Local authority support for the Ilkley leg of next year’s Tour de France is getting up to speed with Bradford Council doing a U-turn on discussions about opening a campsite.

Land at East Holmes Field owned by the Council is now likely to be run and managed by Ilkley Cycling Club, says a Council spokesman.

“Although no formal agreement is as yet in place, we are working on it at present,” he said.

The news was welcomed by parish councillor Bryan Websdale, who said a central camp site in the town would be essential if businesses and traders were to get the most out of the 2014 Grand Depart.

“We’ve heard that about 85 per cent of the town’s beds are already booked up – so we are definitely going to need this site.

“If Ilkley wants to get the maximum potential from bringing in visitors and encouraging them to stay for a while then the campsite is going to be the answer.

“The roads in to town will be more or less closed off for that weekend so unless people are planning on walking in, using their own bikes or travelling in by train they will have to be here for the Friday and need a place to stay.

“In my view Bradford Council is coming up to speed now and are having more conversations with us. At first it was a ‘no’ to camping in the town but now it seems they have taken a 180-degree turn and are saying ‘Okay let’s talk about it’. They are drawing up a draft contract.”

This week Coun Websdale met Welcome To Yorkshire and a new organising committee, TDF 2014 Ltd, to put forward ideas the town has already come up with to put Yorkshire firmly on the world map. “We are coming up with events and ideas that we know we can put on now without having to wait to see if we get funding – they liked that,” he said.

Anyone wanting to get involved with organising events as part of the Grand Depart 2014 celebration should contact Ilkley Parish Council so a diary can be set up.

The meeting at Welcome to Yorkshire came a day after revelations there had been tension between government officials and the Yorkshire-based team that secured the 2014 event, including a move to withhold funding and even to re-brand it as an all-England event – removing the Yorkshire name.

However, chief executive of Welcome To Yorkshire Gary Verity (pictured above) said those revelations were four months old now and a new organising committee had now been set up since to work more positively with government bodies.

He said: “We are working in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Leeds City Council, UK Sport and other partners to deliver, in 11 months’ time, a Grand Départ of the Tour de France that will put Yorkshire on the map globally and maximise the economic impact for the county before the race heads south for a third stage from Cambridge to London.

“All parties are committed to ensuring the race is a huge success for Yorkshire and for the rest of the country.”

Coun Websdale said: “It’s disappointing to hear there has been some mistrust and animosity but that is all behind us now.

“It’s important to look ahead and make this a success that will leave Ilkley with a long-term legacy.”

Ilkley Cycling Club chairman Katherine Church said: “We want to help create a festival atmosphere in Ilkley for the fortnight around the weekend of the Grand Depart, that everyone can enjoy and remember – residents and visitors.

“The campsite proposal is part of that – to help meet the demand from UK and overseas tourists for accommodation along the route, and maximise the opportunities from the Tour for Ilkley businesses. We’re looking forward to working on other projects around the Grand Depart with Bradford Council, the Parish Council and others in the year ahead.”