Admitting to ‘knocking on a bit’, Alan Titchmarsh revealed last week he was selling his £4million home because he feared he wouldn’t be able to look after its four-acre garden much longer.
The celebrity gardener said that at 76 it was time to focus on a smaller plot after 23 years of tending to his sprawling grounds.
However, it has now emerged that developers plan to build 160 homes yards from his Grade II-listed Georgian house.
Titchmarsh insists the new housing estate has nothing to do with his decision to sell the property in the picturesque village of Holybourne, near Alton, Hampshire.
But fellow villagers are up in arms over the new homes, planned for 15.6 hectares on the eastern edge of Holybourne.
The development is ‘disproportionate’ to the area according to those who live there.
Planning documents show the housing development would be built on land directly behind Titchmarsh’s property.
The plans were lodged by developer Redbrown with East Hampshire District Council in July this year, and are currently under consideration.
Titchmarsh and his wife Alison, 74, put their home on the market in September for £3.95million.
The couple bought the Grade II-listed Georgian manor in 2002. The stunning property dates from 1690 and Titchmarsh has carried out significant renovations, including on the expertly manicured garden which now boasts a stunning water feature.
Currently, the site earmarked for the new homes consists of open agricultural fields and a play area, which would be moved if the proposals are given the go ahead.
Alton Town Council has said the plans would make the village a third larger than it currently is.
It submitted a letter objecting to the scheme, in which it said the development would ‘change the nature of Holybourne from a rural village to a suburb of Alton’.
Others who have objected to the plans cited concerns about increased traffic, loss of green space and concerns about flooding and drainage.
Theresa, who wouldn’t give her surname, and who lives in the village suggested the plans would have made Titchmarsh consider moving.
She said: ‘I think the back of where his property is will not directly back on to it, but to the side of it so I’m sure anything like that is going to make you think, if someone’s going to build in the back of your house.’
The accountant in her 60s said: ‘I think it’s totally in the wrong place, they describe this as a neighbourhood, it’s a village.
‘You don’t put an urban neighbourhood in the middle of a village.
‘I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any development, all things have to change, they don’t have to stay the same, but it’s totally in the wrong place. There’s going to be a huge problem with traffic.’
The proposals have received dozens of objections as well as some letters in support.
Developer Redbrown describes itself as a ‘well-established farming and property business’ which owns and farms the Froyle Estate in Alton.
It said it plans to ‘deliver a sensitively designed sustainable extension to the village of Holybourne’ on part of the estate, which is ‘inspired by the character of the village’.
The scheme will provide a ‘diverse range of homes designed to cater to families, first-time buyers, and older residents’ according to developers.
But housekeeper Alison Hart, 63, who has lived in Alton her whole life, said of the plans: ‘I think it’s a bit much for the area.
‘I mean, it’s bad enough getting through the village on the roads as it is.
‘I would have thought another two cars per household these days, I think it will probably make it an absolute nightmare.
‘I understand they’ve got to put the houses somewhere, but I think they have got to think of access.’
John Bound, 67, who is part of the Holybourne Village Association, said the developers have proposed to put double yellows throughout the village to help with congestion but he thinks this will be bad for businesses in the area as no one would be able to park up to visit them.
The retired marketing worker, who has lived in the area for almost 30 years, said: ‘We aren’t nimbys.
‘We are saying this is disproportionate and this particular site, it’s highly problematic – until we told them, they had no idea.
‘They seem to be ignoring what we are telling them.’
When discussing his reasons to sell last week, Titchmarsh said he didn’t want the large grounds to become ‘overwhelming’. He and his wife Alison have found a new ‘modern’ property – set in a somewhat less daunting one-and-a-half acres – to keep his green fingers busy. It is also closer to their daughters.
Though he will ‘miss’ his garden, he said his new patch offers him the chance to grow rhododendrons – something he hasn’t been able to do for more than 50 years.
Asked about the new development he told the Daily Mail: ‘While plans have certainly been submitted for a housing development nearby this has nothing to do with our decision to move.
‘We are simply downsizing and moving to be closer to our two daughters and our grandchildren who live a few miles away.
‘Tempting as it might be to suggest that the proposed development (which may or may not come to fruition) has influenced our decision is completely wide of the mark.
He added: ‘The village will remain a delightful place to live, with or without additional housing which will not impinge on the enjoyment or convenience of where we live at present.’
Redbrown, believed to be owned by an investment firm, declined to comment.
East Hampshire District Council said a decision was due next year.
A spokesman said: ‘The application was submitted in July and since then we have been consulting with relevant consultees to get their expert opinion on the impact of the development on the area, for example on local roads or drainage, and we have consulted with local residents to obtain their views.’
Read more
- Why is beloved TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh selling his enchanting farmhouse and spectacular four-acre garden for £3.95 million?
- Are residents up in arms over a proposed development threatening Kirstie Allsopp’s childhood estate and its serene surroundings?
- Why are villagers and a BBC boss in uproar over a developer’s controversial housing plans in their quaint country setting?
- Why is Alan Titchmarsh leaving his £4m estate after nearly a quarter of a century?
- Is a controversial new development set to destroy a beloved garden centre in Kent for 12 luxury homes, stirring community outrage?
