‘The most disgusting vainglorious thing I’ve ever seen’: Villagers’ damning verdict on £7.5 million Grand Designs castle in the heart of Shakespeare country as they liken it to a Nazi fortress

The first castle built in Britain for over a century, the modern, ecologically responsible structure perched on a hill in the heart of Shakespeare country was intended to make its mark.

But the ‘brutal’ structure, with a square tower made of recycled bricks, has been compared to a ‘prison’ and ‘multi-storey car park’ by residents of the Warwickshire village of Wixford.

While many locals gathered at the village hall last night to watch Alcester Castle being unveiled to the world on Channel 4’s Grand Design, few had anything good to say about it.

Jo Broadrick, 63, explained: ‘A lot of people here have very strong opinions about this place.

‘Some say it looks like a prison, most people say it looks like a car park.

‘Last night a few of us got together in the village hall to watch Grand Designs on the big screen.

‘We all grabbed a bottle of wine or a few beers and made a night of it.’

The TV show revealed how entrepreneur Piers and his police officer wife Emma took on the mammoth task of building England’s newest castle on the site of a despairing 18th-century spree known as the White Castle.

The first castle built in Britain for over a century, the modern, ecologically responsible structure perched on a hill in the heart of Shakespeare’s country was intended to make its own mark.

Picture: Chris and Jo Broadrick joined other residents to watch the show

But TV presenter Kevin McCloud, left breathless in the village hall audience, revealed the full £7.5 million cost of the project.

Jo Broadrick added: ‘There was a lot of consternation, especially about how much the whole project cost.

‘Someone said Miss Greg, the owner of White Castle Folly, would turn in her grave if she saw what they were doing.’

Other residents were less considerate. One likened the eight-bedroom castle to the concrete coastal defenses known as the Atlantic Wall, built by the Nazis along Europe’s coastline.

A respected member of the community, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily Mail: ‘This is a vanity project.

‘This is the most disgustingly arrogant thing I have ever seen.

‘This is not a castle, this is madness.

‘And the £7.5 million spent on creating it is a terrible waste of the planet’s resources.

Although many locals gathered at the village hall (pictured) last night to watch Alcester Castle being unveiled to the world on Channel 4’s Grand Design, few had anything good to say about it.

Pictured: Sonia and Clifford King. Neighborhood residents question how the project was allowed to be implemented

‘This is absolutely crazy.

‘And it didn’t help the local community one bit.

‘This is nothing but a brutal, soviet structure; ‘Something like the Atlantic Wall.’

The television documentary revealed how the couple hoped to build a ‘modern family home’ to share with their two daughters.

But he told how the initial £2 million budget for the project, which included a tower, castles, a ravine, arrow slits and porched courtyards, spiraled out of control.

TV presenter Kevin McCloud told them: ‘You’d have to be out of your mind to build something like this.’

The couple explained that the new house will be as close to net-zero energy as possible, with bricks made from recycled materials, photovoltaic roof sheets, air source heat pumps and a wind turbine.

However, entrepreneur Piers also revealed that he had to sell his businesses and mortgaged some of his properties to cover building costs.

To gasps in the village hall audience, TV presenter Kevin McCloud revealed the full £7.5 million cost of the project

Pictured: Mother and son Carol and Jeremy Hammond. Carol, 82, said it reminded her husband of a ruined Norman castle in North Yorkshire.

Now, four years after construction began, the castle is still unfinished and the couple lives in an adjoining barn.

Meanwhile, residents of the area are questioning how the project was allowed to come to fruition.

Retired building contractor John Clarke, 78, said: ‘It looks just like a car park.

‘I don’t know how you got planning permission to build this.

‘There’s not much they can do about it. And I don’t know how they can afford to live there.

‘Piers was on the district council at one point, so maybe that had something to do with it.

‘I’ve lived here for 42 years and the village has never seen anything like this.’

Villager Sonia King, 82, said: ‘It’s awful, it looks like a multi-storey car park.

‘We were shown the plans for the castle before it was built and I’m not sure they are the same as what was built.

‘I want to know how you got planning permission.

‘I’d like to go there and take a closer look, but I’d probably have a heart attack!’

Retired company director Clifford King, 88, added: ‘I think it’s terrible. But I thought it looked better on TV. ‘I feel sorry for them.’

Carol Hammond, 82, said it reminded her husband of a ruined Norman castle in North Yorkshire.

He said: ‘This is absolutely disgusting, it looks like a multi-storey car park.

‘But when you look from my garden it looks like the ruins of a real castle.

‘My husband says it looks like Middleham Castle in North Yorkshire; This is a real castle in ruins.’

Only retired firefighter Chris Broadrick had a good word to say about ‘the fort’.

He said: ‘He will definitely make a statement.

‘If I had money, I would want to buy it. ‘I think this is great.’