A wealthy Turkish family at the centre of a major planning row on Britain's 'prettiest street' have abandoned plans for further renovations, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Metin Dener and his wife Gulbin have been blamed for 'nightmare' works in the Cotswold village of Bibury which has left desperate neighbours wanting to sell their homes.
They were set to begin the next phase of their refurb, which included building an oak conservatory and summerhouse.
But after a report by the council deemed the work a 'failure' to preserve the appearance of Awkward Hill - a street filled with chocolate-box cottages where average house prices sit at £1.5million - the application was withdrawn.
Author Victoria Summerley, 69, who lives next door the Grade-II listed property was thrilled by the news, crediting previous work published by the Daily Mail.
She said: 'This is very welcome news. We're convinced the press coverage helped, so thank you to the Daily Mail. 'Finally, someone has realised that this work is not appropriate for the area. It is a very comprehensive report and basically says "enough". 'It could never go on. It's a very welcome relief.
The homeowners at the centre of a major planning row on Britain's 'prettiest street', Metin and Gulbin Dener, pictured at the Savoy in London in 2017
Author Victoria Summerley, 69, (pictured) who lives next door the Grade-II listed property was thrilled by the news, crediting previous work published by the Daily Mail
'There is still ongoing work but at least finally, we can start to realise this nightmare may soon be over.'
The 'endless' building work, which has already lasted a number of years and thought to have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, has been blasted as 'cultural vandalism' by infuriated residents.
Neighbours say the works have made their lives 'sheer hell' with constant noise, disruption and traffic issues.
Even tourists, who flock to picturesque Bibury from India, Japan and China believe the renovation is 'ruining' the picturesque street.
The couple are said to be living outside of the UK while their house is transformed, with neighbours claiming they have not been seen in the area for sometime.
Locals feared the proposed project would extend work for another year but luckily for them the planning officer was critical of the idea.
The report said: 'Unfortunately, given the significant previous extension to the cottage, officers could not support further extension.
'Officer's maintain that the principle of a detached summerhouse may be acceptable, however the scale and design of the proposed building fails to respect the character and scale of the main cottage.
The house being renovated is on Awkward Hill, a street filled with chocolate box cottages, where the average house prices are £1.5million
'In conjunction with its elevated position, the proposed summerhouse would fail to appear as a recessive, subservient outbuilding to the main cottage, and would be harm the setting of Rosemary Cottage, and the wider setting of the Grade I listed Arlington Row, in addition to the appearance and character of the Bibury Conservation Area.'
The couple bought the cottage for £1.1million in 2022 and work has been ongoing since 2023.
Photos posted by Gulbin on social media show the couple enjoying time in the quaint village years prior to purchasing the cottage.
Gulbin can be seen posing on several occasions in front of a viewpoint, where Arlington Row - widely considered the 'prettiest street in England' - merges with Awkward Hill in the background.
One neighbour told the Daily Mail: 'I really hope the couple now get the message that enough is enough. They cannot treat this beautiful village as their playground anymore.
'They cannot do whatever they want. There's rules and regulations and they have to follow them the same as everybody else.
'My message is simple, as a village we have had enough. Now move in full-time or stop and sell up. We've had enough.
'And finally it seems the local council are starting to understand that these crazy applications threaten to destroy the area we all love so much.'
During the works on the cottage, an ambulance was blocked from going down the road when it was closed, meaning an injured woman had to be put on a stretcher to get to safety
All the work has 'horrified' residents who say the owner does not live in the village, rarely visits and 'ignores' the negative feedback.
They say they have been reduced to tears by the work, which has impacted their 'mental, emotional and physical' wellbeing.
David Jacons, 45, who has lived in the village for eight years, said the work has made him consider moving and selling his property.
He urged the couple to 'please stop'.
He said: 'This building work has been more than awkward. It's been a nightmare.
'What's the point of this being a conservation area? How this has all gone ahead is beyond me. The work has been unreal. It's been a complete farce.
'It looks like a war zone.
'The roads have been blocked; we can't park anywhere. The vehicles associated with the project park up curbside and on verges. They’ve ruined grass.
The couple were set to begin the next phase of their refurb, which included building an oak conservatory and summerhouse
Metin and Gulbin pictured at the Aqua Shard, with stunning views of Tower Bridge in background
'It's been appalling. I don't want to live here anymore, frankly. I have had enough. I am considering selling.
'I came here for its charm but there's not much charm anymore.'
In a plea to the owners, he previously told our reporter: 'Enough is enough, please stop. We've had enough. It's been an absolute nightmare.
'Please take on board what people are saying and stop. Leave the property alone and either move in and live there and leave it or sell it for someone else.
'It's a stunning home and it's just being constantly messed with. The noise, disruption and what it is doing to people is really impacting our mental health.'
And weeks before other neighbours had also voiced their concerns.
Neighbour Derek Rarreary, 70, said he was worried the underground building work may lead to the hill itself becoming unsafe.
He said: 'That is a real worry in terms of what will happen to the hill. I'm worried it won't be structurally sound.
Retired Jenny Hedgeland, who is in her 70s, said all locals had 'suffered'.
She said: ‘The road outside was closed for about a year while some of the work was ongoing. It was a nightmare.
‘This is an area which is not supposed to have drastic changes. It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty.
‘Some people around here are in their 90s, it’s caused major problems. He must have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the property.
‘There’s been great big skips and wagons everywhere. It makes a real mockery of this being the nicest street in Britain.’
She said an ambulance was blocked from going down the road when it was closed, meaning an injured woman had to be put on a stretcher over a river to get to safety.
Mrs Hedgeland added: ‘They could not get the ambulance down. It was awful for the poor woman.’
Another resident said: ‘The man has turned the village into a scrap yard. It’s obscene. How has this been allowed to happen?
‘He has ruined what was once a beautiful area.’
Even visiting tourists were bemused at the state of the property.
Kashvi Surana, 20, from India, said: ‘It’s the most beautiful village. I’m not sure what is happening with that house though.’
Rohit and Anu Jaswal also agreed.
Anu, 43, said: ‘I think any work being done in the village should surely be in keeping with the original village. It’s stunning.
‘We feel very lucky to be here. But that does look very bad.’
Bibury Parish Council chairman Craig Chapman said the village has suffered with ‘incredible disruption’ for years due to the ongoing works.
He said: ‘It’s been perpetual and all of the verges have been ripped up. There’s a turning area at the top that has been significantly damaged.
‘We had a further three planning applications to consider and we’ve had enough and on behalf of the residents we’re saying this has to stop and we will be objecting to the applications.’
Mr Chapman added that the cottage is ‘not in keeping’ with a historic Cotswolds cottage - as he says owners installed a barbecue, palm trees and an underground garage.
He continued: ‘The main disruption has been caused by the fact that they built an underground garage. And I mean how many Cotswolds cottages have underground garages?
‘We just don’t know when this is going to stop and I mean the owners don’t live there. They visit every so often so they don’t have to live with the disruption.’
Matthew Hollingsworth, of Spirit Architecture Ltd, said in relation to the complaints from locals: ‘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 the cottage and Highways then issued an enforcement notice to my client to make repairs.
‘My client had to then pay for the rebuilding of this three metre-plus 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 were approached for comment on the latest development.