Neighbours in £1.5m homes say their Cotswolds dream has been destroyed

Families living on the UK’s ‘prettiest street’ want to move home because of non-stop  ‘war zone’ renovations that have been going on for two years.

Residents fear the picturesque village of Bibury on the Oxfordshire border is being ‘destroyed’ because of the ongoing work on the Grade-II listed property. 

The house being renovated is on Awkward Hill, a street filled with chocolate box cottages, where the average house prices are £1.5million.

Tourists from as far as India, Japan and China flood the area due to the quintessential English village feel, historic architecture and a glimpse into a timeless scene.

But even they are stunned at the ongoing state of the cottage, which has been undergoing work since 2023 and is said to have caused constant noise and disruption.

The road outside was closed for a year while initial renovations were carried out, meanwhile trucks churn up verges and block neighbour’s gates with ‘dodgy’ parking.

The latest plans for the cottage include stripping and replacing the Cotswold stone slate roof tiles, as well as adding insulation to a utility room.

A ‘bizzare’ palm tree has also been added to the front garden – covered in Christmas decorations.

Plans for an oak conservatory have also been submitted. Previous plans include proposals for an underground garage at the site, which locals said has been built.

All of this has ‘horrified’ residents who say the owner does not live in the village, rarely visits and ‘ignores’ the negative feedback.

They say they have been reduced to tears by the work, which has impacted their ‘mental, emotional and physical’ wellbeing.

The cottage was bought for £1.1 million in 2022.

David Jacobs, 45, has lived in the village for eight years, and said the work has made him consider moving and selling his property.

Mr Jacobs said: ‘This building work has been more than awkward. It’s been a nightmare.

‘What’s the point of this being a conservation area? How this has all gone ahead is beyond me. The work has been unreal. It’s been a complete farce.

‘It looks like a war zone.

‘The roads have been blocked, we can’t park anywhere. The vehicles associated with the project park up the curb and on verges. They’ve ruined grass.

‘It’s been appalling. I don’t want to live here anymore, frankly. I have had enough. I am considering selling.

‘I came here for its charm but there’s not much charm anymore.’

Another local said: ‘I know one person who cannot sell his property and it’s because of the work that’s been going on. People are put off.

‘If you’re moving into one of the nicest areas of the country then it needs to be close to perfect. It’s far from that because of the work.’

Author Victoria Summerley, 69, lives next door to the property, and described it as ‘cultural vandalism’.

She said: ‘It’s been never-ending. There’s been one thing after another.

‘There’s an underground car park or garage, or whatever you want to call it. Who on earth thought that was a good idea here?

‘I’ve been in tears at the work and the thought of more of it. It has been so disruptive.’

Mrs Summerley opens her gardens up for charity fund-raising events but says visitors have noticed the work for years now.

She added: ‘It doesn’t look anything like the Cotswolds. They have totally changed the character of the building. These latest plans will as well.

‘It looks alien compared to the rest of the village. There’s even a palm tree that has been decorated.’

Neighbour Derek Rarreary, 70, said he was worried the underground building work may lead to the hill itself becoming unsafe.

He said: ‘That is a real worry in terms of what will happen to the hill. I’m worried it won’t be structurely sound.

‘He’s just done whatever he wants. That’s what happens around here. It’s wrong.’

Retired Jenny Hedgeland, who is in her 70s, said all locals had ‘suffered’.

She said: ‘The road outside was closed for about a year while some of the work was ongoing. It was a nightmare.

‘This is an area which is not supposed to have drastic changes. It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty.

‘Some people around here are in their 90s, it’s caused major problems. He must have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the property.

‘There’s been great big skips and wagons everywhere. It makes a real mockery of this being the nicest street in Britain.’

She said an ambulance was blocked from going down the road when it was closed, meaning an injured woman had to be put on a stretcher over a river to get to safety.

Mrs Hedgeland added: ‘They could not get the ambulance down. It was awful for the poor woman.’

Another resident said: ‘The man has turned the village into a scrap yard. It’s obscene. How has this been allowed to happen?

‘He has ruined what was once a beautiful area.’

Even visiting tourists were bemused at the state of the property.

Kashvi Surana, 20, from India, said: ‘It’s the most beautiful village. I’m not sure what is happening with that house though.’

Rohit and Anu Jaswal also agreed.

Anu, 43, said: ‘I think any work being done in the village should surely be in keeping with the original village. It’s stunning.

‘We feel very lucky to be here. But that does look very bad.’

Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman said the village has suffered with ‘incredible disruption’ for years due to the ongoing works.

He said: ‘It’s been perpetual and all of the verges have been ripped up. There’s a turning area at the top that has been significantly damaged.

‘We had a further three planning application to consider and we’ve had enough and on behalf of the residents we’re saying this has to stop and we will objecting to the applications.’

Mr Chapman added that the cottage is ‘not in keeping’ with a historic Cotswolds cottage – as he says owners installed a barbecue, palm trees and an underground garage.

He continued: ‘The main disruption has been caused by the fact that they built an underground garage. And I mean how many Cotswolds cottages have underground garages?

‘We just don’t know when this is going to stop and I mean the owners don’t live there. They visit every so often, so they don’t have to live with the disruption.’

Consultants working for the applicant say in their submissions that the proposed works include replacing the failing roof on the utility room with new and reclaimed Cotswold stone slate.

The oak frame conservatory is described as a ‘modest’ extension to the kitchen part of the building and would include fixed glazing, natural Cotswold stone tile roof with oak French doors onto the upper patio area in the garden.

They said a ‘traditional understated’ office/summerhouse in the upper garden was agreed in principle during the pre-application correspondence.

Matthew Hollingsworth, of Spirit Architecture Ltd, said: ‘The Awkward Hill road was closed by Gloucestershire Highways in 2023 after they received comments from the Parish Council in regard to the condition of the retaining drystone boundary wall of the cottage and Highways then issued an enforcement notice to my client to make repairs.

‘My client had to then pay for the rebuilding of this three metre-plus high retaining wall to current safety standards.

‘Closing the road obviously upset a lot of residents but it was the Parish Council who initiated this and the highways authority who instructed this work, it was not initiated by my client.’

There was nobody at the house when approached for comment.