County council decides against full ban from Cotswolds village as the spillover from Bourton-on-the-Water closure continues
A temporary coach parking trial put in place in Bibury is working well in its early stages, according to Gloucestershire County Council (GCC).
A threatened complete ban on coaches from the village was averted when the council decided instead to replace parking spaces with drop-off points.
During the trial, which began on 23 May and is set to last until 22 June, coach operators who drop off in Bibury face a 12-mile round-trip to reach the recommended parking layby outside the village.
The increased volume of visitors and subsequent resentment towards coaches in Bibury and nearby Burford are seen by figures in the industry as being direct consequences of the closure of the coach park in the Cotswolds’ top tourist magnet, Bourton-on-the-Water, at the end of 2023.
However, there remains hope that a way forward in Bibury can be found after positive reports on the trial.
Almost halfway into that intervention, GCC told us on 5 June: “The measures are working well and we had no incidents over the [May Day] bank holiday.
“All stakeholders involved, including the parish council, tour and coach operators and businesses, are working closely together and providing feedback on a regular basis.”
It adds that a working group of GCC, Cotswold District Council, the parish council, and Gloucestershire Constabulary is “currently looking at the next stage of the measures once the trial ends”.
According to an earlier plan, this would involve finding alternative parking sites outside the village.
What’s happened at Bourton has moved the problem elsewhere because people aren’t going to stop coming to the Cotswolds – Tom Benjamin
Tom Benjamin, Director of Go Cotswolds, which runs guided minibus tours in the area, is a regular observer of parking behaviour in Bibury.
Although he initially feared that coach drivers would find the parking bays full at peak times, he says it has worked well. “It’s clearly marked and it’s obvious what the protocol is for minibus and coach drivers,” he says.
“The trial worked especially well when it was policed. The only issues have arisen when vehicles (coaches, motorhomes or cars) ignore the signage and just park there.”
Mr Benjamin claims that the county council, which is also the local highway authority, “buried their heads in the sand” over the issue in Bourton-on-the-Water when the parish council there deliberated over the best approach for coaches.
The current temporary solution there is a drop-off and pick-up point a 10-minute walk outside the centre with parking at the nearby Pulhams Coaches site.
“What’s happened at Bourton has moved the problem elsewhere because people aren’t going to stop coming to the Cotswolds,” he adds.
Confederation of Passenger Transport Coach Manager Phil Smith agrees, although he is satisfied with the status quo in Bibury.
“We’re obviously cautiously pleased about the Bibury trial,” he says.
“It’s not brilliant, but it’s better than what happened at Bourton, where the facilities were just pulled and the council wasn’t doing anything about it.
“But they’ve learned their lesson. The county council kind of sat on their hands a bit about Bourton and didn’t really get involved until the damage had been done. Whereas, in Bibury, it has been taking the lead and we’ve benefited from that.”
Mr Benjamin feels local authorities and tourist boards need to work on behalf of the coach sector rather than hoping to divert issues elsewhere.
He says: “If you try and put a schedule together for the Cotswolds and you don’t include the most popular places then people aren’t going to book.
“So they’ll find another way of getting there and, whether that’s in a coach or a car, it’s going to cause issues. These places need to accept that they’re visitor destinations and work out a viable way of having people visit en masse.”
