Paddy Power’s Cheltenham Sign

As some of you may be aware the Cheltenham Horse racing festival came to a climax yesterday with the Gold Cup race. Given the race was run by a locally trained horse there is no doubt that my home town was party central last night. There appears to be a more pressing issue for local residents that looks set to rumble on for a while.

At the start of the festival week the bookmakers Paddy Power erected the worlds longest free-standing advertising sign on Cleeve Hill, overlooking the racecourse. The sign is 270ft long and 50ft tall, weighs 100 tonnes and took three years to make.

Now the festival is over a heated argument is under way. The local council have demanded that Paddy Power remove the sign by this evening, whereas the bookmaker is keen to make it a permanent fixture in the county. Many local residents are concerned about the visual impact upon the local environment (an interesting example of a negative externality). I will keep you posted as to the outcome!