Marlborough’s Idea for Future Tourism

The market town of Marlborough sits around 5 miles North West from Crofton within the stunning scenery of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With its long wide high street, historic buildings, as well as a mix of independent and chain retail stores, it’s very much a hub of activity and a popular stop off destination for many tourists visiting the area.

The town has numerous Pay and Display car parks, the most popular being George Lane Long Stay car park, which is a short walking distance from the main high street. Bordered by two public parks, a play area, access to the local Waitrose and with 167 spaces (with two blue badge, two electric charging spaces), the car park is used by both visitors and residents alike.

The newest facility to the car park is Coopers Corner, the newly redesigned and renovated public toilet building by Marlborough Town council Tourism Forum. The once battered and outdated building now houses four unisex public toilets (one with disabled access, two with baby changing facilities), a tourist information room which will contain leaflets on local businesses and accommodation, visitor attractions, the surrounding area and general town information for visitors, and a mess room with tea and coffee making facilities to be used by coach drivers parking in the car park.

Coaches are a common sight in the town, not just for the local secondary school, but for groups coming visiting from all over. With access to a drop off point slap bang in the middle of the high street, coaches can then park in one of the 4 designated coach parking spaces at George Lane and make use of the new mess room which would be available to them to use, contributing to a stress free visit for all involved.

Believe it or not, a full sized 56 seater coach CAN fit in our tarmacked carpark at Crofton, and we’re working with several local visitor attractions in and around Marlborough to create group day packages to use the new facility to its full potential connecting visitors to the local town, as well as to history in the Wiltshire countryside.

Coopers Corner is a real turning point for the town, encouraging visitors as well as local people to explore not just the town itself, but the surrounding area, to get out there and get the most out of their visit.