Our Work
Bibury Heritage’s project work focuses on building a clear understanding of the pressures facing the village and supporting informed, long-term solutions. Through research, local insight and collaboration, our work aims to protect Bibury’s heritage, landscape and community while helping to guide responsible change.
Bibury at Capacity: Why Access Must Be Managed, Not Expanded
January 2026
This report aims to foster constructive, evidence-based discussions by analyzing key factors such as parking capacity, visitor throughput, access constraints, and heritage considerations. It serves to inform future strategies regarding parking and access management in Bibury. The main finding indicates that the village's physical and heritage constraints impose a practical limit on the number of visitors it can sustainably accommodate during peak days. Additionally, it examines how parking provision, coach access, and targeted management strategies can help maintain visitor levels within this sustainable range.
Bringing together Heritage & Cotswold Stakeholders
We are engaged with key national and local organisations whose actions and voices have, or could have, a significant impact on Bibury. These include The National Trust, the custodians of Arlington Row and Rack Isle at the very centre of the village; Historic England, the champion of England’s heritage; the board of The Cotswolds National Landscape; Councillors and officers of Gloucestershire County Council and the Cotswolds District Council; and of course, the Bibury Parish Council, with whom we work alongside. We are hopeful that such engagement will lead to active partnerships working together towards our objectives.
We’ve also reached out to the political establishment: our local MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown; the Secretary of State for the Environment; and the recently established APPG for National Parks & National Landscapes.
Bibury Heritage Community Open Days
March 2026
Bibury Heritage recently held two open afternoons at the Village Hall and the Baptist Church, offering residents and local businesses a chance to share their views, find out more about our work, and contribute to shaping future priorities. Approaching 100 parishioners attended, along with a small number of people who work in the village but live outside the parish. Everyone was invited to complete an informal feedback form, and the results were both clear and consistent.
A strong majority, 93% supported the need to better manage and reduce visitor numbers, while 98% said over-tourism is currently having a negative impact on their daily lives. There was also clear opposition 86% to an out-of-village coach parking, with 93% stating that coaches bring no economic benefit and 95% believing they increase congestion. In addition, 84% of residents said they do not feel safe walking around the village.
These findings provide a clear reflection of local sentiment and will play an important role in shaping our ongoing work.
Exploring Settlement Carrying Capacity for Bibury
September 2026
Bibury Heritage recently met Cllr Jon Wareing of Bourton-on-the-Water to discuss his work on Settlement Carrying Capacity (SCC) and its potential role within the emerging Cotswold District Local Plan.
Settlement Carrying Capacity is essentially about understanding how much activity or development a place can sustainably accommodate before unacceptable pressure is placed on its infrastructure, environment, heritage and community.
For Bibury, we believe this could provide an important framework for assessing overtourism, visitor numbers, traffic, parking and coaches. But SCC can also have a much wider planning role – for example, helping to assess whether settlements have the infrastructure and environmental capacity to accommodate additional housing or other development.
The approach closely mirrors the work Bibury Heritage has already undertaken through our Bibury at Capacity report and our subsequent research into overtourism and visitor pressure.
Following our meeting with Jon, Cllr Tony Dale has asked Tim Atkins at Cotswold District Council to take work on SCC forward, and we are delighted that Bibury Heritage is being included in those discussions.
This comes at an important time, as Bibury Parish Council is also preparing to commission an independent assessment of the village's carrying capacity, visitor management and parking needs.
For Bibury Heritage, the principle is straightforward: understand the capacity of a place first, then make decisions about development and infrastructure.
We hope the work now beginning with CDC and Jon Wareing could ultimately provide a useful approach not only for Bibury and Bourton, but for communities across the Cotswolds.
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