Fears have risen that tourist coaches will be unable to bring groups to Bourton-on-the-Water after the Bourton Vale coach parking area closes permanently on 31 December, with little progress said to have been made on the provision of an alternative.
In a further suggestion that Bourton may soon be out of bounds to tourist coaches, a suggestion has emerged that introduction of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to prohibit them from the village has been discussed by local elected representatives. Such suggestions have been denied by Cotswold District Council (CDC), although it is not the highways authority.
An email from Bourton Visitor Centre to coach industry members on 1 December advises that there will “be no designated coach drop off/pick up point or coach parking in Bourton-on-the-Water” after that date, and that the Centre – which itself closes for good on 21 December – has no further information on the long-running saga.
Hopes had earlier risen that a potential alternative to Bourton Vale would materialise. A parking area combined with a separate set down and pick up point were raised, albeit with concern over a need for a reversing manoeuvre when travelling from the latter to the former.
However, an email sent in late November by the Bourton Business Network notes that things are “still no further forward with a solution,” with a suggestion that CDC has reversed its previous support for the provision of a stopping place for coaches within the village.
Network member Andrew Lund-Yates caveats the otherwise negative position with a note that coach parking at other locations in Bourton is still being explored. In late October, Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council said in draft papers that it welcomed such work.
However, there remain “significant challenges” with that project and it is reliant on there being set down and pick up space within the village, Mr Lund-Yates says. “Frankly, I think we are all coming to the end of our tether,” he continues.
Papers held by the Parish Council include recent notifications by residents of safety concerns around the most recent proposed solution, along with advice from Gloucestershire County Council that early plans for the set down and pick up area have already had to change because of adjacent roadside energy network infrastructure.
Mr Lund-Yates notes that if a TRO was to be enacted that banned tourist coaches from Bourton, such an Order would have a major impact on local businesses’ revenues and potentially damage employment in the village.
One coach operator with an interest in Bourton says that the TRO “is of [the] greatest concern to me, and something that, sadly, is becoming increasingly likely given the fact that there is now nowhere for coaches to park.”
Mr Lund-Yates adds that local authorities have failed to act upon the concerns of business owners in Bourton around coach parking. He says that “poor financial decisions” have been made, which is thought to refer to a major spend on upgrading the Rissington Road car park without including provision for coaches there.
Removal of all tourist coaches will have “a catastrophic impact [on] us all,” Mr Lund-Yates continues, although in reference to a letter from a coach driver recently published in routeone, he observes that some operators may already have ceased visiting the village.
The present arrangement for coach parking in Bourton relies upon eight dedicated spaces at Bourton Vale, which must be booked in advance via the Visitor Centre. It acts as an agent for the landowner.
