JOSIE Gibson’s plans to extend her new country home could be ruled too big by planners – by just ONE per cent.
The This Morning host, 40, wants to build a new entrance, gym, dressing room and garage annexe at her £1.1million Somerset cottage.
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She says the 1980’s four-bedroom pad is in “dire need” of refurbishment and is planning a glamourous Grand Designs-style makeover.
The huge revamp is to be featured in a new seven-part ITV series called Josie Gibson’s Big Country Build, and is due to be aired next year.
But the show could be thrown into crisis, because the 2,238 sq.ft property lies on green belt land. Consequently, she is only allowed to increase the overall volume by a third – and her current plans are for a 34% rise, putting planning permission at risk of being refused.
There have been no objections from neighbours but conservationists have raised fears over light pollution from the proposed extra glazing.
In a letter to the local council, a Preservation Trust said: “An increase in light spill can be detrimental to the character of the national landscape.
“Given this, the officer/decision-maker(s) must be assured that any light spill will not detract from the special qualities of the designated areas.
“Of course, increases in artificial light can impact on ecology and this should be considered by the local planning authority in its determination of the application.”
But in a letter of support, a neighbour said: “The development looks very good. I support it, with one request.
“We have bedroom windows that look towards the proposed new structure. Please can there be no outdoor lights that stay on late into the night. We have a beautiful dark sky, and it would be lovely to keep it that way.”
Josie, 40, shot to fame 15 years ago when she won Big Brother after getting into a relationship with housemate John James Parton.
The couple later appeared in a fly-on-the-wall show following their lives together called Josie and John James: What Happened Next, before later splitting up.
Josie carved out a career as a TV personality, appearing in her own three-part reality TV series There’s Something About Josie, in 2011. She joined ITV’s This Morning as a competition announcer in 2019 and became a presenter in 2021.
The former I’m a Celebrity star bought her new house in November and has applied for planning permission for a ground floor gym and rumpus room and a one-bedroom garage annexe with a balcony.
She also plans to keep sheep and bees at the 3.4-acre property which has an orchard, paddock and ornamental pond.
In an Instagram post, she said: “My dream is to build a house as eco and luxurious as possible where you are immersed in the setting of nature.
“I want bees, birds, badgers to all live in harmony though I’m becoming increasingly concerned that my harmonious dream is slowly turning into a construction nightmare.”
Officials at the local council are expected to make a decision later this month.
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