COUNCILLORS in Monmouthshire will consider supporting the Velothon in future years after receiving feedback gathered after this year's event.

The cycling event saw around 12,000 amateur and professional cyclists take to a 140km track which stretched around South East Wales and involved sections of the course snaking through Monmouthshire.

The council's internal debrief, which will be presented the members of the Economy and Development Select Committee, reveal detailed comments raised by partners and stakeholders at a meeting in June.

These notes were used for the full event debrief compiled by event organisers Run4Wales and the Welsh Government.

The 11 members contributing to the debrief were asked to assess the council's approach and planning of this year's Velothon under several headings such as communications and publicity, traffic management planning, risk management and accountability.

Positives brought up by contributors include the general consensus that the event was better than the previous year's event, with less queries and complaints received by the council than in 2015.

Other areas of the event that were praised included the improvement of communications with residents and community groups as well as a good working relationship with Run4Wales chief Nigel Russell.

Addressing the problems that were encountered, deputy council leader Bob Greenland claimed that Cardiff claimed "all of the benefits whilst Monmouthshire residents paid the price of the road closures."

Local ward members and residents expressed disappointment in a lack of communications with organisers and stewards, with many having concerns over the hiring of stewards without local knowledge of the affected areas.

Another frequent complaint was littering left by competitors and the lack of toilet facilities along the rote, with Usk's feeding station reportedly having only four Portaloos for 8,000 cyclists.

Potential improvements for future events included the promotion of cycling in communities leading up to the Velothon, improved communications and better methods of coping with littering and toilet facilities.

Councillors provisionally supported the county's hosting of the Velothon 2017 event in October, however the decision came after a lengthy and heated debate between several members.