England’s prettiest village battling 'overtourism chaos’
Ouch! One man's foot is run over, traffic chaos, overcrowding, emergency services unable to get through. How one Cotswold village's appeal to tourists has reached a whole new level!
*The Raikes Journal is the only independent news outlet in Gloucestershire approved to use the copy of the BBC local government reporting service. Why? Only only independent, credible journalistically-led platforms that meet the BBC’s high standards win that permission.
Residents of ‘England’s prettiest village’ had to endure “overtourism traffic chaos” again over Easter as visitors blocked roads parking on double yellow lines and a man’s foot was run over.
The huge popularity of the small village of Bibury near Cirencester has created an almost constant problem for residents who have to put up with parking chaos caused by the massive influx of tourists.
The village, which is home to only a few hundred people, is known for its iconic Arlington Row.
Bibury was described by 19th Century writer William Morris as “the most beautiful village in England”.
And it is believed to be popular with Japanese tourists as Emperor Hirohito stayed there during the first half of the 20th Century when he was prince.
However, while misleading social media posts often portray the village as a tranquil village in the English countryside, the day-to-day reality villagers face includes regular traffic jams and illegal parking.
Overtourism in the village is recognised by the local authorities and Cotswold District Council and Gloucestershire County Council actively avoid promoting it as a tourist destination.
Mark Honeyball, a Bibury resident, who says the situation has “got beyond a joke” as a driver who was parked on the pavement “ran over his foot”.
“People can’t get through as well as emergency services,” he said.
“I had to call the police on the day and they couldn’t get to me as a Range Rover had very nicely run over my foot in a dispute over where they shouldn’t be parking and did a quite bit of damage. It’s not broken just badly bruised.
“He drove on the pavement. I had another one on Monday who I was asking to move off my drive and he just put his car into gear and drove along the pavement at me.
“It’s getting very dangerous in the village. It’s got beyond a joke.”
He said the working group wants to manage “overtourism” and stop coaches. The group made up of representatives from Shire Hall, the district and parish councils as well as the police has been set up and is working to find a solution to these issues.
“We are taking away the coach bays and informing tour companies to come in minibuses if they still want to.
“We would then move the signage to push the minibuses and cars to the Trout Farm car park.
As a local business they would benefit but most importantly we would keep most of the traffic from the main high street.
“With that solution, firstly we maintain the integrity of the village, secondly residents can go about their day to day lives without the stress and thirdly businesses will get custom from it but in a slightly different way.
“It will also be better for the tourists who will be able to look across to Arlington fields without all of these cars, mud and destruction from the reversing coaches. It will make a nice balanced place for people to be.”
Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman was among those to witness the traffic problems over the Easter weekend.
“I was out on Sunday and Monday with other people in the community trying to move the traffic along the B4425,” he said.
“The traffic coming from Barnsley through Arlington into Bibury was one long queue.”
He said touring companies are being informed that Bibury is not a suitable location for large coaches and that minibuses should be used instead.
The last thing we need are the large coaches. Increasing the car parking facilities in the village would just compound the overtourism issues we face.”
The working group’s long term recommendations include considering options to ban coach stopping and parking in Bibury, installing clear and comprehensive signage to manage traffic access efficiently.
This would be done to prevent congestion by directing coaches away from narrow routes.
The group will also review the existing weight restriction on the bridge and work with stakeholders to manage overtourism by encouraging minibus travel and public transportation.
This would involve upgrading public pathways to improving accessibility and safety for walkers and cyclists.
The group will also conduct feasibility studies to identify potential areas outside the village for coach parking.
North Cotswold MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown sympathises with residents and says Bibury has needed to take this course of action as it is a small constrained village.
“Clearly this is what the residents of Bibury want. The trouble is coaches are getting larger and larger,” the Conservative said.
“Bibury is a small constrained village and it is really why they have needed to take this action. I really sympathise with the villagers about the number of tourists and large buses that have been coming to Bibury.”
By Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for Gloucestershire. carmelo.garcia@reachplc.com