Plans for car park dropped due to 'overtourism' fears

Plans for a new car and coach park in "England's prettiest village" have been withdrawn because "enough people" are already visiting.

Bibury in Gloucestershire sees hordes of visitors from across the world descending on the village daily, causing "gridlock and parking chaos".

Max Thomas, who owns Bibury Trout Farm, had applied for planning permission from Cotswold District Council to create a car park for up to 100 cars in a field off the B4425, at Arlington Pike.

But Craig Chapman, from Bibury Parish Council, said the landowner withdrew the proposals after the offer of the field fell through due to public opposition.

Mr Chapman also said planners would have rejected the car park due to a lack of detail and there was already "enough people coming into the village".

"The thought of having an out of village car park with 130 cars and 10 coaches – at least 500 people shuttling down to the village or walking the narrow pavement was not plausible.

"We want to manage overtourism. Manage what we've got before opening additional car parks to encourage more traffic," he added.

The village, dubbed by some as England's prettiest village, is home to only a few hundred people but can see up to 20,000 visitors in a weekend, with up to 50 coaches coming into the village a day.

In recent years, residents have complained about "gridlock and parking chaos" as tourists have flocked to the area.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the car park would be a 10-minute walk, or short drive via a shuttle vehicle.

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