LOCALS of a Cotswold village, famous for being the home of Bridget Jones in the hit rom-com, are furious at the council for letting tourists overrun their home.
Snowshill, which appeared in the 2001 film, ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ has been ‘ruined’ by holiday lets complained its residents.
Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in the much loved 2001 film[/caption]
Locals say the swarms of tourists have ruined the character of the village[/caption]
Peter and Sheila Wilkes outside their home in Snowshill[/caption]
Sheila Wilks, 85, said: “I have been here all my life, 80 years, and I just think people abused it.”
The village appeared in the much-loved classic as the home of Bridget’s parents, played by Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones, and it is often called “the jewel of the Cotswolds”.
Sheila and her husband Peter, 84, live in the old village shop where Sheila was born and they said the amount of holiday lets is “disgusting”.
“Most of the houses here are Airbnb‘s. It is disgusting. There are at least 12 Airbnb’s in the village.
“We get about four mini buses a day. They do tend to block the road occasionally. It was all working class people but now it doesn’t seem to be that way at all. It does break up the communities,” said Peter.
The Wilks’ concerns come as council looks to tighten planning rules to preserve the character of the village.
Sheila said more regulations are a positive but she wishes they had been enacted sooner: “They have come too late, they have ruined the village.”
“I hate change and I think we should preserve what we’ve got. Because we are in such a beautiful place, people should keep it like this,” she continued.
Other residents see the planning rules as “too controlling”.
Rose, in her 40s, has lived in Snowshill for four years, and she objected to the stricter rules but the council went ahead despite this.
“It is very prohibitive in terms of what you can do to your home,” she said.
Rose turned a derelict property into her current home and she said: “it has been a very painful process. If now we want to do a fence, it feels like we have already climbed a hill.”
She agreed with Sheila and Peter that the real problem is the level of holidaymakers who “cross the line”.
‘TOURISM IS CHANGING THE CHARACTER’
“Tourism is changing the character of the village, not the house changes.”
Rose continued: “preserving the village for tourists is not the best logic.”
Tewksbury Burough Council will put Snowshill under an Article 4 Direction.
As a result, any work or alterations to the buildings will have to be cleared by the authority. Alterations include, putting in a patio, changing the colour of an outside wall, installing roof lights or replacing exterior windows and doors.
Paul, 66, and Sarah Brereton, 66, believe stricter rules are a good thing, and should have come sooner. Paul cited how current regulations have allowed many houses to swap original metal windows for plastic ones.
The rules will mean Paul “can’t repaint [his] windows charcoal grey which I was planning to because I will need planning regulation which is quite expensive.”
The village was made famous by appearing in films like Bridget Jones’s Diary[/caption]
Sue and Paul Brereton with Harry their dog, they both want tighter planning rules[/caption]
Terry and Pauline Rolls, both 71, also said that plastic windows “wrecked” the character of Snowshill.
Mr Rolls said: “We don’t want the village wrecked with plastic windows.
“What we want is as little damage as possible. There are a few that have been damaged.
“People doing what they want to their home is not necessarily a good thing. It is all about keeping the character of the village alive.”
‘WE COULD END UP WITH DISNEYLAND’
He continued: “We could end up with Disneyland. It is not a NIMBY reaction but we need to keep some originality in this country.”
Kim, a village resident for 40 years was sceptical about the council’s plan.
“How are they going to regulate it? Unless somebody complains.”
She added: “If you’ve got young children and something happens to your fence why do you have to go through planning when all you want is to keep you child and the people around you safe.
“You can’t change your door, but what if it’s damaged?
“It costs you more to put planning in on Article 4 than a planning application.
“I can see that people want to keep it a Cotswold village but you’ve got to have a balance, but I think people will do whatever they want to their houses.”
Councillor Sarah Hands, lead member for planning and place making at the borough council said: “Snowshill is one of the jewels of our borough, and these powers will help to protect its heritage, while still allowing thoughtful and appropriate development.”
“We’re grateful to everyone who took part in the consultation and helped shape this decision.”
The regulations come into force on Wednesday after the Article 4 decision was approved by the Council in late July 2025.
Filming of Bridget Jones’s Diary in the quaint Cotswold village[/caption]
Peter Wilks said he sees up to four mini buses of tourists a day[/caption]
Pauline and Terry Rolls are supportive of the tighter planning regulations[/caption]
