Temporary Prohibition of Road Traffic
(ÖTILLÖ Event, The Strand, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly) Order 2017
Name of Event
Ötillö Swim Run Wold Series
Date - Times of Restrictions
0900 hrs on Friday 16th of June 2017 to 1200 hrs on Monday, 19th June 2017 inclusive.
Road Affected
The Lower Strand, Hugh Town, St Mary's, from its junction with Well Cross for its entire length to its junction with The Parade at the top of the community park.
Nature of Restriction
Prohibition of all vehicles using the road affected for the period that road closure signs are in place with the exception of Emergency Services vehicles and vehicles in connection with the event.
Vehicular access to premises along the road affected will also be prohibited during the period of closure.
On-street parking of vehicles will not be allowed on The Lower Strand during the period of the road traffic prohibition.
The rights of pedestrians (including pedestrian access to properties) is not affected. Cyclists must dismount and not cycle on The Lower Strand.
Background Information
Swim Run is a team-sport based on two persons travelling through nature and time, completely dependent of each other. The team alternates between running and swimming along a pre-marked course in nature; it can be between islands or between lakes, racing within 10 metres of each other.
The event is staged by Ötillö founder and race director Michael Lemmel and is extremely popular internationally. This is the second year that the event will take place on the islands. For the Isles of Scilly qualifier they have 200 registered runners and the event founder, Mr Lemmel, is working closely with the Island Partnership and the Council of the Isles of Scilly to ensure its success.
As a result it has been identified through a risk assessment that the area around Lower Strand, where the organising, briefing, and feeding of the competitors takes place should be closed to traffic.
Information
The international event was established in 2006 by Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott and has grown in popularity and locations, as such the hazard imposed through pedestrian and traffic conflict, it is desirable for public safety measures to prevent access for vehicles at periods when the area is congested by pedestrians.
This year they have they would like to introduce the Isles of Scilly to their event and host a qualifying round across the islands. We seek permission by the Secretary of State for this event as the road closure is more than 3 days long.
The event itself is held in the water and on land. The Lower Strand is adjacent to Holgate’s green and would be used as the event’s meeting point. It is not practicable to hold the event elsewhere. Many hundreds of competitors and spectators will congregate in this area.
In 2006 Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott were asked if they could make a commercial race out of a challenge thought up in the spare time. The first couple of years only 11 teams started and only two managed to finish within the time limits. Then something happened and the teams learned that the only way to race is by not stopping, with constant movement. Today the race is internationally recognized as the SWIMRUN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and has been ranked by CNN as one of the toughest races in the World.
The Council of the Isles of Scilly will take steps to ensure that access for Emergency Service vehicles is safeguarded.
The order has been approved by the Council’s Senior Manager: Infrastructure & Planning, on 12th April 2017.
A notice of the order was published in The Cornishman newspaper 8 weeks in advance of the event.
As a result of the closure the following measures will take effect:-
Alternative routes for traffic entering and leaving the town centre will be signed and will include a diversion for traffic from the West at The Parade and likewise a diversion, for traffic approaching from the East, along Church Road. As Well Cross is only used for access to the Strand a road closed sign will be established at its junction with Lower Strand.