EIGHT out of ten people who took part in a survey into the problems coaches are causing in one of the most popular destinations in the Cotswold are opposed to a ban.

An impartial survey was carried out over the issue which has caused “parking chaos” in Bourton-on-the-Water since the start of the year.

However, concerns have been raised over the validity of the survey results due to perceived leading questions and bias.

On December 31, the Bourton Vale car park stopped taking coaches and since then the vehicles have been dropping off tourists on double yellow lines in Station Road and other parts of the village.

This has caused mayhem in the village with coaches causing various safety issues.

The parish council has since agreed to request an experimental traffic regulation order (TR) to better manage traffic and coach movements within the village while a long term parking solution is found for the coaches.

But the recent survey suggests 80 per cent of respondents rejected the proposal of a traffic regulation order costing £35,000 to restrict coaches from specific roads in the village centre.

Some 3,000 surveys were delivered and 863 people responded. The ballot box was opened by an independent firm of accountants and counted before being inputted and analysed, according to those behind the scheme.

Of the replies, 410 responses were received through the on-line survey and 453 completed surveys were returned to a sealed ballot box at Bourton Post Office.

Some 65 per cent of respondents thought that coach tourists were very important to the economy and a further 20% thought it was quite important.

In exploring this in more detail, 75 per cent thought that coaches were more environmentally friendly than cars; 76 per cent thought it enhanced the village’s reputation as a tourist destination and 80 per cent thought coaches provided jobs and allowed shops and businesses to stay open.

When asked a question about which of three solutions to the problem of coach parking would respondents support, 68 per cent thought an allocated area on Cotswold District Council’s Rissington Road car park should be provided; 75 per cent preferring an allocated area in the industrial estate and finally 50 per cent of respondents preferring a designated drop off point.

Finally, 80 per cent of respondents were very disappointed with the way in which the whole issue of coach parking had been handled.