The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has added its voice to concerns about proposed changes to coach access and parking in the Cotswold village of Burford.
Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) launched a consultation in December 2024 on planned Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in Burford that would see coaches over 12 metres in length banned from Priory Lane – where coach parking is located – and extension of double-yellow lines there to remove one of those bays.
The UK Coach Operators Association first raised the issue shortly after that consultation and associated documents were published, noting that if the TROs go ahead as planned, they will have a damaging effect on coach tourism in Burford.
The consultation closes on 3 January. OCC previously said that coach activity in Burford can lead to access to residents’ properties blocked and that some manoeuvres made by those vehicles are dangerous.
CPT describes Burford as a key draw for domestic and incoming tour groups and says that “if any destination is to receive visitors in such large numbers sustainably, then coaches are essential to achieving this objective.”
Those words are contained in a letter from Coaching Managing Phil Smith to OCC Cabinet Member for Highways Management Cllr Andrew Gant sent on 24 December 2024.
Although smaller coaches would be unaffected by the proposed length limit, Mr Smith notes that much of the UK coach pool is now formed of vehicles that are more than 12 metres long. Adoption of the proposal “would severely restrict the number of coaches that could gain access to this important, historic destination,” he adds.
Earlier draft minutes of meetings of Burford Town Council across 2024 show that the TRO work has been in hand for some time. On 6 March 2024, it was noted that OCC had asked the town council to submit a TRO for the 12-metre restriction.
Subsequent minutes state that complaints about “illegal coach parking” had been received by the town council, with a claim that “several accidents have occurred with cars and coaches” in Burford.
A report on the annual Burford town meeting of 22 May 2024 states that while the planned double-yellow line extension in Priory Lane will remove one of a current four coach bays, it will also provide additional turning space for coaches.
The town council says that withdrawal of coach parking 10 miles away in Bourton-on-the-Water at the end of 2023 “appears to have led to an increase in coaches visiting Burford,” causing the need for change to coach access in Burford to become “urgent.”
However, minutes for the town council’s 4 December 2024 meeting note how a proposal for coach parking on Sheep Street – close to Priory Lane – is in hand, with an update due this month.
Cllr Gant will decide upon the proposed TROs that will affect coach parking in Burford on 23 January.
