LOCAL IMPACT

In a major change to the 2023 edition of the event the start/finish and Fan Zone have been relocated to Garries Park, Gatehouse of Fleet.

This will significantly reduce impact to the town over the weekend relative to 2023. The Fan Zone will remain accessible to the community, and we look forward to welcoming you to enjoy the spectacle in Garries Park over the event weekend. We have also designed a campsite on the edge of town to provide more accommodation for participants and enable them to remain in and enjoy Gatehouse of Fleet for a longer duration.

To welcome such a spectacular event to the region there will be some inevitable restrictions, delays & traffic management requirements. Impact mitigations have been developed to ensure minimal possible disruption. Support for vulnerable and disabled persons is available and plans to ensure access for carers will be made on a case by case basis.

The area in and around Gatehouse of Fleet will be impacted between Friday, 17 May 2024 and Sunday, 19 May 2024. Detailed road closure and traffic management measures are outlined below.

IMPACT ZONES

With event activities in various parts of Gatehouse of Fleet and across the Galloway region, we’ve separated the impacted areas into a number of main zones. You'll find details for each further down on this page. Emergency access to all impact zones is guaranteed 24/7.

COMMUNITY DROP-IN SESSIONS

We hosted three separate community drop-in sessions in December 2023. Many thanks for all of those who came along and offered their views and suggestions. We hope that you will see the fruition of those conversations in our plans.

SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE AND DISABLED PERSONS

We are readily available to work with you if you are a vulnerable or disabled individual needing personalised mitigation plans. This includes ensuring access for carers is maintained during any road closures. Please reach out to us so that we can discuss your concerns and needs before making a detailed plan to support you. Should you have any further questions please send us an email at info@grallochgravel.com or leave us a voice message at 07539 496854 and we'll call you back at your convenience.

ZONE 1: ANN STREET & HIGH STREET (NORTHEAST OF THE CLOCKTOWER)

Road closure on High Street between junction with Laurieston Road and Clocktower as well as Ann Street from junction with High Street (at the Clocktower) to the gravel track leading to Garries Park entrance (at Bowling Club).

IMPACTS

Parking will be suspended from Friday 09:00hrs to Sunday 00:01hrs.
This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Friday 12:00hrs to Sunday 00:01hrs.

MITIGATIONS

A managed pedestrian crossing point will be installed at the Clocktower on race-day (Saturday, 18 May) . This will allow crossing of the race route between the town centre and Murray Arms Hotel + Masonic Arms.
Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.

ZONE 2: B727

Road closure on B727 from junction High Street and Laurieston Road (at the War Memorial) to left turn onto gravel track after Cally Avenue (OS Grid Ref: NX 60821 56001).

IMPACTS

This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Saturday 09:15hrs to Saturday 11:45hrs to facilitate the safe departure of riders from the start line.

MITIGATIONS

Alternative routes into and out of Gatehouse via the other junction (Cardoness Castle) with the A75 remain fully open and accessible throughout.

ZONE 3: LAURIESTON ROAD

Road closure on Laurieston Road from outskirts of Laurieston (OS Grid Ref: NX 67074 65408) to gravel track (OS Grid Ref: NX 61099 62217).

IMPACTS

This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Saturday 10:00hrs to Saturday 14:15hrs to facilitate safe racing.
Laurieston Road closed from Laghead area (w3w.co/commit.dive.nuns) to the outskirts of Laurieston.

MITIGATIONS

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Help line (phone number) will be available on race day to coordinate vehicle access where possible.

ZONE 4: B796 & CARSTRAMON WOOD

Road closure on B796 (from Big Water of Fleet Viaduct) and road through Carstramon Wood to Finish in Garries Park in Gatehouse of Fleet (including Laurieston Road from junction with road through Carstramon Wood near Gatehouse Golf Course to War Memorial).

IMPACTS

This area will be closed for vehicle traffic from Saturday 12:00hrs to Saturday 19:15hrs to facilitate safe racing.
Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR visitor centre will be closed all day on Saturday (18 May 2024)

MITIGATIONS

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout.
Help line (phone number) will be available on race day to coordinate vehicle access where possible.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is The Gralloch?

The Gralloch is a cycle race for professional cyclists and amateur cyclists. The Gralloch is part of the UCI Gravel World Series. The winners and the first 25% of each age group will be invited to compete in the UCI Gravel World Championships. The competitors will be competing over a 110km course in the Galloway Forest Park. The start and finish of the race is in Garries Park, Gatehouse of Fleet.

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When is The Gralloch?

The Gralloch is being held on May 18^th, 2024. The race starts at 09:45hrs. The final finishers are expected around 19:00hrs.

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Where is The Gralloch being held?

The Start and Finish of The Gralloch is on the High Street in Gatehouse of Fleet. The majority of the route is in the Galloway Forest Park. Sections of the route will be on public road where traffic management restrictions will apply to provide a safe environment for the riders and the public.

The Fan Zone is in Garries Park.

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Who can ride in The Gralloch?

Anyone who wishes to compete can enter The Gralloch (minimum age is 16 on 18.05.2024). The Gralloch is highly inclusive however there are Cut-Off points and any cyclist not reaching those points by a certain time of day will be asked to return to Gatehouse of Fleet via a shortcut and will not be counted as an official finisher.

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How will The Gralloch affect me?

If you are a business we hope that you will have a windfall weekend because of the people coming to ride in or watch The Gralloch. We also hope that the cycling helps to inspire kids to ride their bikes more, particularly with the Kids Races taking place whilst The Gralloch competitors are out racing in the forest.

Impacted businesses should contact us if they need support in planning access for staff and coordinating delivery/collection schedules.

