Latest news with #BiburyParishCouncil
The Independent
28-04-2025
- The Independent
‘Nightmare' in pretty English village overrun by tourists with resident injured in parking bust-up over Range Rover
Tensions between tourists and residents of ' England's prettiest village ' have escalated, after a local claimed his foot was run over during a parking dispute over Easter weekend. The picturesque village of Bibury in the Cotswolds is home to just 700 people - but attracts up to 20,000 visitors on weekends. Described by artist William Morris described as the 'most beautiful village in England', up to 50 coaches of tourists descend daily on the destination, famed for its row of 17th-century cottages on Arlington Row. The Easter bank holiday saw tensions rise once more between tourists and residents, with one villager claiming to have had his foot run over by a Range Rover in a parking dispute. Resident Mark Honeyball told the Local Democracy Service that the situation in the village had become 'beyond a joke', while warning that emergency services struggled to move through the traffic. He said he had his foot run over by the vehicle as he tried to stop a tourist from parking illegally - something, he claims, locals have to do regularly. "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,' he said. 'It's not broken, just badly bruised.' He added: "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." Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman told The Independent that the village resembled a 'complete and utter nightmare' over the Easter weekend due to queues of visitors. He said at one point, cars had to back one mile up the road as a coach carrying tourists couldn't come around a corner on the village's small roads. 'It was at its worst on Easter weekend because the weather was good. It was a complete and utter nightmare,' he said. He was with Mr Honeyball when it was claimed he had his foot run over, trying to stop people from parking illegally on yellow lines. He said: 'We have to do something about it - we can't let it go on like this.' Numbers of tourists have increased in recent years thanks to social media influencers promoting the village as a lazy get-away from major cities such as London. It is particularly popular with Japanese tourists as the place Emperor Hirohito is believed to have stayed in the 1920s. Village leaders are working on a plan that could see coaches banned in an effort to reduce over-tourism. The first decision by the working group of representatives from Bibury Parish Council, police and Gloucestershire County Council is a change to the layout of coach parking bays to stop the vehicles parking or waiting in a nearby layby. The next stage is to consider restricting coaches from the village, with ideas such as reviewing weight restrictions, finding coach parking outside the village and looking at ways to ban coach stopping and parking.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- BBC News
Bibury resident's foot run over as tourists flock to village
Residents of "England's prettiest village" had to endure "overtourism traffic chaos" over Easter it has been claimed, with a local man's foot run over in a parking popularity of Bibury in Gloucestershire has created an almost constant problem for residents who have to put up with parking chaos caused by the influx of village, home to only a few hundred people, is known for the picturesque Arlington Mark Honeyball said his foot was run over while Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman said the traffic was "one long queue" over Easter. 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 social media posts often portray the location as a tranquil village in the English countryside, the day-to-day reality includes regular traffic jams and illegal 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. 'Very dangerous' Mr Honeyball said 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 told the Local Democracy Reporting Service."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."Despite the village having two coach bays next to a bridge over the River Coln, up to six coaches arrive on any given say that if the existing bays are full then the coaches will unload at the nearest space that is big enough - raising safety concerns around the narrow pavements being village's roads are also often not wide enough for two coaches to pass each other. A working group has recommended stopping coaches from using parking bays and waiting on the this move is a short-term measure and further restrictions could be rolled out after a consultation taking place this Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman was among those to witness the traffic problems over Easter."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."North Cotswold MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown sympathised with residents and says action is needed."Clearly this is what the residents of Bibury want. The trouble is coaches are getting larger and larger," the Conservative said.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Residents of ‘the most beautiful village in England' sound alarm over new car park plans
