Bourton Coach Parking Statement
In a joint statement from Cllr Tony Dale (Cabinet Member for the Economy and Transformation), Cllr Mike Evemy (Cabinet Member for Finance) and Robert Weaver (Chief Executive), Cotswold District Council said, “We have worked very hard over the past two years to find a solution to coach parking in Bourton-on-the-Water following the decision by the private car park owner to stop providing coach parking in the village. Unfortunately no solution has been found despite our best efforts. No stone has been left unturned 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.
“In our efforts to solve the issue and support local businesses, the District Council Chief Executive has been leading a group of local community organisations to explore alternative options for the past 12 months. This group included local businesses, the county council and the parish council. The group explored lots of options including using land at Cotswold school, creating drop off bays in the village, the use of land at the industrial estate and the Council’s Rissington Road car park - none of which were deemed to be feasible for a number of reasons.
“The reasons we could not change the Rissington Road car park into a coach park include:
- Unaffordable costs and loss of income at a time when the Council’s finances are under pressure from reduced funding and increasing costs due to inflation
- Loss of vital car parking spaces that could lead to more issues of cars parking in residential areas
- The loss of disabled bays in the village
- Expected negative impact on the road network due to coaches turning into and out of the space
- Loss of funding for the successful Tourism Charge that has provided many improvements for the village
“As part of the support we have provided, the Council set up an award-winning ticketing system to help manage coach parking in the village which has been incredibly helpful to Bourton Vale Parking ltd over recent months. The Council has also invested significant officer time to look at options put forward by the group.
“The Council understands the private owner is closing their car park to coaches on December 31st 2023, after which, there will be no coach parking provision in Bourton-on-the-Water. Coach operators are advised to consider how best to route tours with no parking available for large coaches. There will continue to be parking for mini buses at Station Road Car Park and there are a number of local bus services which provide access to the village.”