Henley Royal Regatta risks being blighted by overflowing bins

Telegraph Reporters

Updated 28 June 2017 at 1:32 pm

Spectators gather on the Berkshire side of the River Thames during day one of the 2016 Henley Royal Regatta - PA

Henley Royal Regatta, one of the society events of the season, risks being blighted by overflowing bin bags, residents have warned.

Visitors to the regatta, which began on Wednesday and runs through the weekend, face the stench of rubbish in the streets each evening, it has been claimed.

Henley’s mayor she had seen bags building up, adding: “It smells awful, it looks awful and if it carries on it is going to be huge issue in very prominent public places.”

Spectators duck under a boat as a crew carry it to the water at the Henley - Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Image — Spectators duck under a boat as a crew carry it to the water at the Henley Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Image

Her deputy added: "We don't want the town to look a mess for visitors. We want it to look beautiful for the regatta."

Residents have expressed concern that rubbish on the streets will put visitors off returning.

More than 200,000 people are expected to visit Henley Regatta between Wednesday and Sunday, followed by the five-day Henley Festival next week.

Spectators shelter under umbrellas - Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire — Spectators shelter under umbrellas Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak said: "They need to make a special effort to do with Henley in terms of double emptying of bins and really cleaning the streets.

"It's cleaning for the regatta and the festival but it's important at all times of year. We need to have a better service... You can go out for a nice meal in the evening and have to look at bags of rubbish. That's not acceptable."

Town councillor Ken Arlett said: “It's like graffiti - if you don't remove it, more people add to it.

"Do people come into the town expecting to see rubbish all over the town? The simple answer is no.

"This is not rocket science - we want to the town, and the rest of the district, to look clean."

A district council spokesman said: "We are not aware of any problems with the frequency of litter bin emptying in Henley.

"Our street cleaner in the town centre empties the bins we are responsible for on a daily basis and more frequently if required.

"There have been some recent incidents where bags of household waste have been left next to litter bins. We have added signs to bins where this has been a problem and have also written to people we believe are responsible.

"If residents spot any bins that are overflowing can report them to us using via the report it form on our website."