A HALESOWEN councillor is hoping members of the public will embrace the controversial Velo Birmingham cycling event which will descend on the town this weekend.

The 100-mile race – which starts and ends in Birmingham – will see around 5,000 racing cyclists and around 10,000 leisure riders taking to the streets on Sunday (September 24).

A host of good causes including official race charity partners – the Alzheimer’s Society, NSPCC, Cure Leukaemia and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity – look set to benefit from the fundraising efforts of the many charity riders.

Cycling star Jess Varnish, a former GB track sprinter who rode for Halesowen Cycling Club, who will be among the big-names taking on the challenge, along with her dad James Varnish, a former leukaemia sufferer.

Former England and Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Geoff Thomas, England under-21 manager Aidy Boothroyd and ex-West Bromwich Albion defender Darren Moore will also be supporting event charity partner, Cure Leukaemia, and will join rugby legend Martin Johnson, the event's ambassador, on the ride.

The race will take riders out of Birmingham along Hagley Road West, followed by the A458 through Halesowen and Cradley towards Stourbridge, where it will then take in Worcestershire and Staffordshire before looping back round to finish in the second city.

Roads affected in the Halesowen and Stourbridge areas will be closed from 6am until 11am and a spokesman for the organisers said: "We expect cyclists to start appearing on Oldnall Road and then head deeper into the Stourbridge area from around 7.30am."

The roads along that part of the course will then reopen once all the cyclists have safely passed through.

But people living along the route are becoming increasingly concerned about being trapped in their properties or prevented from accessing them due to a number of major road closures.

Despite the concerns, Halesowen North councillor Stuart Henley is urging members of the community to get behind what he believes will be a “great event”.

Cllr Henley said: “I understand where people are coming from with their concerns about the road closures, but it’s only going to be one day.

“We all knew that is was coming this weekend – it’s been in the press and the those who live along the route would have received letters – so people have had enough time to adapt their plans around it.

“We always moan that London and other big cities always get these big events, but then when they do finally bring them to us, we moan that it’s going to cause us a bit of inconvenience for one day.

“It will be a great event, raising lots of money for charity, and for everyone not to embrace something like this is disappointing.

“It’s a big thing for the area and will bring a lot of publicity to Halesowen and the other locations along the route and if anything, we should be doing more as a community to use the event to our advantage.

“We could have arranged cycling events and fun days to get the whole community behind it.

“The eyes of the country will be on the race with the national TV coverage, so we should be using it to promote all that is good about the Black Country, but we’re not taking advantage of it.”

However, Quinton resident Stephen Scanlon has concerns about the alteration of a number of bus routes on Sunday, which will stop people getting in or out of Halesowen during the morning.

“For more than 20 years I have attended Halesowen Parish Church on a Sunday morning,” Stephen said. “My road will be isolated between 5am and 11am and I was prepared to use public transport instead of the car.

“Only recently I have discovered there will be no bus services into Halesowen from this direction, so I cannot attend on Velo day.

“This has been kept quiet from the public until very recently, as I am sure there would be unrest if people discovered it before the event when it will be too late.

“It will not be just people that live close to the route that are affected. For six hours north and south are going to be split along the line of the Hagley Road in Birmingham and the A458 between Quinton and Stourbridge.

“The only way that the two are joined is via the M5 between junction 2 travelling to junction 3 for Halesowen or J4 to access Birmingham.”

Halesowen MP James Morris has echoed the concerns of residents, saying: “Major sporting events such as the Velo are fantastic opportunities to raise money for charity and encourage greater participation in sport.

“However these events need to be planned properly, and take into consideration the views of local residents.

“There has been a disappointing level of public consultation or publicity [surrounding the road closures] and the use of the M5 as a diversion will only cause more issues with the ongoing works.

“The organisers need to seriously reconsider how they consult for future events.”

But organisers say the route was agreed in partnership with the local councils, plus emergency services and transport operators, and stressed they will continue to work closely with residents and businesses along the route to minimise the impact of the road closures, which they say are vital to ensure safe delivery of the event which is the first of its kind in the region.

Jon Ridgeon, executive chairman of Vélo Birmingham organisers CSM Active, said: “The route is truly spectacular and it is great to hear that so many of our participants will be riding to fundraise for a range of extremely worthwhile causes.

“I would like to thank all our local authority partners for their continuing commitment and support.”

Residents and business owners based on or near the route are urged to visit www.velobirmingham.com/the-route/road-closures to check the updated road closure timings and how best to navigate around them.

Network West Midlands has a list of bus routes which will be altered on Sunday morning, while staff will also be live tweeting @networkwm on the day to keep passengers updated.

Dudley Council has stressed provisions have been made for carers who need to visit elderly and vulnerable people during the road closures and a spokesman added: "Staff within adults and children’s services have been fully informed about Sunday’s road closures and various arrangements have been put in place to ensure services and access is maintained.

"Care workers will be able to access properties by foot and they have been advised accordingly.

"The event organisers have also liaised with private care organisations to ensure appropriate measures are in place."

The authority has said all the road closures are being managed, operated and financed by the event organisers and that letters to residents have also been organised by the event organisers.

CSM Active has stressed emergency services vehicles will be operating as usual and that although roads will be closed to cars - pedestrian access will be maintained.

Any cars left on the routes that are set to be closed, however, will be towed away so people who do not have off-road parking are urged to make alternative plans to park in nearby streets.