Bourton-on-the-Water transport and parking review

Overview

We're reviewing parking arrangements, pedestrian and vehicle (including coach and bus) movement in Bourton-on-the-Water to better balance the needs of residents, businesses, visitors and commuters.

Why do we need changes?

Parking pressures around the village are making it harder for people to park, and we want to hear your experiences to shape the right solutions.

We also know local people are concerned about pedestrian safety along the High Street and how vehicles, including coaches and buses is affecting how people move around the village. We want to hear your experiences to shape the right solutions to ensure everyone can continue to enjoy this historically significant village.

Have your say by Sunday 6th September

What this means for you?

This review is part of a wider programme of transport and movement reviews the council is undertaking across the Cotswolds, to ensure our communities are well-connected and easy to get around.

We’ve heard that finding a space to park can be frustrating for residents, pavements get blocked by cars, and the volume of visitors can make it harder for people to move around safely on foot.

We also want to ensure disabled bays are close to key destinations, bus stops are accessible and well-located, and pedestrians can move safely and comfortably through the village.

With future development expected in the area, we want to future-proof how people travel to and around Bourton-on-the-Water for residents, businesses and visitors.

By understanding more about how people use the village today, we can develop fair, workable solutions to address community concerns across parking, public transport and walking.

Coach movements - actions already under way

We recognise that coach traffic is one of the most significant pressures on movement in Bourton-on-the-Water, particularly given the village attracts around 10,000 visitors a day at peak times.

The loss of dedicated coach parking at the private Bourton Vale car park in December 2023 left the village without any coach drop-off or pick-up facility, adding to congestion and pedestrian safety concerns.

To address this in the short term, Gloucestershire County Council has introduced a dedicated coach drop-off and pick-up bay on Meadow Way through an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). This allows up to two coaches at a time to stop for a maximum of five minutes to board and alight passengers, before relocating to off-highway parking at Pulham’s Coach Depot at Bourton Industrial Park.

Coach numbers at Pulham's Coach Depot are managed through a pre-booking system, with operators required to email in advance to confirm capacity and ensure staggered timings, helping to reduce conflict with other road users and pedestrians.

The ETRO can run for up to 18 months, giving the council the opportunity to assess how the arrangement works in practice and giving the public a six-month window to make representations.

The outcomes and learning from this ETRO process are being actively considered as part of the wider feasibility work, to help identify longer-term, more sustainable solutions for managing coach movements in and around the village.

For more information about this process please visit this page. We would like to hear your views on how the trial has been working so far.

Community feedback session

We are looking forward to hosting two public drop-in session at George Moore Community Centre to get a more detailed understanding of your feedback in-person. This could include any specific suggestions on alternative suggestions on managing coach services, where disabled parking provision is best located, or any specific locations which cause a congestion bottlenecks or issues with loading and deliveries if you are a business. We are also open to hearing on any feedback surrounding how to manage event-based parking and congestions and parking during pick-up / drop-off school times. Furthermore, any suggestions you have regarding additional cycling infrastructure such as storage and feedback on issues how to improve movement and pedestrian experiences are also welcome.

Come along to speak with the project team and designers who will be shaping the transport and parking arrangements. We will be holding a session on Saturday morning 18^th July in the first week of the consultation to coincide with the school break. Another session will be held on Thursday evening 3rd September in the last week of the consultation.

Join us anytime at the following dates

Timeline and next steps

The survey will close Sunday 6th September 2026.