Cheltenham residents want more loos on 'golden mile'

It is not often that locals will ask the council to provide more holes in the ground, but Cheltenham residents have made that top of the wishlist for the borough council's overview and scrutiny committee to prevent misbehaviour by racegoers heading into the town after the Open meeting.

Portaloos are put in place for the festival, but with crowds at Cheltenham's other major meetings increasing year on year residents are finding problems more frequently along what has been tagged the 'golden mile' back into town from the track.

According to Gloucestershire Live, Lib Dem councillor Dennis Parsons told a meeting of the committee: "The Open has 30,000 people. So does New Year's Day. Even the late-January meeting has 20,000. I can't justify to residents why we won't have more toilets put out for at least the Open."

He added: "I get no complaints about unlicensed taxis. Residents don't care at all. The overwhelming issue is the toilet habits of drunk men. And it's not just men urinating, some go into gardens and blocks of flats and defecate."

The Open meeting, the first major three-day fixture of the jumps season, takes place in 11 weeks. The current cost of providing temporary toilets for the festival is about £10,000, most of which is paid by the racecourse.

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