A NUMBER of roads will be closed in Dudley town centre when an elite cycling event returns to the borough this summer.

The Dudley Grand Prix circuit race event will take place on Friday July 12 as part of Black Country Festival celebrations.

Famous names from the world of cycling, including British Olympic champions, will be taking part in the event, which is part of the men’s and women’s national circuit series.

Letters have gone out to residents and businesses likely to be affected by the road closures, which will be in place from 00.01 to 23.59 on July 12.

Roads and streets affected are The Broadway, Paganel Drive, Priory Road, Ednam Road, St James’s Road, Parsons Street, Wolverhampton Street, The Inhedge, Priory Street, Court Passage, Stone Street, New Street and Tower Street.

On-street parking and home deliveries will not be allowed on these roads during the closure, although some streets will only be partially closed.

More information is available at https://www.dudley.gov.uk/gp-cycling and dudleygrandprix.com.

Buses will continue to operate on July 12. To facilitate this, The Broadway and Union Street will be made temporarily one-way and current one-way orders on Castle Street and New Street will be reversed.

There will be a number of crossing points for pedestrians, and all council-owned car parks in the town centre will be free all day for those wishing to attend and watch the races.

Nicholas McGurk, Dudley Council's director of environment, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Dudley on a national stage.

“We are making all of our car parks free on the day and would urge as many people as possible to come along and watch what promises to be a great spectacle with plenty of thrills and spills.

“To ensure the safety of cyclists and spectators we do need to make a number of road closures, and we have written to residents and businesses affected well in advance to advise them of the restrictions. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The event, made possible with funding from West Midlands Combined Authority and the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund, will open at 4pm with a social community ride running for an hour to allow young families the chance to ride the racecourse.

Anyone who wants to take part in the event, sponsored by Fieldings Auctioneers, can sign up at https://www.dudleygrandprix.com/communityride.

From 5pm until around 5.50pm there will be under 12s, under 14s and under 16s racing sponsored by Jewson, with the regional amateur race starting at 6pm.

The women's national circuit series finale is due to get underway at 7pm, with the event concluding with the men's national circuit series finale starting at 8pm.

All races will start and finish on Priory Road by Dudley College.