New shuttle bus service to help control traffic at popular beauty spot
With summer approaching, tourists and salopians alike flock to a popular beauty spot in Church Stretton, and now a shuttle service is hoping to control the volume of cars travelling to the site.
A free shuttle bus service around Church Stretton and into Carding Mill Valley has been set up to help the town manage the volume of visitors arriving by car.
When the National Trust site reopened after lockdown, visitors flocking to the picturesque hills caused parking chaos and overflow car parks were even set up to manage the traffic.
In one weekend in June, the area around Church Stretton was inundated with more than 1,000 cars – the town council even asked people to reconsider visiting the site due to the parking problems.
Set up by the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, Church Stretton Town Council and National Trust, with grant support from Shropshire Council, the shuttle service will hope to control the problem.
The new ‘park and ride’ service starts this Saturday, July 11 and will run every weekend through July and August. This will include the August Bank Holiday and Fridays as demand requires.
The service will link the main car parks in the town to Carding Mill Valley and shuttle visitors to and from the temporary car park just outside town towards All Stretton.
As part of the new service, passengers must wear face coverings and comply with the one metre distancing rule on public transport. Masks will be available onboard for a minimum donation of 50p per mask.
The bus, operated by local coach company Boulton’s, will be sanitised regularly and deep cleaned at the end and the start of each day.
Bob Welch, Mayor of Church Stretton, said: "We have set this temporary shuttle service up to help address the acute parking pressure that Church Stretton is currently experiencing due to social distancing measures in Carding Mill Valley. It will help to reduce overcrowding and inappropriate parking through the town."
The service will start at 10am and operate a 30-minute timetable through the day until 4.30pm. Starting at the temporary car park, the bus will head to Carding Mill Valley and then do a circuit of the town stopping on Beaumont Street and outside the Co-op store.
