Coach Friendly Town status could be worth £150,000 a year or more to Marlborough’s economy

Encouraging more coach operators to stop in Marlborough could inject upwards of £150,000 a year into the local economy if it becomes a Coach Friendly Town, a meeting heard today (Thursday).

John Burch of the UK-wide trade federation the Confederation of Passenger Transport was in town to see for himself the facilities Marlborough offers to coach drivers and passengers, and how those facilities could be improved.

He later met with town and county councillors, members of the Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from the tourism industry at The Merchant’s House, a prime destination for visitors to the town.

To achieve Coach Friendly Town Status – which is already enjoyed by Salisbury, and most recently by Devizes – Marlborough would need to address a number of requirements, including putting in place a group tourism strategy, ensuring signage is adequate, and identifying coach pick-up and set-down points.

Mr Burch said the town’s High Street – the widest non-pedestrianised high street in Britain – was well suited to coach traffic. There were long and wide bays for coaches and buses along the sides of High Street although, he noted, although coach operators would have to work with those running the regular bus routes to ensure that clashes did not occur.

He was also happy to see dedicated coach parking at George Lane car park, with toilet facilities nearby, although he mourned the loss of the Tourist Information Centre at the same site, and was disappointed that coach drivers were charged to park.

“You need to look at this as part of your overall parking strategy,” he said. “Compare the revenue raised through coach parking to the economic benefit coaches could bring to the town.”

That benefit was estimated to be worth at least £150,000 a year to the local economy. Andrew Gostelow of Visit Wiltshire said national figures suggested every extra 44-seat coach brings an average of 25 people, each spending £16 to £17, meaning just two extra coaches a year would lead to an around £150,000 or more year being spent with Marlborough businesses.

He also said facilities for coach drivers to clean their coaches, and a ‘toilet drop’ to deal with waste from onboard facilities would be desirable. “Sadly, I can’t see you appealing to the overnight stay market at the moment – you just don’t have adequate hotel facilities,” he said.

And he said that traders – especially those in the hospitality industry – should consider making vouchers available to coach drivers and passengers to encourage them to frequent their establishments.

Mr Burch said Marlborough could benefit from two different kinds of coach tourism. The first is the stop-off, where passengers are offloaded as the driver takes a regulatory break. A coach driver can only work for four-and-a-half hours before taking an hour-long break, meaning a stop of anything up to 90 minutes for passengers.

The second kind of tourism is destination tourism. Marlborough, said Mr Burch, should work on designing itineraries to attract coach-based tourism. The meeting discussed how a visit to Marlborough could be combined with a visit to Avebury, or Crofton Beam Engines and Wilton Windmill, or the STEAM railway museum in Swindon to appeal to different markets.

The meeting decided to drive ahead with applying for Coach Friendly Status. The matter will next be addressed by the Town Team, which brings together the local authority and members of the business community.