Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council has endorsed a proposal to request Gloucestershire County Council to implement Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) designed to restrict coach traffic through the village’s central routes.
The resolution received a vote of six in favour, two against and one abstention during a meeting on 6 March.
The council’s decision is in response to concerns regarding the safety of residents and visitors coupled with a need to improve traffic flow in an area plagued by congestion issues. Hints of a possible TRO against coaches had been suggested in December last year, with Cotswold District Council neither confirming nor denying that such measures were being considered.
If approved at a county level, the TROs will specifically target touring coaches, exempting public service buses, school transport and other regular services.
Restrictions would be enforced at strategic entry points to the village, including routes from the northwest from the A429 Fosseway into Lansdowne and High Street and into Station Road, from the southeast from Rissington Road, from the northeast from Kingfisher Road, and from the southwest from Lankett Lane junction. Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council suggests it will collaborate with neighbouring councils in order to take a comprehensive approach to managing the village’s access points.
The Parish Council has now tasked its Highways Committee with further deliberations on the implementation of the TROs, including the consideration of permanent versus emergency orders, and the involvement of county-level representatives to facilitate progress.
Papers hosted on the proposed coach banĀ in Bourton note that a meeting in April will consider whether to use permanent or emergency TROs, or a combination of both, “given the urgency of the need to manage coach movements” in the village.
Last year, 160,000 tourists reportedly visited the village by coach. Despite this, the Bourton Vale coach parking area closed permanently on 31 December 2023, with no alternative provided.
The proposal has drawn criticism from coach operators and from Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, who has warned against a negative impact on local businesses. The Confederation of Passenger Transport has advised coach operators that other locations in the Cotswolds are now more suitable for visits.
