Wealthy Turkish family accused of ruining Britain’s ‘prettiest street’ with ‘warzone’ building works LOSE planning war with council

A wealthy Turkish family at the center of a major planning row on Britain’s ‘most beautiful street’ has abandoned plans for further renovations, the Daily Mail has revealed.

Metin Dener and his wife Gülbin were held responsible for the ‘nightmare’ works in the Cotswold village of Bibury, which caused their neighbors to want to sell their houses.

They were ready to start the next phase of the renovation, which included building an oak conservatory and summer house.

But the application was withdrawn after a report by the council deemed it a ‘failure’ to preserve the appearance of Awkward Hill, a street full of chocolate-box cottages where average house prices are £1.5 million.

Writer Victoria Summerley, 69, who lives next door to the Grade II-listed property, was thrilled by the news, citing previous work published by the Daily Mail.

He said: ‘This is very welcome news. We believe media coverage has been helpful, so thank you to the Daily Mail.

‘Finally someone realized that this work was not appropriate for the region. It’s a very comprehensive report and basically says “enough.”

‘This can never go on like this. This is such a welcome relief.

Picture: Gulbin poses in front of Awkward Hill and Arlington Row, which was considered the most beautiful street in England years before its acquisition

Writer Victoria Summerley (pictured), 69, who lives next door to the Grade II-listed property, was thrilled by the news, citing previous work published by the Daily Mail.

‘There are still studies in progress, but at least we can finally begin to realize that this nightmare may soon be over.’

The ‘endless’ construction work, which has been going on for several years and is thought to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, has been described as ‘cultural vandalism’ by angry residents.

Neighbors say the works have made their lives ‘complete hell’ due to constant noise, disruption and traffic problems.

Even tourists from India, Japan and China who flock to picturesque Bibury think the renovations have ‘ruined’ the picturesque street.

The couple are said to be living outside the UK while their home is being moved and neighbors claim they have not been seen in the area for some time.

Locals feared the proposed project would extend the work by another year, but luckily the planning officer criticized the idea.

The report stated: ‘Unfortunately, given the previous significant expansion of the lodge, officers were unable to support further extensions.

‘The officer submits that the principle of the detached cottage may be acceptable, but that the scale and design of the proposed building does not suit the character and scale of the main cottage.

The renovated house is located on Awkward Hill, a street full of chocolate-box cottages where average house prices are £1.5 million.

Picture: Gulbin poses at Awkward Hill again, years before buying her summer houses in the area

‘The proposed summer house, with its elevated position, would fail to appear as a recessive, servile annexe to the main cottage and would damage the appearance and character of the Bibury Conservation Area, as well as the setting of Rosemary Cottage and the wider setting of Grade I-listed Arlington Row.’

The couple bought the country house for £1.1 million in 2022 and work has been ongoing since 2023.

In the photos shared by Gülbin on social media, it is seen that the couple spent time in the charming village years before buying the country house.

Gulbin can be seen posing in front of a viewpoint where Arlington Row, many times deemed ‘Britain’s most beautiful street’, meets Awkward Hill in the background.

One neighbor told the Daily Mail: ‘Hopefully the couple will get the message that enough is enough. They can no longer see this beautiful village as a playground.

‘They can’t do what they want. There are rules and regulations and they have to follow them like everyone else.

‘My message is simple; As a village, that’s enough. Go full time now or stop and sell. We’ve had enough.

‘And it looks like the local council is finally starting to realize that these crazy practices are threatening to destroy the area we all love so much.’

During the work carried out in the hut, the ambulance was prevented from entering the road due to the road closure, meaning the injured woman had to be put on a stretcher to reach safety.

Neighbor Derek Rarreary (pictured), 70, said he was concerned underground construction could lead to the hill becoming unsafe

All the work left residents ‘horrified’, who said the owner did not live in the village, rarely visited and ‘ignored’ negative feedback.

They say they were reduced to tears by the job, which affected their ‘mental, emotional and physical’ health.

David Jacons, 45, who has lived in the village for eight years, said the job had led him to consider moving and selling his property.

He called on the couple to ‘please stop’.

