DISGRUNTLED locals have slammed annoying coach tourists for ruining England’s “most beautiful village”.
The picturesque Cotswolds destination in Bibury, Gloucestershire, draws in flocks of visitors each year.
GettyLocals in Bibury, Gloucestershire, are red up with tourists invading their village[/caption]
AlamyResidents, alongside the council, hope to see coaches banned altogether[/caption]
Nigel IskanderThe area has been inundated with more holidaymakers as influencers continue to promote the quaint town on social media[/caption]
But fuming residents have hit out at the influx of tourists, who they claim wreak havoc on the sleepy village.
The breathtaking quintessentially English village is a short distance from London – which encourages even more holidaymakers looking for a quick escape to the country.
This also means housing is being snapped up for holiday rentals and Airbnbs, which wreaks havoc on the village’s younger families
The area has also been inundated with more day-trippers as influencers continue to promote the quaint town on social media.
Locals have now banded together with the council in a desperate bid to stop their village becoming overrun.
If their plans are successful, it could see tourist coaches banned from the area completely.
In the meantime, new measures will include changing parking bays so the tourist transporting vehicles can’t stop in the B4425 layby – near the village centre.
There are also aims to block off access to the central hub completely but this is reliant winning a legal process that is yet to begin.
Up to 50 coaches are believed to move through the village during the peak season while as many as 20,000 people flock to the area over the course of a weekend.
The resulting tension has even apparently seen things get physical, with one resident claiming to have been “punched and kicked” amid the rows.
Councillor Stephen Davies, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, told the Mail: “We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of Bibury residents and visitors.
“The proposed measures will help manage traffic more effectively and enhance the overall experience for everyone.”
He added while decisions may spark controversy, the council are “determined” to “find compromise solutions”.
Parish council chairman Craig Chapman added the “sheer volume of tourists” has “become intolerable and unacceptable”.
AlamyArlington Row is a famous tourist hotspot[/caption]
AlamyThousands of visitors descend each year[/caption]
AlamyTourist taking photographs outside the popular row of Cotswold cottages[/caption]
Similar measures have already been put in place in Bourton-on-the-Water.
They were introduced after locals said they also couldn’t cope with the amount of visitors – although some residents feared the move could turn their home into a “ghost town”.
This comes after one Bibury homeowner accused tourists of assaulting residents.
Mark Honeyball, who chairs the Bibury Parking Working Group, told BBC News: “I’ve been assaulted four times now.
“They can get quite aggressive, the residents can get quite aggressive as well and it’s all just created a very unpleasant atmosphere.”
The parking war is more frustrating for locals because many of the coaches that arrive are actually exempt from the bridge’s weight limit but don’t cross it because drivers don’t realise they are allowed.
Lisa Spivey, of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “It’s a bit tricky because a weight limit can’t be enforced by an ANPR camera.
“You’d have to basically have a police officer on one side of the bridge, pulling every coach over and checking the weight.
“It’s going to have to up be to the County Council as the local highway authority to really grasp the nettle and make some bold moves on this so I’m trying to get everybody around the table.”
The local parish council is recommending that the parking area be pedestrianised, with coaches redirected to a nearby trout farm, which has apparently agreed to host cars and small coaches.
Jason Humm, the County Council’s Director of Transport and Highways, added: “The bridge at Bibury is historical and carries the B4425, so busy traffic and any heavy vehicles will inevitably contribute to its maintenance needs.
“We are aware of the parish council’s aspiration to ban coaches from Bibury.
“However, the coaches do not cause damage to the bridge over what would be expected to be dealt with by regular maintenance.”
This comes as people living in a resort voted Britain’s finest coastal town fear it could come under threat from an influx of tourists and second home-owners.
Residents in Bamburgh, sitting on the picturesque Northumberland coast, say many are being forced out of the area by newcomers.
Elsewhere in the UK, homeowners in summer hotspot St Ives, Cornwall, have had enough of holidaymakers swarming their idyllic coastline.
Each year more visitors arrive, bringing with them traffic chaos, noise and litter, according to fuming locals.
And, fuming locals living in the picturesque village used to film The Holiday and Bridget Jones’s Diary are also so sick of tourists – they’re charging them to visit.
Festive movie fans descend on Shere, in Surrey as Christmas approaches every year – much to the fury of residents who are forced to stay inside as the tiny high street is blocked by a flood of tourists..
AlamyAs many as 20,000 people flock to the area over the course of a weekend[/caption]
Nigel IskanderUp to 50 coaches are believed to move through the village during the peak season[/caption]
AlamyNew measures will include changing parking bays so the tourist transporting vehicles can’t stop in the B4425 layby[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
