England’s “prettiest” Cotswolds village has denied development plans for a cafe and retail area in an ongoing fight against overtourism.
Coaches of tourists descend daily on the picturesque hamlet of Bibury – ranked as one of the world's most beautiful villages by Forbes – in the Cotswolds area of Gloucestershire.
The application by Bibury Trout Farm was denied at a district council meeting on 11 August, with councillors voting unanimously to reject the proposal.
Proposed plans included the conversion of the ground floor of existing barns from general storage into a cafe with a retail area and amendments to the patio area at Shoecroft Barn, a grade II-listed converted stone barn.
Bibury Parish Council said: “Over 100 residents objected to this; recently Highways also objected. We strongly OBJECT to this application.”
The site is located on the northern edge of the Bibury Conservation Area.
The council added that overtourism by the trout farm, resulting in high volumes of visitors, is having a “negative impact on the local environment”.
The site describes itself as “England’s oldest working trout farm”, where visitors can explore “beautiful grounds, catch a fish, hire a barbecue or have a round of crazy golf”.
According to the Cotswold Council, the application failed to demonstrate that “safe and suitable access can be achieved for all users”.
It said: “The site relies upon pedestrian movement along Ablington Lane, a constrained rural road with no dedicated pedestrian infrastructure, where evidence demonstrates substantial pedestrian activity and shared use of the carriageway with vehicular traffic during peak visitor periods.
“Insufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate that pedestrian accessibility and pedestrian safety have been adequately assessed or that any resulting highway safety impacts have been shown to be acceptable or capable of mitigation to an acceptable degree.”
Last year, Bibury Parish Council called on tourists to travel in “smaller vehicles” to the popular village.
The village, which can attract up to 20,000 tourists each weekend, implemented new restrictions on coach access in May 2025.
Gloucestershire County Council rolled out the temporary traffic management trial to “prevent accidents and ensure Bibury remains a welcoming and safe destination for all.”
New parking restrictions include designated drop-off zones for coaches and penalties for vehicles that do not comply.
Read more: The UK beauty spot that pulled in £45,000 in parking fines in a year