He said: ‘This construction job was more than strange. It was a nightmare.

‘What is the purpose of this being a protected area? How this all plays out is beyond me. The work was unreal. It was complete nonsense.

‘It looks like a war zone.

‘The roads are closed, we can’t park anywhere. Vehicles related to the project are parked on the curb and on the edges. They destroyed the grass.

The couple were ready to start the next phase of their renovation, which included building an oak conservatory and summer house.

Metin and Gülbin, a photo taken at Aqua Shard with the magnificent view of Tower Bridge in the background

‘It was terrible. Frankly, I don’t want to live here anymore. I’ve had enough. I’m thinking of selling.

‘I came here for its charm, but it doesn’t have much charm anymore.’

He had previously made a request to the owners, telling our reporter: ‘Enough is enough, please stop. We’ve had enough. It was a total nightmare.

‘Please pay attention to what people are saying and stop. Leave the property alone and either move in, live there and let it go, or you can sell it to someone else.

‘It’s a gorgeous house and it’s constantly being stirred up. ‘Noise, disruption and what it does to people really affects our mental health.’

And weeks ago, other neighbors had also voiced concerns.

Neighbor Derek Rarreary, 70, said he was concerned that underground construction could lead to the hill becoming unsafe.

He said: ‘This is a real concern in terms of what will happen to the hill. I’m worried it won’t be structurally sound.

In a Facebook post in 2018, Gülbin told her friend about Bibury: ‘I can’t tell you how much I love this place.’

‘He just did what he wanted. That’s what’s happening here. This is wrong.’

Pensioner Jenny Hedgeland, in her 70s, said all local people were ‘suffering’.

He said: ‘The road outside has been closed for nearly a year while some of the work continues. It was a nightmare.

‘This is an area where radical changes should not occur. A region of extraordinary natural beauty.

‘Some people here are in their 90s, this has caused huge problems. He must have spent hundreds of thousands of liras on this property.

‘There were big jumps and wagons everywhere. It really makes a mockery of the fact that this is the most beautiful street in Britain.’

He said the ambulance was prevented from traveling further down the road when the road was closed, meaning an injured woman had to be put on a stretcher over the river to reach safety.

Ms Hedgeland added: ‘They couldn’t get the ambulance down. “It was terrible for the poor woman.”

Another resident said: ‘The man turned the village into a scrapyard. This is obscene. How was this allowed to happen?

‘It has destroyed what was once a beautiful area.’

Even visiting tourists were stunned by the condition of the property.

Kashvi Surana, 20, from India, said: ‘This is the most beautiful village. But I’m not sure what happened in that house.’

Rohit and Anu Jaswal also agreed.

Anu, 43, said: ‘I think any work done in the village must be true to the original village. Very impressive.

‘We feel very lucky to be here. But this looks so bad.’

Bibury District Council chairman Craig Chapman said the village had suffered ‘incredible disruption’ for years due to the ongoing works.

He said: ‘This happened constantly and all the edges were torn. There is a significantly damaged turning area at the top.

‘We’ve had three more planning applications to consider and now we’ve had enough and we say on behalf of residents that this must stop and we will object to the applications.’

Mr Chapman added that the cottage was ‘out of keeping’ with a historic Cotswolds cottage, with the owners installing a barbecue, palm trees and an underground garage.

He continued: ‘The real disruption was caused by them building an underground garage. So how many cottages in the Cotswolds have underground garages?

‘We don’t know when this will stop and I mean the owners don’t live there. They visit occasionally so they don’t have to live with the disruption.’

Commenting on complaints from locals, Matthew Hollingsworth of Spirit Architecture Ltd said: ‘Gloucestershire Highways was closed by Gloucestershire Highways in 2023 after receiving comments from the Parish Council about the condition of the cottage’s retaining dry stone boundary wall and Highways subsequently issued an enforcement notice to my client to carry out repairs.

‘My client had to pay to have this over three meter high retaining wall rebuilt to current safety standards.

‘The closure of the road upset many residents, but it was the Neighborhood Council that initiated it and the highways authority that gave this work order, it was not initiated by my client.’

They have been reached for comment on the latest development.