Residents in a picturesque Cotswolds village that has struggled with tourist behaviour fear that visitor numbers could go up by 800 every hour if a new car park plan is put in place. Bibury is famous for its row of residential 17th-century weavers' cottages and its water meadow – and was once described by William Morris as 'the most beautiful village in England'. Yet a huge surge in tourism in the post-Covid era has seen residents complain of tourists climbing over walls and scrambling over private garden fences to take pictures and admire the countryside cottages. Large coaches and swarms of cars have also left residents frustrated. In March, Gloucestershire County Council announced that action is starting to be taken to tackle congestion by changing the layout of coach parking bays to stop coaches from parking or waiting in the layby on the B4425 in the centre of the village. A working group has been set up in collaboration with the Cotswold District Council, Bibury Parish Council and Gloucestershire Constabulary to discuss ideas and proposals to manage the influx of visitor coaches. In the future, the group said it will explore recommendations, such as introducing restrictions on coach access in the centre of the village, installing traffic access signage and encouraging travel by minibus. Councillor Craig Chapman, the chairman of Bibury Parish Council, said: 'Whilst the residents of Bibury acknowledge that we live in a lovely village, the pressures put on us by the sheer volume of tourists visiting and coaches bringing tourists has become intolerable and unacceptable. 'As a consequence of the lack of infrastructure, road narrowness and the disruptive and unsafe location of the two existing coach bays, it is a fact that Bibury is not a suitable destination for larger coaches. 'Whilst this is the start of action it is very positive and I am confident will be appreciated by the community.'' It is not just coaches that cause congestion, with local business Bibury Trout Farm agreeing to use their car park, around the corner from the village, in the past for cars and small coaches to move some of the parking off the streets. The owner of the farm has now submitted a planning application for a new parking site with enough space for 100 cars, 12 coaches and a shuttle bus into the village. Yet villager Wendy Hazelwood told the BBC News she was not in agreement with the idea. "This [the proposed new parking site] is totally counter-productive to what we want to achieve in the village because it will bring approximately 800 tourists, maybe, every hour extra into the village. "We're trying to reduce the tourism, not increase it," she added. Meanwhile, Maxwell Thomas, owner of Bibury Trout Farm, argued that large amounts of tourism are inevitable whether there is additional parking or not. "People have been coming to this village for hundreds of years and businesses have been here for hundreds of years,' he told the BBC. "It's in the 10 prettiest villages in the world and you expect to have people visiting all the time, you can't help it," he said. The Independent has contacted Bibury Trout Farm for further comment.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- The Independent
Residents of ‘the most beautiful village in England' sound alarm over new car park plans
Residents in a picturesque Cotswolds village that has struggled with tourist behaviour fear that visitor numbers could go up by 800 every hour if a new car park plan is put in place. Bibury is famous for its row of residential 17th-century weavers' cottages and its water meadow – and was once described by William Morris as 'the most beautiful village in England'. Yet a huge surge in tourism in the post-Covid era has seen residents complain of tourists climbing over walls and scrambling over private garden fences to take pictures and admire the countryside cottages. Large coaches and swarms of cars have also left residents frustrated. In March, Gloucestershire County Council announced that action is starting to be taken to tackle congestion by changing the layout of coach parking bays to stop coaches from parking or waiting in the layby on the B4425 in the centre of the village. A working group has been set up in collaboration with the Cotswold District Council, Bibury Parish Council and Gloucestershire Constabulary to discuss ideas and proposals to manage the influx of visitor coaches. In the future, the group said it will explore recommendations, such as introducing restrictions on coach access in the centre of the village, installing traffic access signage and encouraging travel by minibus. Councillor Craig Chapman, the chairman of Bibury Parish Council, said: 'Whilst the residents of Bibury acknowledge that we live in a lovely village, the pressures put on us by the sheer volume of tourists visiting and coaches bringing tourists has become intolerable and unacceptable. 'As a consequence of the lack of infrastructure, road narrowness and the disruptive and unsafe location of the two existing coach bays, it is a fact that Bibury is not a suitable destination for larger coaches. 'Whilst this is the start of action it is very positive and I am confident will be appreciated by the community.'' It is not just coaches that cause congestion, with local business Bibury Trout Farm agreeing to use their car park, around the corner from the village, in the past for cars and small coaches to move some of the parking off the streets. The owner of the farm has now submitted a planning application for a new parking site with enough space for 100 cars, 12 coaches and a shuttle bus into the village. Yet villager Wendy Hazelwood told the BBC News she was not in agreement with the idea. "This [the proposed new parking site] is totally counter-productive to what we want to achieve in the village because it will bring approximately 800 tourists, maybe, every hour extra into the village. "We're trying to reduce the tourism, not increase it," she added. Meanwhile, Maxwell Thomas, owner of Bibury Trout Farm, argued that large amounts of tourism are inevitable whether there is additional parking or not. "People have been coming to this village for hundreds of years and businesses have been here for hundreds of years,' he told the BBC. "It's in the 10 prettiest villages in the world and you expect to have people visiting all the time, you can't help it," he said.
