HOWLS of protest have exploded across Abergavenny and Usk with residents and businesses claiming they are 'prisoners for the day' when the Velothon Wales cycle race comes to town this weekend.

Some 15,000 cyclists will breeze through the beautiful countryside on Sunday leaving a flood of ugly comments in their wake from those inconvenienced by the showcase event organised by the Welsh government.

Strings of businesses have complained they will lose precious income as prolonged road closures leave them cut off from potentially lucrative custom at the height of the visitor season.

Local residents are similarly miffed as they find themselves isolated from the rest of the world for most of the morning and afternoon.

Anna Jones, who runs the Usk Garden Centre at Llanbadoc, is enraged that her operation will lose an estimated £15,000 takings because she is in the heart of the event organisers' traffic-closed no-go zone.

And Ben Jones, who lives at Grove Farm, Llanfoist, is considering taking out an infringement injunction against Velothon Wales as he and 13 other family members and neighbours at the farm become prisoners in their own home for most of the hours of daylight.

'This is nine hours of infringement of my liberty. I can't get out for nine hours - and I'm hopping mad about it," he spat.

Ben, who described himself as a "committed cyclist" added, "There must be hundreds of other people like us who will be confined to barracks - their liberty denied them. It's just appalling."

Many of the critics of the event are angry they have not been consulted about the massive disruption to their lives. And a good number tried to register their fury on a Velothon Wales telephone Helpline which one said was "like speaking to a brick wall."

Even a wedding couple from the Midlands and Griffthstown have had their perfect day marred by the event.

A last-minute special escort has been provided to get the bride and groom to their wedding on time at the Glen Yr Afon House Hotel on the Pontypool Road at Usk.

And similar special arrangements have been drawn up to make sure the guests also get to the nuptials at 2pm.

Wedding headache

The hotel's wedding organiser, Carol Knight, said, "It's been a massive headache for us - and caused extreme anxiety for the bride and groom."

She accused event organisers of a "complete lack of thought" in drawing up the race plan without any consideration to locals and the business community.

"It really is quite shocking," she complained.

She estimated that at least 60 covers would be lost for their popular Sunday lunch session on the day...at a cost to the hotel of several thousand pounds.

Also affected is the Monmouthshire Golf Club at Llanfoist where a weekend competition has had to be re-scheduled to accommodate the army of two wheelers.

Secretary Claire Sobik said the club would not be too badly affected because the organisers had allowed a 'window' for movement in and out of the Llanfoist club between 1.30pm and 2pm.

'The golf course will still be open. The window is a real help," she said.

Less happy is neighbour Richard Lewis who runs the Middle Ninfa camp site and bunkhouse at Llanellen.

He fears his visitors - as many as 30-40 of them - could be trapped on the site all day if there is no leeway.

He had not been told of any 'window' to ease the trauma of non-movement.

'Sunday is our main leaving day. Why do they have to close the road for nine hours? It need only be for half-an-hour while the riders pass through.'

He was left exasperated after airing his frustrations on a Velothon Helpline where all he could do was leave a message about his concerns.

"No one has got back to me. The communication for this event is extremely poor. In fact there is none at all. The short notice given to businesses about the closure arrangements actively discourage people from making protests," he thundered.

Richard, a former chairman of the Abergavenny Cycling Group, said, 'No one will support cycling events around Abergavenny after this. I am now totally against them after what's happened."

He later revealed that organisers had since made contact and arranged some exit times to ease the hassle.

Equally annoyed by the mess have been luxury fashion designers Charles and Patricia Lester from Llanfoist whose previous clients have included royalty and Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand.

Outrageous

Charles barked, "It's just outrageous that people are not able to leave their homes. We've got to get to a fashion show near Usk on Sunday - and we are stuck here."

He says he is minded to ignore the road closure restrictions and make his way to the fashion show after collecting garments in Abergavenny.

"This is a serious problem for us so I telephoned the given help number. I was told I would have to walk. Firstly, what right do they have to confine people to their own homes?

"Secondly, I am a Blue Badge holder. I've slipped a disc. Walking just 20 yards is very painful - let alone the two miles to the studios. The helpline had no answer to this and said someone would call me back. Of course, no one has."

And he promised, "I am planning to flout the closure signs especially as the police said it was not a police matter. Whoever organised this did not think it through."

Anna Jones, a joint owner of the Usk Garden Centre at Llanbadoc, fears she will lose as much as £15,000 revenue on the day.

And this she could ill afford as for half-a-year the business "haemorrhages cash."

Some staff would have to come in at 5am to water plants - including 200 hanging baskets for Cwmbran Town Council - because access would be denied after 7.30am and restrictions would extend right through to 3.30pm.

"I really don't know how this can be allowed. And they are planning to do this for the next five years. The disruption and losses are vast. There has been no apology or offer of compensation. I have not got the time or money to pursue this legally," she said.

