Coach parking changes in Bibury

Gloucestershire County Council has been working with stakeholders and community representatives to collectively discuss ideas and proposals to improve coaches accessing the village of Bibury.

Following a comprehensive road safety review and extensive community feedback, Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) has closed the existing coach parking bays in the centre of the village. Instead, public bus stop clearways have been installed for safer passenger drop-off and pick-up, to reduce the risk of accidents caused by unsafe coach manoeuvres.

Key Details:

• Coach Bays: Existing coach parking bays have been removed and replaced with a designated public bus stop clearway which has been clearly marked and signed. There are spaces for 2 coaches in the clearway that has been created, one has been marked as a bus stop, however the second is unmarked. Drivers are asked to make use of the unmarked bay and pull forward from the bus stop bay. There is a 10-minute wait time within these bays, and we kindly ask that drivers operate as efficiently as possible within this time period to mitigate any enforcement action. It is important that vehicles move on from the bays after setting down passengers.
• Bus Stops: Please note these are public bus stops which we have sought approval for private coaches to use during this trial. We kindly ask that private operators use these responsibly and consider the public bus service timetable shown below.

Public Bus Timetable:

• Monday–Friday: 07:37, 08:02, 10:37, 14:22, 16:52
• Saturday: 08:02, 10:37, 14:22, 16:52

Coach Access & Routing Advice

To ease congestion and improve traffic flow through the village we are suggesting the following routing:

Entry: Please enter Bibury from the east (via Burford).

Drop-off: Westbound drop-offs are preferred in the double coach bus stopping bays.

Pick-up: Eastbound collections are suggested from the bay on the opposite side of the road (Trout Farm side).

Turnaround: Coach and Tour Operators are kindly being asked to work with us during this trial while we continue to explore alternative solutions. We appreciate it is far from ideal to not have a closer space for coaches to park/turnaround, but at present the only safe option is to suggest that coaches move out of the village and proceed to Cirencester Services/Roundabout for the foreseeable future. We appreciate this adds 15–20 minutes to journey times and we will keep you constantly updated should another solution arise.

Laybys: There are laybys available on the approach to Bibury from the Cirencester side (near Barnsley).

Sat Nav Warning: Please be wary when using Sat Navs – many local roads are narrow and unsuitable for coaches.

Enforcement & Monitoring: GCC is requesting that all visitors park responsibly and use designated parking areas. Any vehicles not parked in compliance with parking restrictions risk being issued with a parking penalty charge notice.

Alternative Locations: Should Bibury be busy, please also consider nearby destinations such as Cirencester and other “Hidden Gems” in the Cotswolds. More information is available at www.cotswolds.com/realcotswolds.

Feedback and Emergency Contact Details: 

Feedback can be emailed to parking@gloucestershire.gov.uk. Should you need to report anything urgently out of hours, please call 01452 937137.