Durham and Northallerton are the latest places to gain Coach Friendly status from the Confederation of Passenger Transport. They follow several others that have been awarded or renewed the accreditation this year, with others due.
Words from local tourism or business bodies in both locations highlight the benefit that coaches and coach passengers bring to their city and town, respectively. That outlook is more enlightened than some seen elsewhere.
Meanwhile, in Matlock Bath, coach parking having been put to an alternative use without replacement has attracted the ire of the Parish Council. It wants those spaces to be reinstated and measures taken to prevent any further occupation by traveller groups, citing an adverse effect on businesses in the village by the lack of coaches.
While the unofficial repurposing of space in Matlock Bath less than from ideal, the Parish Council’s advocacy of coaches is positive. It contrasts with words from certain politicians in Bourton-on-the-Water, where some far from favourable comments about coach’s value to trade have been made, albeit with a clear axe to grind in certain cases.
That Bourton babble was countered repeatedly by a local business group. Its members want coaches to come, as is the case in Durham, Northallerton and Matlock Bath. When a location or venue really is coach friendly, word gets around as quickly as when the opposite is true.
With the potential spend that arrives with 50 passengers, it is perhaps surprising that coach friendly status is not a default setting for places with a significant tourism draw, although the issue of engine idling makes it easy to understand why some locals are less than keen.
Instead, there is a patchwork approach to tolerance for coaches in towns and cities. Some welcome them. Many view them indifferently. Some, like Bourton-on-the-Water, actively discourage them. Which category a location falls into is down in no small part to local political attitudes.
Trade bodies want coach to have a bigger part in the planning of developments that attract groups. It is difficult to see how major change can be made (where required) to better suit the mode in existing locations, but some centralised, overarching guidance is needed to stress the need for even basic coach facilities in cities and towns that draw those vehicles.
Nobody would realistically expect provision akin to The Ritz, but some tarmacked ground, marked bays and a toilet hardly a palace makes. Coach operators will even pay a fair price to use it.
