Cheltenham launches better behaviour drive following disgust at festival antics

Cheltenham is seeking to promote better behaviour from racegoers outside the course at this week’s Paddy Power meeting after locals complained of punters urinating and defecating in public places between the town centre and the track during the Cheltenham Festival.

Extra staff will be present around the course on Saturday as part of a trial for the new Love Our Turf campaign, which will be launched in full at the festival in March.

Particular focus is being placed on the Evesham Road route between Cheltenham town centre and the track on Saturday, with stewards, enhanced street cleaning, more bins and increased toilet facilities to be deployed.

In March, locals were shocked and disgusted as they reported drunk racegoers resorting to publicly urinating in nearby Pittville Park and in front gardens, as well as engaging in abusive confrontations with motorists. Social media posts also claimed some racegoers had defecated in areas outside of the racecourse.

Andre Klein, Cheltenham’s community engagement manager, said: “We absolutely recognised the feedback from members of our local community and racegoers that there was a need for us to enhance the experience of pedestrians arriving and departing from the racecourse, and we hope that Love Our Turf will go some way to delivering that.

“Additional wayfinders and stewards, as well as the provision of additional facilities and amenities should alleviate many of the concerns raised by our local residents.

“We are really excited about this new initiative and know we will learn plenty from our experience on Saturday that we can take forward to March, to ensure that the negative impact our events have on the community are massively reduced and just as importantly that our racegoers' journeys are significantly improved.”

The Love Our Turf campaign, which has been arranged with input from police and local businesses, is set to be launched more formally before the festival in March.

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