The Cheltenham Paint Festival is taking place over the coming weekend (7th and 8th September) and this year Cheltenham Borough Homes (CBH) managed properties will be featuring.

Back for its third year and bigger than ever, the festival will bring 100 of the finest street artists from around the world to Cheltenham - transforming buildings in 25 different locations with their creative visuals and bringing a splash of colour to the town.

This year the festival has partnered with Cheltenham Literature Festival, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. To celebrate the anniversary, the artists have been working on a theme of 'Hurrah for Books' - the name of the closing event at the first ever Literature Festival.

Festival Director Andy 'Dice' Davies approached CBH last autumn with a vision for bringing the paint festival to a new audience.

Following discussions with CBH, Cheltenham Borough Council and tenants, the proposals to paint gable ends of some of the properties along Princess Elizabeth Way and create an exciting avenue of art called The ARTery were approved. The first installation will be painted on Arundel House on Princess Elizabeth Way, with artist Dan Kitchener aka DANK painting the north end of the wall.

The project has already begun and will run until the weekend, when visitors from all over the country will be in Cheltenham to see the incredible art and the artists in action.

Paul Stephenson, chief executive at Cheltenham Borough Homes, said: "We were really impressed with the standard of the artwork around Cheltenham last year and a lot of our tenants were too. We had some people asking us why the art wasn't making its way over to the west of Cheltenham, so we looked at how we could help bring art into the area.

"We're really pleased we've been able to offer these gable ends to Andy and the team - which will see them transformed into works of art for the community and visitors to enjoy. It's a vibrant part of Cheltenham and we think it's only right that an event like this comes to the whole town."

Andy 'Dice' Davies, said: "Some of these artists are world renowned, so it's a really massive coup for us to get them here in Cheltenham. You only have to look at how popular the street art scene is in places like Bristol and London to see how much it is appreciated and regarded as art in its own right.

"We've got two brilliant artists in Inkie and Dan Kitchener coming to do the work on Princess Elizabeth Way. Their pieces are truly breathtaking and I am sure the residents will absolutely love their work."

The festival is free of charge and maps will be available from locations throughout Cheltenham ahead of the weekend and from volunteers around town during the weekend.

CBH will be posting pictures of the work in progress throughout the week leading up to the festival, which will be shared through the @CheltBoroHomes Facebook and Twitter pages.

For more information on the event, visit: www.cheltenhampaintfestival.co.uk or follow them on Instagram at @cheltenhampaintfestival for updates.