Families say that ‘England’s prettiest street’ has been ruined by relentless building work on a Grade II-listed cottage.
Locals of the picturesque Bibury, in the Cotswolds, say they face daily road blocks due to ongoing works at the property on Awkward Hill since 2023.
The renovation project is said to have caused constant noise and disruption to neighbours on Arlington Row, which is widely considered the ‘prettiest street in England’.
Residents of Arlington Row, Awkward Hill and Hawkers Hill say they are ‘horrified’ by the damage that has been done, with trucks that service the site churning up the verges and blocking their gates.
Victoria Summerville, 69, who is a direct neighbour to the cottage, in Awkward Hill, said the works have affected her daily life.
She continued: ‘My common boundary with that cottage is the wall at the bottom of my garden, and so instead of looking out at grass, a cottage or vegetable beds, I felt that in two years I’ve looked out over what looks like a bombsight.
‘They never seem to do anything very fast and the contractors say it is because the owner keeps changing his mind about what he wants to do.’
The latest plans for the cottage include the stripping and replacement of Cotswold stone slate roof tiles, as well as adding insulation to a utility room.
Families say that ‘England’s prettiest street’ in Bibury has been ruined by relentless building work on a Grade II-listed cottage
Locals of the picturesque village, in the Cotswolds, say they face daily road blocks due to ongoing works at the property on Awkward Hill since 2023
There are also plans for an oak conservatory and stone summerhouse. There have been previous proposals for an underground garage at the site.
Ms Summerville added: ‘For me and all my other immediate neighbours, it is the inconvenience and the mess.
‘These huge vehicles come up a lane that was originally a kind of track between the two halves of the village.
‘It is wide enough to get a car and to get a bin lorry. But these massive vehicles come up with supplies on it.
‘I have lost count of how many cement lorries have come up in the last few weeks. When they unload at the site nobody can get up and down the hill for the village.
‘You can’t drive out a lot of the time because of the lorry blocking the lane. You can’t even walk down to the village because there is a lorry blocking the lane.
‘A neighbour of mine got stuck the other day trying to take his son to the station. His son missed the train. When this happens day after day it becomes very wearying indeed.’
One resident who has been living in the village for more than 30 years is ‘very unhappy’ about the time the project has taken to be concluded.
The local, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘I believe the extent and nature of the works are inappropriate for a small listed cottage on the ancient byway that is Awkward Hill.
‘There is constant noise, disruption and inconvenience due to daily to-ing and fro-ing of trucks and heavy machinery, destruction of verges on Awkward and Hawkers Hill.’
The renovation project is said to have caused constant noise and disruption to neighbours on Arlington Row, which is widely considered the ‘prettiest street in England’
The latest plans for the cottage include the stripping and replacement of Cotswold stone slate roof tiles, as well as adding insulation to a utility room
Residents of Arlington Row, Awkward Hill and Hawkers Hill say they are ‘horrified’ by the damage that has been done
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 barbeque, 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 preapplication 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.’
Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman said the village has suffered with ‘incredible disruption’ for years due to the ongoing works
Locals say trucks that service the site are churning up the verges and blocking the gates to their homes
Consultants working for the applicant say that the proposed works include replacing the failing roof on the utility room with new and reclaimed Cotswold stone slate
He added: ‘There is an underground garage being built which has full planning approval, this is instead of a previous above ground garage which has been removed and will be less obvious than the replacement one previously approved above ground.
‘The access is a single lane narrow hill so it is tricky. This work would be complete by now but was delayed as additional flood risk assessments were required after a Parish Council comment. The report concluded that there was no flood risk.
‘There are some landscaping works which have planning approval which are being undertaken – the work takes time with the limited site access, hillside site and being drystone faced.
‘Finally two of the current applications made are for the repair and maintenance of the fabric of the listed building, generally seen as a good thing.
‘One commenter refers to the Palm trees on site, this is an odd comment as these have been there for well over 20 years and my client has tried to retain these as they are part of the history of the building.’
Locals say the owners currently do not live at the property.
