This is your opportunity to talk about "Visit Witney"... Why visitors should come to our town, what's nice about Witney and what is not, what could be done to improve the town for visitors and give them an even better experience, the ways that residents might benefit (or for that matter not benefit), how Witney compares with other similar towns... The floor is entirely yours!
We have deliberately not started with lots of photographs and descriptions of the best-known Witney sites and sights, because we do not wish to lead the conversation... but wish the direction to come from you. So you are very welcome to add any and all photographs etc to your posts to help make your points, and we will build galleries to illustrate how we all see Witney as the conversation develops.
To help keep things as easy to follow as possible, we have set out some 'categories', and invite your posts, and comments on those posts, exactly as you please.
And now, over to you... Please log in and kick off!
Great points from James Walker and others in this thread. I wanted to share my thoughts on coach parking and what I've previously tried to get moving with both district and county councils. For those who don't know me, I'm the manager of the Woolgate Shopping Centre. My car park is often at/over capacity, so I have a vested interest in schemes that can boost my footfall without adding to the number of cars in town!
See attached for detail, but in summary my belief is that boosting visitor numbers to Witney will only be possible (and sustainable) by utilising mass transit options.
In the short to medium term this would include coaches and additional bus routes (that don't necessarily trawl through every estate in Witney to get to the town centre).
In the medium to long term, this might include park-and-ride outside of town (and off the A4o) (Curbridge perhaps?) with a shuttle bus that runs into the centre of town via the link road.
Both would need a drop off/staging point, with an additional visitor hub and signage.
In my meetings with both council's delegates, objections to using the Langdale Hall car park area were mainly centred around: cost/funding, environmental concerns (removing trees and landscaping), turning circles and congestion, requirement/need. The last one is a bit 'chicken-and-egg' in my opinion!
Would welcome any feedback.
As far as I can think, there is nowhere in Witney that is suitable for visiting coaches to use. The only immediately obvious candidate is Woodford Way carpark, although this would inevitably result in the loss of significant car capacity. When coaches are in Witney (rarely, as far as I know), they normally pick-up and drop outside Woodford Way - this is on a bend, on double yellow.
It is critical to realise that when considering coaches, we must think of the needs of the operator as much as the passenger - if we are doing everything else right for "Visit Witney," then tours should quickly sell, but we need the operators to produce the tours!
In operator terms, you are looking for a safe site to drop your passengers close to where they want to be, then with minimal hassle you need to be able to secure the vehicle and ensure the driver is able to access facilities and rest effectively.
The "Coach Friendly" scheme is run by the Confederation for Passenger Transport. It certifies towns and visitor attractions as being suitable for coach traffic and as a result those destinations are widely publicised to its member base of operators. Towns that are awarded Coach Friendly status typically offer clearly signed drop-off points in multiple locations, free or low-cost coach parking, and specific incentives for drivers e.g. dedicated rest facilities and vouchers to eat at locations in the town.
https://www.cpt-uk.org/campaigns-reports/coach-friendly-scheme/
I think that Witney is a very long way from CPT-friendly status and this is reflected in the fact I can currently find only one coach day trip stopping in Witney this year - it is operated by Marchants (Cheltenham) on 10th July en route to Waterperry Gardens.
http://www.marchants-coaches.com/Tour/Witney-Waterperry-Gardens
I might email them and ask where they are planning to alight passengers and leave the vehicle.
(Although I've made my trade in software, I have a strong personal interest in the PCV industry)
Coach parking is something that should be under consideration, I agree... Does anyone have any ideas of where a coach park could best be situated?