We believe that there will be a long term tourism boost for the area. Needless to say, that the whole community is invited to come and watch the spectacle and enjoy free entertainment in the Fan Zone and get involved in helping us to deliver the event.

We work closely with local clubs, charities and organisations. Let us know if you’d like to get involved. Just drop an email to: info@grallochgravel.com

There will be some inconvenience in putting on such a large event and that comes in the form of some traffic management, road closures and parking bay suspension. We have designed the event to minimise these issues but inevitably there are some unavoidable downsides which we will work hard to help residents with.

There will be some road closures and some traffic management installed on High Street, Ann Street, Laurieston Rd, B796, B727, Carstramon Wood and Queens Way to facilitate rider and public safety.

There will be some parking bay suspensions for the 17^th and 18^th May 2024 during the set up and operations of the event.

If you live in any of the Zones described on this page you will be affected by the traffic management, road closures and parking bay suspensions.

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What is the Fan Zone?

The Fan Zone is a designated area for various activations at the event including but not limited to:

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Event Registration

Stage & Podium

Event Expo

Catering (food and drink)

Talks and Entertainment

Live Music

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The Fan Zone is open and free to attend for everyone (public and participants). The Fan Zone is located in Garries Park.

How much noise will The Gralloch generate?

The Fan Zone will be a busy area and will naturally have background noise of people. There will be talks, live music and entertainment in the Fan Zone as well as the podium presentations. The times during which we expect noise for the stage will be published here as the detailed schedule evolves. There will also be a PA system in the Fan zone for announcements. During opening hours the Fan Zone shall have ambient music playing.

During the hours leading up to the start of The Gralloch there will be music playing through the PA system in the Start and Finish Zone. This will be louder than the music playing in the Fan Zone as its purpose is to build atmosphere. There will be commentary via the PA system throughout the race day.

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How will I be able to catch the Bus?

The bus stop outside the Murray Arms will be relocated to The Ship Inn (subject to final confirmation from the bus operator).

How will I get around if I cannot get to my car?

Our team will work with all disabled and vulnerable people directly affected to develop personal plans to minimise the inconvenience. Alternative parking spaces will also be made available for all those residents impacted by parking bay suspensions.

Will I be compensated for the inconvenience?

The Gralloch organisers work with the community, specifically the Gatehouse Community Council and D&G Council, to bring short- and long-term value to the area which from our experience can be substantial.

The short-term benefits are in the form of trade and excitement with the longer term bring in the form of jobs and economic opportunity for the region.

We do not pay compensation.

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What if I need to leave my house and the road is closed?

In the first instance we ask that any journeys to and from your house are planned to avoid the closed roads.

On race day we will have a telephone number available on the event website. The phone is located in the Event Control Room. Please call us and explain where you are and we can advise you based upon the dynamics of the racing and maintaining a safe environment for the public and the riders. Emergency services will always have immediate access to all areas of the race route. Emergency service representatives will be located in the Event Control Room on race day.

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Where will all the participants park?

A dedicated parking area will be available to all event participants just to the north of Gatehouse of Fleet, along the Old Military Road towards the Big Water of Fleet viaduct (location subject to final confirmation).

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Participants will be informed that using the on-street parking in Gatehouse is not allowed.

Who is managing the road closurers?

The Gralloch organisers are working with one of the largest traffic management contractors in the country.

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Advance warning signage and extensive diversion signage will be installed to ensure all alternative routes are easily accessible.

Community Communications and Legal Status

COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND LEGAL STATUS OF RESTRICTIONS
The following Community Consultation and Communications have been deployed for The Gralloch

‍Gatehouse Community Council (GCC)
‍GCC was approached in November 2022 about the event to determine whether it would be feasible. These conversations have been ongoing constructively ever since.
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‍Dumfries and Galloway Council (D&GC)
‍D&GC was approached in November 2022 about the event to determine whether it would be feasible. These conversations have been ongoing constructively ever since.
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‍Safety Advisory Group (SAG)
‍A Safety Advisory Group within D&GC was formed for the event and has sat on three occasions to ensure that all required standards have been met. The final meeting was last week.

‍Poster Campaigns in Gatehouse of Fleet
‍There have been two poster campaigns in 2023 across Gatehouse of Fleet for the event.
4^th-25^th February - The purpose of this was to invite the community to a consultation session about the event. There was also a strong word of mouth campaign run to make residents aware of the meeting.
15^th April – present - The purpose of this was to invite the Community to look at our website to view the traffic management implications of the event and the local mitigations. Also to give vulnerable residents a forum to make contact with specific concerns.

‍Community Consultation
‍An open Community Consultation meeting took place on 25^th February at the Gatehouse Community Centre at 14:00hrs. The nature of the event and the local impacts with associated mitigations was presented. Over 70 people attended the meeting.

‍Letter Drop
‍A letter drop has been conducted to all residents in the affect areas informing them about the event and inviting them to look at the website for more detailed information and use the form to make contact with specific concerns. This letter drop was performed by hand by The Wheels of Fleets (the event charitable cause) with specific feedback being fed into our office. We have acted on feedback by arranging for alternative parking for displaced vehicles and have issued Parking permits to those residents affected. We have hired the parking at the gatehouse Community Centre for the event and also secured permission to use a small area within Garries Park for vehicles which are unlikely to be used over the weekend.

‍Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO)
‍The SAG process has delivered a TTRO for the event to cover Traffic Management infrastructures and Parking Restrictions. Permission to close roads/suspend parking etc is from Section 14 and 16 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Additionally the event and associated closures have been consented by Scottish Ministers.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Community Communications and Legal Status

RIDE THE GRALLOCH!