Ensuring Cheltenham race week ran smoothly

Council officers worked closely with key stakeholders and agencies in the run up to and during the festival, to ensure that everyone was kept as safe as possible.

The festival saw the return of spectators and visitors for the first time since 2020, with tickets selling out on all four days, and a boost of £100m to the local economy.

Cllr Martin Horwood, cabinet member for customer and regulatory services, said: “The festival is a hugely important event for Cheltenham, bringing in thousands of visitors with many positives to the town and its economy. 

‘’But it’s also a big challenge to manage with our partners, to ensure people visiting do so knowing that they will have a safe and enjoyable stay.

“We’ve again worked closely with the police and the racecourse on a number of safety measures. We have put on additional patrols of our licensed premises and taxi ranks to make sure they’re operating safely and lawfully, and we’ve brought in extra toilet facilities around the town and on the route up to the racecourse, supplementing the public toilets available.

“I want to thank Cheltenham Borough Council officers and our partners for all the extra efforts they’ve made during race week. It really does make a difference.”

Other measures in place during race week included:

• Support from the Street Pastors, Student Community Patrol and the Cheltenham Guardians
• The police community hub on the High
• Public toilets in Royal Well and Montpellier staying open until later in to the evening
• Additional taxi marshals on duty for the Montpellier and Promenade taxi ranks
• South Western Ambulance Service’s minor injuries mobile treatment unit in operation, and
• Gloucestershire Constabulary’s mounted police in town during all four evenings.

For media enquiries, contact communications, telephone 01242 264154, email [email protected].

Notes:

• The races bring around an extra 65,000 people into the over the four day festival. See facts and statistics on The Jockey Club website: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/events-tickets/the-festival/about-the-event/key-facts-stats-and-figures/.
• For 2022, additional around the town centre to complement the public ones already in place throughout race week. ­­­There were also portaloos­­­­ at exit areas to the racecourse.
• Residents are always encouraged to report any unacceptable behaviour to the police. Reporting helps target patrols and inform planning for the next race event; they can also speak to police officers nearby or call 101 or report via the Gloucestershire Police website: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/ro/report/.
• The residents to report any concerns directly to their team: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/about/contact/.