VISITORS are being deterred from Dedham in the peak season in a bid to manage “mass tourism”, it is claimed.

Dedham Parish Council’s business meeting was told Colchester Council has “a policy of not promoting the village as a tourist destination because of concerns over over-crowding.”

The village, at the heart of Constable Country, attracts thousands of visitors, particularly in the summer to enjoy its scenic riverside.

Colchester Council says its policy has been misinterpreted.

A spokesman said the policy is to encourage more visitors in the low season rather than during the peak season when the village would not have capacity to cope.

He said it means encouraging cycling and walking rather than “car-borne” tourism.

The cycle tour, The Painters’ Trail, has been developed to encourage this.

It has been devised as a three-day tour to encourage overnight spend in the area.

A spokesman said it works with the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain to ensure the “principles of Tourism Management” are applied when hosting Constable exhibitions, in order to better regulate the impact of tourism on these small communities.

The spokesman said the council is a member of the Dedham Vale Visitor Management Group (DVVMG), along with Babergh Council, Essex and Suffolk county councils, the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Stour Valley Project, the National Trust, the RSPB, and the Community Rail Partnership among others.

Its aim is to manage the impact of visitors on an area which is of cultural and ecological importance.

He added: “There is no position among members of the DVVMG not to promote the area, but rather to manage visitor impacts on an area which is extremely sensitive to the effect of mass-tourism. Indeed, many of the individual members work to promote the area for visitors by producing guides, information and supporting initiatives.”