THE arrival of the Tour de France in York in early July promises to be one of the great sporting and spectator events in this city’s history.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the rights of ordinary citizens should be ignored in the city’s haste to accommodate the event. There has been anger from the outset over the way the council’s plans to use Monk Stray as a “camping and event hub” have been managed.

The plans to use the stray were advertised before any consultation had even been carried out.

And there were claims that at one subsequent consultation meeting there was a slow handicap when residents were told there would be only limited time for questions.

Almost 300 “representations” – many of them letters of objection – have now been submitted to the authority ahead of next week’s licensing committee which will decide whether to go ahead with the plans.

The letters raise all the issues you might expect – everything from worries about noise and public nuisance, to concerns about drunken and disorderly behaviour. It is a desperate shame that York’s preparations to welcome this great event have been marred by disagreements such as this.

But the fact remains that the plans to use Monk Stray have been poorly handled.

Many local people feel they were kept in the dark for far too long. That is unacceptable.

It may be too late now for the council to abandon its plans to use the stray. But locals must be given assurances on some of the issues about which they have raised concerns.

An apology for the way the whole issue has been handled wouldn’t go amiss either.