A TOWN Hall forked out thousands of pounds for urgent repairs to Clacton town centre’s pot-holed roads to ensure a prestigious cycling event could go ahead.

While it is Essex County Council’s responsibility to maintain the roads, Tendring Council stepped in to pay for some resurfacing work before the Tour Series descended upon the town.

The event saw Britain’s leading men’s and women’s riders head to Tendring on May 19.

But it has been revealed it was the Tendring Council that ensured some of the roads were up to scratch because Essex Highways was unable to complete the necessary work in time.

Alex Porter, Tendring Council’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said the £17,000 total cost to the councils of repairing the section of road between Station Road and Pier Avenue was a small price to pay for such a spectacular event.

“While Essex Highways work hard to maintain roads across the county, on this occasion we were told they were unable to undertake the resurfacing works before the event,” he said.

“Therefore, being a can-do council, we stepped in and requested permission to arrange for the works to be done to ensure the route was to a high enough standard for the Tour Series to go ahead.

“This not only enabled the Tour Series to proceed, helping to put Clacton on the map to a new audience as a visitor destination but also brought people into the town centre on a weekday evening, creating a boost for local traders – and of course improved what is an important town centre road.”

Essex Highways it looks after 5,000 miles of roads - one of the largest road networks in the country.

A spokesman for the authority added: “In the past year we’ve surfaced roads which would stretch the equivalent of the length and breadth of the Essex County Council area, over 100 miles.

“Essex Highways crews work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep all the county’s roads in good condition.

“However, on a network so big, we have to prioritise resources.”