A major cycling event will bring 15,000 riders through the streets of Birmingham and Solihull in 2019, organisers have confirmed.

Councillors in Solihull were this week briefed on plans for the Velo Birmingham, a closed road 100-mile route which will take in 29 miles of the borough's roads.

Supporters hope the event - one of the few of its kind in the UK - will boost the local economy and raise the profile of the area, but others are concerned about the impact that road closures will have on residents and businesses.

The inaugural ride, last September, attracted competitors from 34 countries with up to 50,000 spectators lining the route, although some members of the public complained of 'road chaos'.

Velo Birmingham 2017
Velo Birmingham 2017

Jon Ridgeon, executive chairman of event organisers CSM Active, this week sought to allay those fears, arguing that "everything stops" for emergency vehicles and there will be many months' planning to minimise disruption and make the public aware of the event. Although he conceded the team wouldn't win everyone over.

Addressing the cabinet meeting for leisure, tourism and sport, he said that lessons learned from last year's event would be woven into preparations. These include efforts to ensure that leaflet drops are not mistaken for junk mail and assigning marshalls with local knowledge to major junctions.

He said: "These big, big events - be it the London Marathon, the Velo Birmingham, whatever it might be - really bring the community together and it creates an incredible spirit on the day.

"I guarantee you it will happen on May 12.

"It will be a great spectacle to see people get round a 100 miles. Some will find it easy, quite a lot of them will find it quite hard and they'll need a few people cheering them along."

Earlier this year, Solihull's cabinet had agreed that the 2019 ride would pass through the borough (the course for the inaugural event, although equal in distance, had taken in a different route).

Alan Brown, Solihull Council's assistant director for highways and environment, said: "The intention is that no-one will be landlocked within the borough [and] that there is always a way out.

Velo Birmingham 2017
Velo Birmingham 2017

"Everyone who is anywhere near the route will know that this is happening ... there will always be someone who is not happy. As an authority we will have to accept that.

"There will be people who are not pleased we are closing the end of their road for, in some cases, virtually the whole day."

Cllr Joe Tildesley, the cabinet member for leisure, tourism and sport, said: "We want to see as many Silhillians as possible taking part in the event and it's great to hear that our hotels will be full to bursting."

He suggested that it might also be of benefit for Mr Ridgeon to speak to Full Council to discuss the plans.

The ride will start and finish in the centre of Birmingham, with almost 30 miles of the route weaving in and out of Solihull. Organisers say that riders leaving the second city will enter the borough in Fordbridge and then exit into Warwickshire via the Birmingham Road. They will cross the border back into Solihull near Meriden, site of the National Cyclists' Memorial, before "dipping" back into South Warwickshire near Chadwick End. Riders will re-enter the borough for a final time along Packwood Road and then exit again through Shirley.