Alan Watkins, local government reporter with the Medway Messenger, asks how many more bills are still outstanding following the visit to the Medway Towns of the Tour de France cyclists.

IT WAS Harold Wilson who said a week is a long time in politics.

The same applies to local government in Medway, where in a week, the cost of the Tour de France has gone from a budgeted £86,000 to £482,890. That’s £5,542 for each of the 88 seconds the race passed spectators.

The edition of the Medway Messenger on the Monday before last, reported that the road repair bill to make Medway’s streets safe for the racing cyclists, who would traverse them just once, was £194,000.

By Friday’s edition, the council had come clean and admitted the bill was now a staggering £482,890.

The council had revealed the figures after we filed a Freedom of Information request for the cost of the race.

But that evening, after the paper hit the streets, the council was forced to admit it still doesn’t know the final bill.

The latest cost to emerge was that of the park and ride buses.

They had been introduced on six special routes across Medway. In one case at least, the bus was only able to run twice before the roads were closed.

The final bill for getting people to and from the race track is said to be £4,833.63

It brings the cost of the one-day event with the 88-second race past spectators to £487,723.63.

How many more bills are still outstanding for the Tour de France?