Bibury's Prettiest Street Home Faces New Objections Amid Controversy

A CONTROVERSIAL home on ‘England’s prettiest street’ has faced fresh objections to its latest plans – after police probed an alleged shooting there. The work at the home in Bibury has been dubbed a ”flagrant disregard for the history and beauty of the area” in a new complaint. Years of construction work at a cottage on Awkward Hill has been at the centre of a row as locals say it is blighting their lives. On Monday, January 12 armed cops descended on the same road over claims a firearm had been used against site workers. However, police said on Thursday, January 15 that there has been no confirmation shots were fired. Now a former resident has issued an objection comment to Cotswold District Council over the latest proposed plans for the Grade-II listed property Rosemary Cottage. Submitted in November, the objector, who described herself as a former long term resident of Awkward Hill now living in London, stated she is “appalled” by the plans. The statement said: “As a previous long term resident of Awkward Hill I am appalled to see the proposed changes to Rosemary Cottage. ”The latest proposed plans would be an extreme overdevelopment of the site and not at all in keeping with the surrounding area. “This is an AONB and needs to be protected as such. “In the 40+ years I have been lucky enough to be part of the community I have never seen such flagrant disregard for the history and beauty of the area. “If the current owner wanted a bigger house he should have bought a bigger house, rather than try to overextend a cottage that has serviced perfectly well in its current form for decades. “I wholeheartedly hope the Planning Department sees sense and rejects this latest application.” 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. There are also plans for an oak conservatory and stone summerhouse there have been previous proposals for an underground garage at the site. Locals have previously stated that the works which have been carried out since 2023 are have caused constant noise and disruption. Trucks that service the site churn up the verges and block their gates, said locals. Residents of Arlington Row, Awkward Hill and Hawkers Hill say they are “horrified” by the damage that has been done. Gloucestershire Police said there has been no confirmation a shot was fired and no projectile has been found. Initial investigations have found damage to the window frame of an excavator and, while the workmen were shaken by what had happened, no one was injured. 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 Rosemary Cottage and Highways then issued an enforcement notice to my client to make repairs. “My client had to then pay for the re-building of this 3m+ 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.” They 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.