Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Spectre of coach ban in tourist village hotspot
COACHES could be banned altogether from one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Cotswolds if a solution is not found to the “ongoing nightmare” caused by the lack of parking.
The privately owned Hacklings’ car park in Station Road in Bourtonon-the-Water ceased taking coaches from December 31 and coaches are already causing problems in the village.
The village used to get around 3,000 coaches a year and last year 160,000 tourists visited the village by coach.
The peak season for visitors is from March to September but villagers say the lack of parking for coaches has already made it a nightmare with coach drivers blocking the Co-op, dropping people off and then backing into residential streets to turn around.
If it gets to a point where residents cannot stand the problem the coaches could be banned from the village altogether. This is seen by councillors as the “nuclear option”.
Cotswold District Council says that, despite working hard over the past two years, they have not been able to find a solution to the coach parking problem in Bourton.
Traders are extremely concerned about this as they are already facing loss of up £2m due to the lack of parking for coaches. And coach firms are considering removing Bourton from their itineraries altogether.
Andrew Lund-Yates, owner of The Old New Inn and Model Village, is among those who are concerned.
“There’s uncertainty over where coaches can safely unload and park their guests,” he said.
“Without a solution there will be a detrimental fall-off in coach visits because they are publishing tours worldwide for 12 months.
“They are committed to this year but if there are too many problems with logistics this year then Bourton will be removed completely from itineraries next year. That’s our main worry.
“Worldwide we are suffering bad press that there are no facilities for coaches and they are having to make their own arrangements and drop off safely, turn around and park safely where they can.
“No matter what we suggest, any solution relies on Gloucestershire highways, Cotswold District Council or Bourton Parish Council agreeing.”
Coach passengers spend proportionately more than car visitors on their day outs to Bourton, Mr LundYates added.
“If we don’t get coaches, local businesses are facing a loss of, conservatively, we think about £1.5m and £2m a year,” he said.
Allan Hymers, of Cotswold Ice Creams, said the village relies on coach visitors for trade in the winter.
“It’s not about when the place is packed in summer,” he said. “It’s about how these people are going to trade in the winter when our only trade is coaches coming into the village.
“A total of 160,000 visitors came to the village on coaches last year – we know that for a fact.
“Now it’s causing problems because the coaches are going into the village.
“They will still come to the Cotswolds but look at what problems Bibury, Stow and Moreton-inMarsh are having as well. “They are all really struggling because people still want to come to the Cotswolds and they still want to go out on coaches for the day.
“People who haven’t got cars, people like my mother, who go out for the day with their friends, who stop here and there, there’s nowhere to go.”
He believes the best solution would be to provide coach drop off points at the Rissington Road car park.
“Cotswold District Council can easily do something about this,” he said.
“There’s a big car park in Rissington Road and it’s empty eight months of the year.
“It’s only during the peak when it’s full. All we need is a drop-off point. Drop them and we can get the coaches out of the village and put them in a place we are ready to rent. But we can’t do it if there’s nowhere to drop.”
Councillor Len Wilkins, who represents Bourton at district and parish level, says he is concerned about the situation.
“Balancing the needs of residents, businesses and visitors is difficult and at the moment there is no solution,” he said. “Let’s hope that between us we can get to one.”
A Cotswold District Council spokesperson said unfortunately no solution has been found despite their best efforts.
“No stone has been left unturned and we will continue to work with the county council, police, local businesses and the parish council to help manage coach visits to the village.
“In our efforts to solve the issue and support local businesses, the district council and its chief executive have been leading a group of local community organisations to explore alternative options for the past 12 months.
“This group included local businesses, the county council and the parish council.
“The group explored using land at Cotswold School, creating drop-off bays in the village, the use of land at the industrial estate and the council’s Rissington Road car park, none of which were deemed to be feasible for a number of reasons.
“In the case of the council’s car park, this was due to unaffordable costs, loss of vital car parking spaces, including losing disabled bays, and impact on the road network.”