Bourton-on-the-Water tourism charge raises £62k

A tourism charge introduced in a popular Cotswold village in response to the "detrimental impact" of visitors, has raised £62,000 for the community.

In March 2021 Cotswold District Council (CDC) began charging an extra 50p for parking in Rissington Road car park in Bourton-on-the-Water.

It was agreed by CDC cabinet as the car park is mainly used by visitors with the proceeds to benefit the village.

Residents are now being asked for their views on how the money should be spent.

CDC is consulting on a range of options including measures to improve traffic flow, bicycle parking, improvements to public spaces, repairs to footpaths and ways to make the town more accessible, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Cabinet member for finance, Mike Evemy, said the money would be used to manage the negative impact of visitors, such as wear and tear on the river bank and green, and measures to help prevent traffic clogging up the roads.

"Last year we were able to fund some great initiatives including a new village warden, new larger waste bins, bollards to stop illegal parking and a study into how we can improve the village for disabled visitors and residents," he added.

Conservative group leader Tony Berry said Bourton-on-the-Water's popularity with tourists was positive for businesses, but not all residents were happy with the number of visitors it attracted.

"The concept of a 'tourism tax' helps bring these two differing views together with everyone benefitting in some way, and we support the concept," he said.

But he added the group would like to change some aspects, such as people who live nearby not having to pay to use the car park and for the village to have "control over how the money was to be spent rather than CDC".

The consultation opened on 22 August and will run for four weeks.

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