Queen of Chipping Norton chic is caught in row with her well-heeled neighbours for converting £1.8m office into rental home without planning permission

She was hailed as the ‘Queen of Norton chic’ and was adored by wealthy Cotswolds families who flocked to her stores for quintessential English countryside interiors.

But now famous interior designer Susie Watson has found herself at the center of a village row after turning her former offices into a rental house without planning permission.

Ms Watson, who sells pillows for £125 and hand-embroidered lampshades for £140 at her Susie Watson Designs boutique, ruffled feathers in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ramsbury.

Until last year, his beautiful two-storey building on the village square served as the offices of his luxury interior design empire.

But when staff moved to nearby Marlborough, builders quickly moved in and converted the building into a two-bedroom cottage.

Despite being located on the heavily protected North Wessex Downs, no planning permission was sought for the change of use.

Mrs Watson and her husband Hamish have now had to apply for retroactive permission from Wiltshire Council.

If the decision goes against them, they may be asked to return the building to its former office appearance.

Famous interior designer Susie Watson found herself in the middle of a village row after turning her former offices into rental homes without planning permission.

Its beautiful two-storey building on the village square (pictured) served as offices for Ms Watson’s luxury interiors empire until last year.

Rear of the now converted tenement house belonging to Mrs Watson

The planning saga has sparked whispers in the village that dates back to the Domesday Book, and Ms Watson is said to be furious over what she calls “fake news” about the project.

Critics described it as ‘a bit sneaky’.

The property, which was purchased for £1.8 million in 2015, according to land registry data, has now been converted into a modest two-bedroom house for neighbours.

One woman in Ramsbury told the Daily Mail the transformation was “truly disgraceful”.

He said: ‘I think there should have been consultation and it doesn’t surprise me at all that he did that.

‘I visited the offices; There was no real bathroom or garden.

‘There were toilets but no bathrooms and a small kitchen up the stairs and no parking.

‘They must have done a lot of work on this but it’s all shrouded in mystery.

Ms Watson (left) is said to be furious over what she calls ‘fake news’ about the project

Mrs Watson and her husband Hamish were forced to apply for retrospective permission from Wiltshire Council

Despite being located on the heavily protected North Wessex Downs, no planning permission has been obtained for the change of use of the office.

‘There’s no paperwork but that’s how he is.’

At the local Post Office, villagers described seeing an influx of builders but offered little explanation.

Another said: ‘This has already been done. Changed to home. I think it has already been converted.

‘They’ve been on and off there for a while. I think the people who built her stores are the same builders that Susie Watson always uses.

‘This happens here all the time.

‘There used to be all kinds of things here. We had 11 bars here, now it’s down to two.

‘I don’t think many people know it’s been converted into a house.’

Another resident, living in a nearby café, lamented the erosion of village life he was seeing.

He said: ‘Susie moved to Marlborough a year and a half ago but has kept the office running using the upstairs.

In documents submitted to the council, representatives of the Watson family said they were unaware that permission was required to convert the building to residential use.

Planning saga has sparked whispers in village whose history dates back to Domesday Book

‘We didn’t know about this. This is the first time we hear this.

‘It’s the same for the bar; Now they are trying to turn it into a house.

‘This is the slow degradation of a village community. single person [left] post office and shop.

‘We need to look at how many of these houses are uninhabited. So they do not bring money to the village. There are lots of second homes.’

In documents submitted to the council, Watsons’ representatives said they were unaware that permission was needed to convert the building to residential use.

A covering letter stated that they “realised that this was not permitted at a later date due to the address location being within the North Wessex Downs Natural Landscape”, adding that no external changes had been made apart from the removal of the “Susie Watson Design” sign.

When approached, Ms Watson insisted the application was just ‘a bit of a formality’.

A Ramsbury woman told the Daily Mail the transformation was ‘truly disgraceful’

Ms Watson, who lives in a £1 million cottage in Axford, Wilts, said she was confident planners would approve the plan in the coming weeks.

But he was furious at reports that the property was worth £2.3 million and claimed its real value was closer to £500,000.

He said: ‘This makes us look like millionaires.

‘I have no idea where the £2.3m came from, it’s disgusting. We don’t want this to be said.

‘It looks like we’re making money from an old office.

‘People don’t have offices in Ramsbury, so we turned it into a one-and-a-half bedroom house.

‘There is a room and a small kitchen downstairs.

‘We’ve met all kinds of people talking about this’ [the valuation].

‘It’s not good. This is truly a shame for us.

‘It’s all a bit condescending, like, ‘This smart store for country people.’ ‘Oh, they’re all posh people’.

‘We run a shop that makes handmade items and of course they are expensive, handmade.

‘A lampshade costs £150’, so yes – they are all hand embroidered and handmade, things aren’t automatically cheap when someone makes them by hand.

Claiming that there were ‘no problems’, Ms Watson explained that the ‘small but beautiful’ cottage had been completed and had already been let to a tenant.

He described the local people’s disappointment as follows: ‘There is no problem. What might they have problems with?

‘This was once a home and we’re turning it into a home again and that’s what people need; house. Not empty offices.

‘Why should local people care about this? This is a village full of houses. People don’t want offices. If they want to take the office, then we’re excited. But they didn’t.

‘A bit like a cat. We are a small business making handmade products in India and we pay fairly because we believe in it.

‘This is fake news.’

Susie Watson Designs has 10 stores in market towns across the UK, including affluent Harrogate, Marlow, Salcombe, Knutsford and Saffron Walden.

His handmade furniture can retail for up to £7,950.

Ms Watson, who lives in a £1 million cottage in Axford, Wilts, said she was confident planners would approve the plan in the coming weeks.

He added: ‘The council isn’t interested at all so I would be surprised if they don’t approve it.

‘This isn’t worth much, if you know what I mean.

‘It’s there and we’ve rented it and there’s tremendous demand for rental property. And that’s not even a huge rent.

‘It’s good for everyone. What do they think it is, a stately home? “It’s only one room wide.”

Wiltshire Council said it would not comment on the ‘live application’.