BUSINESSES from across Colne have attended a special meeting about the Tour of Britain coming to town.

Stage two of the event, which attracts some of the world’s top cyclists, will pass through the town on September 7 and local firms have been learning about plans for the day and how to capitalise on visitor numbers.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The race which starts in Clitheroe town centre and ends in Colne town centre includes three King of the Mountains points classifications and is the shortest but toughest stage.

Philip Mousdale, corporate director at Pendle Council, said: “We organised a special meeting for Colne town centre businesses to come and find out how they might be impacted.

“The town centre will be closed from 5am on the day of the race until 9.30pm so we wanted to give advance notice to businesses.

“All of the car parks will be closed from 6pm the day before until 9.30pm on the day of the race because of equipment needed by the Tour organisers.”

At the meeting businesses were also told how other areas have benefited from hosting a stage of the Tour.

According to an independent report, each area which hosted a stage last year saw an injection of at least £2m.

Mr Mousdale added: “We’re encouraging businesses to create Tour of Britain themed windows, paint old bikes red, white and blue to display outside their businesses and hang bunting to create a festive atmosphere.

“We also hope they’ll have things like special offers and themed cycling menus.

“I’m confident our town centre businesses will do all they can to benefit from the footfall.

“Pendle really is a hidden gem and this gives us an amazing opportunity to show the world what we have to offer.”

Alastair Grant, commercial director of Tour of Britain organisers SweetSpot, said: “We’ve been delighted with the reception we’ve received locally in Pendle and Ribble Valley .”