A stunning and vast wetlands area is due to be renamed after years of confusion.

Cotswold Water Park will now be known as Cotswold Lakes.

Councillors passed a motion to officially support the name change at a full council meeting on Cotswold District Council on Wednesday, July 31.

The area includes more than 180 lakes located across the three counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Oxfordshire.

It is estimated one million people visit the area every year.

The decision was made after businesses, Cotswold Lakes Trust and Cotswold Tourism said the old name had caused much confusion with visitors. 

According to the proposal, due to the current name, tourists often turn up and expect a single venue with water slides, pools, play areas and food outlets. 

“It's really for clarification"

Speaking during the CDC meeting, Cllr Juliet Layton (Lib Dem, South Cerney) said: “I’m not asking for us to turn this into a branding exercise or anything like that.

“I’m asking, we acknowledge the recommendations of changing Cotswold Water Park into Cotswold Lakes.

“Cotswold Tourism and Visit Wiltshire welcome the change, as it will be far clearer to mark it, than the misnomer of Cotswold Water Park.

“Tourists think they’re coming to a water park, a single venue with slides, splash areas, beaches rather than 180 lakes. 

She added: “It's really for clarification that we support what the businesses and what the Cotswold Lakes Trust want to do, which is to simplify the name."

The site is also a wildlife heaven, home to 35,000 wintering birds.

The name change has also been supported by parish and town councils within the site including officials from Cricklade, Lechlade, Fairford and South Cerney.

Cotswold Water Park will now be known as Cotswold Lakes - photo by Andy Legster

'People come looking for Alton Towers' 

Cllr Mike Evemy (Lib Dem, Cerney Rural) said: “The point is people still come to the area thinking they’re looking for Alton Towers or something like that.

“They think of the water park and just think of Lake 12, which obviously it's much much more than that.

“Cotswold Lakes is the name that we were suggesting.

“The businesses have all that conversation, some of them use water park in their name, so it's quite a big thing for them to change .

“But I think they will recognise that Cotswold Lakes as a tourist location is a much much better descriptor than Cotswold Water Park, as it has been previously known. 

“We had quite a lot of discussion about signage and naming, and changing that, that will be a work in progress.

“We are not asking for money to change all the signs.

“We talked about writing to Highways and getting signs changed, as they come to the end of their lives.

“That process will go on, probably for a few years.

“But I think the important point today, is to recognise, we will be calling it Cotswold Lakes 

“Therefore in the work that the planning officers are doing and the local plan will call it Cotswold Lakes not Cotswold Water Park. 

“We will all come to call it Cotswold Lakes and eventually all the signs will say Cotswold Lakes.”

Cllr David Fowles (C, Coln Valley) asked whether the name change would have any cost implications.

In reply, Cllr Evemy said: “The signage is probably the significant thing that might cost any money and what we talked about, there isn’t a budget. 

“Who owns the signs is a little bit unclear in some cases.

“We obviously have a street signage budget and as signs get renewed, we obviously will use that name.

“The group locally will write to people like Highways and say, when you’re changing your sign can you change it to Cotswold Lakes.

“We’re not allocating a budget, but what we’re saying is a lot of the work is done in the marketing which is easier to change."

Cllr Mike Evemy (Lib Dem, Cerney Rural) speaking at the CDC meeting in support of the name change  (Image: Cotswold District Council)

Council leader Joe Harris said: “Clearly, in the fullness of time there will be some minor costs associated with this, probably around signage.

“I think what we need to aim to do is get everybody around the table and see what the practical things that we can do to try and help the Cotswold Water Park trust in doing this.

“Let's see if we can start phasing this name change through.

He added “But I think it's a great idea, and it's a real opportunity, isn’t it? 

“For someone to steal the Cotswold Water Park name and build it somewhere with slides... I’m thinking of the Oasis in Swindon but in the Cotswolds.” 

The motion passed with full council approval. 

You can view the entire meeting here - tinyurl.com/jszaf94e