She added, "I think the organisers have been flabbergasted by the bad press they are getting for this. They thought people would be grateful for the revenue coming into the area. It's not coming to us."

The Velothon starts and finishes in Cardiff. The Monmouthshire section includes Caerleon, later making its way to Usk and through to Little Mill, Llanellen, Llanfoist and then on to the Blorenge Mountain for the Tumble climb.

The race, unlike similar cycling spectaculars, has not been organised by Monmouthshire County Council but by a company, Lagardere, on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Deputy MCC Leader with cabinet responsibility for Innovation, Enterprise and Leisure, Councillor Bob Greenland commented: "Cycling is an excellent leisure activity and leads to improved health. Cycling events can also bring benefits to the local economy. On the other side of the coin it is true that on the day of an event, road closures can have a negative impact on those living and operating businesses along the route.

"So with events that it organises, MCC has been careful to consult early and to take necessary measures to reduce disruption to the minimum."

He added, "The Velothon is outside MCC control. Regrettably, this particular event brings with it long periods of road closures.

"Unfortunately there has not been the consultation with those adversely affected that we were expecting.

"Consequently officers from across council departments will be on hand from early morning until the event has passed through to help minimise disruption and to deal with emergency situations."

Negative comments around the organisation of the event has also spread to the Welsh Assembly.

Local Assembly Member Nick Ramsay has sent an urgent message to the Welsh Government Transport Minister, Edwina Hart, expressing his concern about the event.

He has received a large number of letters and emails from constituents in recent days who have only just heard that the event is taking place in their area with resulting road closures.

He said this week, "It's clear that the communication with local businesses and the public generally in advance of this event has been woefully inadequate.

"It is completely unacceptable that Monmouthshire businesses are being affected in this way and for such an extended period of time. This should never have got to this point.

"I am raising this with the Welsh Government urgently, and expect immediate action. At the very least I would expect a measure of compensation for the businesses affected.

"It is madness that the economic harm to businesses risks outweighing any benefits of an event like this."

A Welsh government spokesman said disruptions were 'inevitable' with such a major event. Concerns voiced by some had been recognised. The hope was the race would cause minimum disruption. The aim was to provide a safe and enjoyable spectacle.

Traffic-free appeal

A spokeswoman for Velothon Wales accepted that some people would "experience difficulties" on the day.

She said, "Velothon Wales has already proved to be a very popular event, with up to 15,000 riders set to take part and up to 10,000 more visiting to spectate.

"The reason for its appeal is that this is a 'closed road' event, with cyclists able to ride this scenic route completely traffic-free.

"Velothon Wales is expected to bring a £2million boost to the Welsh economy overall.

"However, we do understand that, while many businesses – particularly in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors – will benefit, some others may experience difficulties on the day of the event because of the road closures."

She added, "Over the past six months, we have been engaging with hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents along the route to inform them of the event and the associated road closures so that they can plan around it. We have also been working with the local authorities who have also consulted with local residents and businesses."

Monmouth MP David Davies has launched a stinging attack on the organisers of the Velothon cycle race, brandishing their communications strategy "a disgrace".

About 15,000 professional and amateur cyclists will come to south Wales as Cardiff hosts Sunday's event.

The 140km (87m) race will also force main roads in Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen and Monmouthshire to close between 7:30am and 5pm.

Mr Davies said the closures will cause chaos as competitors cycle through Monmouthshire, imprisoning residents in their homes and costing businesses thousands of pounds in lost trade.

When speaking with Lagardere, the company organising Velothon Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government, he claims he was given "a load of factually incorrect information".

"I rang up the Velothon help desk to query arrangements for the event and they were very heavy-handed," said Mr Davies.

"I was told the route and associated road closures shouldn't have been a surprise as MPs had been told about it in April.

"This simply isn't true. I pointed out that I was an MP and there were no MPs in April as Parliament had been dissolved and we were in the middle of a General Election campaign.

"Indeed, many people had been unaware of the implications of the event until recently when a leaflet was pushed through letter boxes."

After being transferred to senior management, Mr Davies was then told public meetings had been held in Monmouthshire for local businesses.

"I asked them where and when and they couldn't tell me, eventually replying that it was a "consultation paper" not a public meeting," he added.

Compensation call

"I have heard the organisers are getting a huge sum of money for arranging the Velothon but they can't even get their facts right. Their communications strategy has been shockingly poor and is nothing short of a disgrace."

Mr?Davies has also written to Edwina Hart highlighting the strength of local feeling and the 'increased level of anger among businesses and residents' and suggesting that the 'financial harm to businesses risks outweighing the predicted £2million boost to the wider Welsh economy'.

He said that in light of the potential loss of more than £80,000 to just a few highlighted businesses provisions should be made to compensation to be paid to counter the detrimental effect on trade.