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Cheltenham evacuation fear9th March 2008
Cheltenham officials were bracing themselves tonight (Sunday) for a possible eve-of-festival evacuation, as the spectre of severe gales threatened to wreak havoc with preparations.
Managing director Edward Gillespie is taking no chances, and said on Sunday afternoon: "We've taken off the roof of the Guinness stand as a precaution. We've chosen to do that now because, if the winds were to be very strong and cause it to tear tonight or tomorrow morning, we would not have time to sort it out ready for Tuesday.
"We simply can't take any chances this close to the festival, so we're doing all we can to minimise the risks.
"We've also informed them of the possible need to evacuate the course if the winds are very strong tomorrow as, if that turns out to be the case, there may be debris flying about.
"We've told staff that, whatever they're doing, they may need to move out quickly, and we feel that it's much better to have them all informed of the potential problems in advance, insteadof waiting until a difficulty arises."
A memo issued to staff on Sunday instructed: "Once wind speed approaches 40mph, all areas below the horsewalk will be evacuated.
"All catering staff, catering suppliers and contractors for the entire site (not just below the horsewalk), should proceed to the Centaur building."
The likelihood of severe gales hitting the track was assessed at "40 per cent" by a Met Office spokesman on Sunday, down from 70 per cent 24 hours earlier.
The spokesman said: "There is a 40 per cent chance Cheltenham will be affected by severe gales, either overnight on Sunday or during the rush-hour period on Monday morning.
"It looks set to be very stormy, with the potential for structural damage and disruption to traffic movement."
Gillespie added: "We're aware of the downgraded change to the weather forecast, which is very welcome, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case the revised predictions prove inaccurate, so we're making provisions based on what needs to be done to complete the work safely."
No further watering will be carried out at Cheltenham, where 3mm of rain fell on Saturday, mainly overnight, and the official going report has been amended marginally.
Clerk of the course Simon Claisse said on Sunday: "We are good on the Old course; good on the cross-country course; good, good to soft in places on the New course.
"We've been told to expect 1mm of rain today, 9-11mm tomorrow and 3-4mm on Tuesday, so we've decided not to water again."