Locals in Matlock Bath are seeking support to ensure that the town’s coach park is re-opened for the use of coaches. The coach park in the resort has been closed for nearly two years, and has been designated a tolerated traveller site by the District Council which owns and manages the site, meaning that its nine coach spaces and 22 car spaces have been unavailable for the last 22 months. As a result, it is said that many prospective visitors to the village just drive through and the businesses in the village, most of whom rely on visitors for their livelihood, have been struggling. Derbyshire Dales District Council is currently undertaking a public consultation on possible future sites to house these travellers, one of which is the coach park, and the local Parish Council is calling on the support of all past and future visitors, of which the town welcomes up to 1.1 million per year, to take part in the survey. The consultation ends on 22nd September, and the Parish Council says that coaches, as an eco-friendly way of transporting large numbers of visitors, should be promoted by local authorities not blocked. The survey can be found at derbyshiredales.gov.uk/your-council/have-your-say/consultations/traveller-sites-consultation-2024 and the Parish Council has also set up an online petition calling on Derbyshire Dales District Council to urgently restore all of the car and coach park to its proper use and to take all possible precautions to ensure that its future will be safeguarded.
