Cheltenham has declared a 'war on wee' ahead of this year's horse racing festival - with locals fed up of "shameless" punters urinating in public. The town's borough council says it has had enough of racegoers ignoring temporary toilets and relieving themselves "brazenly".
So hydrophobic paint - which repels liquids - is being made available to residents and business for the first time ahead of the 2023 meet. The well-heeled town swells in population during the popular event, with record crowds expected again.
Upwards of 250,000 revellers descend on the racecourse then venture down the hill to the pubs and bars in the centre. Cllr Max Wilkinson, of Cheltenham Borough Council, said he hopes the new initiative will stop 'brazen' behaviour.
He said: "Public urination at any time is disgusting and we shouldn't have to put up with this anymore. Last year, I saw a line of men brazenly weeing against a wall near the town centre, while hundreds of people sat in traffic queues just yards away - they were totally shameless. I'm sure the prospect of wet trousers will make people think twice, even if they think they won't get caught and fined."
The council says it aims to make the hydrophobic paint available well in advance of and asks businesses and residents to register their interest. The Cheltenham Business Improvement District (BID) is supporting the council’s roll out of hydrophobic paint.
Heath Gunter, chief executive at the BID, said: “We are hoping that the hydrophobic paint will discourage individuals from urinating on the walls in town. Such behaviour is unpleasant to witness and creates extra cleaning responsibilities for local businesses."
The council says it is also working with the police and racecourse officials to tackle the problem. It says there will be an increase in the number of temporary public toilets, visibility at key points and junctions and issue fixed penalty notices where necessary for those who still chose to urinate in public. This year's festival runs from March 14 to March 17.
