An idyllic village beloved by the Brummies is considering a drastic ban on tourist traffic after residents lament that they are making life a nightmare. The beautiful Cotswold town of Bourton-on-the-Water had around 3,000 buses filled with day trippers each year when the ‘nuclear option’ was brought up.
According to Gloucestershire Live, motorcoaches could be banned from the village entirely if a solution to the parking “nightmare” is not found, but one of the main car parks Hacklings on Station Road has banned bus parking from this year.
But some residents say the situation has worsened as bus drivers have begun blocking stores such as Co-op supermarkets while dropping off tourists. Some people have complained about buses using local residential streets to turn around.
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Cotswold District Council said it had been “working hard” on the bus parking issue for more than two years but no solution had been found. Councilors said banning coaches to appease residents would be considered a “nuclear option” but not off the table.
Businesses are particularly concerned because coach companies could remove scenic Bourton-on-the-Water from their itineraries if bans are imposed or parking becomes difficult. This quaint tourist destination is famous for its annual river football game.
Travel companies are considering alternatives near Broadway in Worcestershire, where James Martin opened his restaurant Grill in the Lygon Arms, and Brockley village, the filming location for the BBC TV show Father Brown. there’s a possibility that.
Shop and tea shop owners and other traders are said to be extremely concerned as they face losses of up to £2 million due to the lack of parking for motorcoaches. Local business owner Andrew Rand Yates said tourists who take long-distance buses traditionally spend more money in the area than those who travel by car.
Mr Yates, owner of Burton’s Model Village and Old New Inn, added:[tour companies] It is planned for this year, but if there are too many problems with logistics this year, Boughton will be completely removed from next year’s itinerary. That is our main concern.
“Without employing a coach, local businesses face losses of between £1.5m and £2m a year, conservatively.”
Peak tourist season is from March to September, with 3,000 busloads of visitors each year attracting around 160,000 people, drawn to the town’s honey-coloured stone buildings and the babbling river that flows through it.
Alan Hymers, owner of Cotswold Ice Cream, said Boughton relied on busloads of visitors to keep the village running during the winter off-season.
Hymers explained: It’s about how these people trade in the winter when our only trade is the coaches that come to the village. ”
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A Cotswold District Council spokesperson said the council and community groups had been considering options as a group over the past year.
“The group considered using land for a school in the Cotswolds, providing a drop-off point in the village, and using land on an industrial estate or the council’s Rissington Road car park, but none of these were considered viable for a variety of reasons. “We were unable to do so,” they said. Said.
“Everything is being done and we will continue to work with the county council, police, local businesses and the parish council to help manage coach visits to the village.”
They added that the council’s award-winning ticketing system, set up last year, had also helped manage motorcoach parking in the village for the time being.