Coaches could be banned from honeypot tourist village in the Cotswolds
It comes as overtourism concerns are raised
Plans to ban coaches from visiting a Cotswold village blighted by overtourism could be considered by highways chiefs.
Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) chiefs said they would consider traffic regulation orders (TRO) which would restrict coaches from entering the main roads in Bourton-on-the-Water.
The picturesque village, known as the Venice of the Cotswolds, has been suffering with overtourism in recent years, according to local residents.
There has been shortage of coach parking facilities after the closure of a privately-owned site at the end of 2023.
This has led to countless problems in Bourton with complaints of drivers parking on double yellow lines, blocking the road and turning around in residential streets.
A public meeting was held at the Baptist Church in Station Road on Thursday (November 27) for residents to voice their concerns over the unsustainable level of tourism in the village.
One member of the public asked why the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in Bourton were not used for coaches.
She asked: “Why can’t we use the ANPR cameras to prevent them coming into the traffic restriction area?
“If we drive to Cheltenham and go into the bus lane we get fines. But when the coaches come into an area of the village they are not supposed to be in, nothing happens.
“We’ve got cameras here already. I’ve asked several times why they can’t be used.”
County Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach) said the cameras are currently used by the police to catch people who speed in the village.
But he did not see a reason why such footage could not be used to deal with coaches.
He said it would be up to Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council to request traffic regulation orders and Gloucestershire County Council would consider them.
Parish councillor Amanda Davis told the meeting the use of ANPR cameras has previously been looked into but there is no TRO to stop the coaches in Station Road and Rissington Road.
“The High Street is the only area where they are not allowed to go through or over the bridges,” she said.
“It can’t be used down Station Road or Rissington Road because they are not doing anything illegal.
“Although we as a parish council asked for TRO, GCC Highways said the police wouldn’t allow it because they couldn’t enforce it.
“That may be where the ANPR camera may come in because that is a way the police can enforce it.”
And fellow parish councillor, Len Wilkins, said they organised an emergency meeting at the parish council earlier this year to request for coaches to be stopped from going into the village.
He said they asked for a TRO to stop it.
“We were told no,” he said. “We have tried.”
Councillor Jon Wareing (LD, Bourton Village), who represents the village at Cotswold District Council, said there is a new administration at Shire Hall which may be more receptive.
Cllr Hodgkinson agreed and said the administration at the time said no but the County Council could now consider it.
“You had a meeting of the parish council last month where the parish council did not vote for that,” he said.
“If the parish council does vote for that, it will give the green light to us at GCC to go, OK we will need to seriously consider this now i.e. banning coaches.
“But it does really need the parish council to do that, to tell us that is what is required.”