Cheltenham Festival barriers will 'block disabled family in'

A disabled mother and daughter say they fear they will become isolated when barriers are installed outside their home ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.

Alice Reeve, 47, and her mother, Annie, 78, said the barriers were due to return on Monday and blocked the drive when they were tested in November.

They will be used for traffic and crowd management for the four-day event.

The Jockey Club has said it will "ensure that any inconvenience will be kept to an absolute minimum".

Annie is visited by carers three times a day and NHS nurses visit her several times a week.

She has also called paramedics to her home several times in the past year.

She has had heart failure and is immobile due to bad hips and said: "My only real pleasure in life is my visitors, whether they're lifelong friends or my carers.

"I will be very sad if access problems mean they're unable to visit me during the Cheltenham Festival."

Ms Reeve, who suffers from Lyme Disease, said her house was a few hundred yards from Cheltenham Racecourse on the direct route from the track to the town centre.

The racecourse's November 2022 meeting was used as a practice run for festival traffic and crowd management, Ms Reeve said.

Consequently barriers were erected along Evesham Road, at times, completely blocking her drive.

"Vehicles could not get into or out of my drive," she said.

Ms Reeve contacted the racecourse again last week after seeing on their website the same set-up would be in operation during the festival next week.

"The upshot was the barriers will remain in place but could be moved temporarily if essential visitors to my home announce themselves to stewards patrolling Evesham Road," Ms Reeve said.

"So under the barrier system, ambulances will have to wait while the obstacles are moved before they can get into my driveway."

Ms Reeve said her mother's carers sometimes only stayed for 30 minutes per session and she was concerned their time would be wasted trying to attract someone's attention for the barriers to be moved to allow access to the property.

She raised the issue with Gloucestershire County Council's traffic manager.

"He has been in touch with the racecourse, whose officials were very apologetic and said they will get extra personnel in the area. But the barriers will remain.

"It is not good enough," she said.

A spokesperson for the Jockey Club said it had "reviewed all the feedback, in particular from local residents" after November's trial and it had "made some changes that should alleviate" their concerns.

"Whilst the one way system will remain in situ, the hours it operates will be kept to a minimum," they said.

"Our stewards and traffic team are also prepared and authorised to hold traffic and reverse the flow to assist local residents in case of emergencies."

A spokesman for Gloucestershire County Council said: "We have worked with the police and racecourse to mitigate the risk of pedestrians in the carriageway, while maintaining access for residents.

"These barriers do not block anyone in and are there to help ensure everyone's safety and access. There will be extra staff from the racecourse and traffic management company on site to help with any issues and there will be no impact on emergency services vehicles needing to travel through.

"These measures will be reviewed after the event and we are happy to discuss any feedback residents may have."

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