness of the inconvenience the event would cause to local people going about their normal business.

There was applause for one woman who asked, “If this is the ‘Wales Velothon’ why can’t we share the pain with North, Mid and West Wales?”

Others felt the event was Cardiff-centred and suggested the cyclists could do laps around the capital rather than going out into the countryside.

Several people were annoyed that, despite the promises of better communication, they had still not received any information through the post and felt the organisers were dictating rather than consulting.

Dr Peter Hughes said, “Farming is not a five day a week job. We’re being held hostage in our own farms by an event for which there is no local mandate.”

He said he and others had hoped to attend and exhibit at the Welsh Smallholders Show in Builth Wells that weekend and needed to be able to transport livestock.

“The velothon is restricting our access to an event which is part of the rural calendar,” he said.

But he stressed that his main argument was not with Run4Wales but with MCC.

“As a ratepayer I want to know who gave the council the authority to keep me prisoner for a day?”

Jenny Cockitt, one of the Blorenge Commoners, said sheep, cattle and ponies were being put at risk and wanted to know who was stewarding the event on the mountain.

She said communication was ‘woefully ineffective and only one way’.

Concerns were raised about carers needing to reach vulnerable elderly and disabled people during the day.

Several people felt the organisers were showing ‘total disrespect for the local community’.

Others said they were not against the velothon itself - but against having their freedom of movement taken away from them.

Chris Howes said he supported the concept of road races but, since the event was a commercial enterprise, he felt the organisers should pay compensation to local communities and businesses that were adversely affected and that it should be organised in a way that ‘didn’t rile so many people’.

He suggested the cyclists should be invited, via the velothon website, to make a donation to local communities.

Head of Velothon Delivery Nigel Russell said that, as a young event, the Wales Velothon was not yet making enough money to invest in communities - but he hoped this could happen in the future. And he agreed to take on board the idea of the cyclists making voluntary donations.

He said road closures needed to start at 7.30am in order to get the infrastructure such as barriers and signage in place.

But there would be ‘local access points’ until 8.30am and a one and a half hour window in the middle of the day for local people to get in and out.

He expected the roads to be fully open again by 4pm - or sooner, if it was safe to do so.

The timing of local access points would not be publicised to ensure only local people could take advantage of them, he said.

And stewards this year would be led by people with local knowledge, and would be informed about individuals, such as care workers, who needed priority access.

He said rolling roadblocks, suggested by many local people, were not an option for an event involving so many participants.

“We’re working closely with the emergency services. We’re also in contact with local vets and would make arrangements for any animal needing urgent treatment.

“And if there was a major problem along the route, such as a fire, I would not hestitate to stop the event,” he said.

Some of the 30-plus people who attended the meeting left dissatisfied with the answers they’d been given, others felt that communications had improved under the new regime.

Nigel pointed out that the Wales Velothon was now the fifth biggest participation cycling event in the world.

And there was laughter as someone responded, ‘When you think of the size of the world, how come little old Llanfoist has got it?’

County Councillor Bob Greenland, MCC Cabinet Member for Innovation, Enterprise and Leisure had earlier told the Chronicle, “We recognise the value that hosting such an iconic event as the Velothon can bring to Monmouthshire.

“Cycling is playing an increasing role in tourism and leisure-driven activities and this event gives us the opportunity to welcome circa 13,000 riders to our beautiful county, showcasing our landscapes to the participants as well as those following the media coverage.

“We would encourage our residents to enjoy the spectacle that both the mass participation event and the pro –race will bring and ask businesses to maximise the commercial opportunities that exist during and after the event.

“We understand that closure of the roads will inevitably lead to inconvenience to some of our residents and we have worked with Run4Wales to improve communications for all those affected as well as changes to last year’s route based on feedback we received. We hope this event inspires as many people as possible to make the most of our beautiful county whether that is through cycling, walking or food tourism.”