The homeowners at the centre of a major planning row on Britain’s ‘prettiest street’ are a wealthy couple from Turkey, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Metin Dener and his wife Gulbin are behind ‘war zone’ renovations in the Cotswold village of Bibury which have left desperate neighbours wanting to sell their homes.
The couple own a Grade-II listed property on Awkward Hill, a street filled with chocolate-box cottages where average house prices sit at £1.5million.
But the ‘endless’ building work, which has 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.
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
Metin bought the cottage at Awkward Hill in 2022, but the couple had clearly fallen in love with the area years before. Pictured: Gulbin posing in front of Awkward Hill and Arlington Row, considered Britain’s prettiest street, years before its purchase
Gulbin, again posing by Awkward Hill, years before they purchased their cottage in the location. Shortly after its purchase in 2022, the couple began major works, which have gone on for several years and neighbours say it has made their lives ‘sheer hell’
The couple bought the cottage for £1.1million in 2022 and works have 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.
In one Facebook post, she comments to her friend: ‘I can’t tell you how much I love this place.’
In a picture from 2017, Gulbin, who comes from the Turkish city of Izmir, is smiling outside a home on Awkward Hill while walking her dog, while another snap shows her walking down a street in the village with a heart-shaped umbrella.
Photos also show Metin on country walks in the Cotswolds with their dog sat in a holdall on his back.
The couple also enjoy spending time in London, visiting high-end locations including the Aqua Shard, where the couple posed for a photo with stunning night-time views of Tower Bridge in the background.
In another photo, Metin, sporting a sleek black suit sits beside Gulbin, dressed in a white dress and laced pillbox hat, at London’s five-star Savoy Hotel.
Shortly after the purchase of their grade-II listed cottage in 2022, renovation works began.
And they remain ongoing, with neighbours saying it has made their lives an ‘absolute nightmare’.
One neighbour told the Mail: ‘The owners don’t live there. They visit every so often, so they don’t have to live with the disruption.’
The road outside the property was closed for a year while initial renovations were carried out, meanwhile trucks churn up verges and block neighbour’s gates with ‘dodgy’ parking.
The latest plans for the cottage include stripping and replacing traditional Cotswold stone slate roof tiles, as well as adding insulation to a utility room.
A ‘bizarre’ palm tree has also been added to the front garden – covered in Christmas decorations.
In one Facebook post in 2018, Gulbin said to her friend about Bibury: ‘I can’t tell you how much I love this place’
But families say that ‘England’s prettiest street’ in Bibury has been ruined by relentless building work on the couple’s Grade II-listed cottage (pictured)
The house being renovated is on Awkward Hill, a street filled with chocolate box cottages, where the average house prices are £1.5million
The latest plans for the cottage include stripping and replacing the Cotswold stone slate roof tiles, as well as adding insulation to a utility room
Plans for an oak conservatory have also been submitted. Previous plans include proposals for an underground garage at the site, which locals said has been built.
All of this 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 the curb and on verges. They’ve ruined grass.
‘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 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.’
Author Victoria Summerley, 69, lives next door to the property, and also urged the couple to please ‘communicate’ their plans.
She said: ‘I have spoken to Metin and he was pleasant. I just wish they would tell us their plans.’
Speaking to the Mail this week, she also told of how she thought the works were ‘cultural vandalism’.
She said: ‘It’s been never-ending. There’s been one thing after another.
‘There’s an underground car park or garage, or whatever you want to call it. Who on earth thought that was a good idea here?
Metin and Gulbin pictured at the Aqua Shard, with stunning views of Tower Bridge in the background
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
Author Victoria Summerley, 69, (pictured) lives next door to the Cotswolds property, and described it as ‘cultural vandalism’
‘I’ve been in tears at the work and the thought of more of it. It has been so disruptive.’
Mrs Summerley opens her gardens up for charity fund-raising events but says visitors have noticed the work for years now.
She added: ‘It doesn’t look anything like the Cotswolds. They have totally changed the character of the building. These latest plans will as well.
‘It looks alien compared to the rest of the village. There’s even a palm tree that has been decorated.’
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘They’re treating this as their playground.
‘They have come in and think they can do whatever they want. It’s been hell. It’s been an appalling situation to deal with.
‘Please stop and give us a break.’
When the Mail visited the site the previous week, 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.
‘He’s just done whatever he wants. That’s what happens around here. It’s wrong.’
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.
Neighbour Derek Rarreary, 70, (pictured) said he was worried the underground building work may lead to the hill itself becoming unsafe
Residents say they have been reduced to tears by the work, which has impacted their ‘mental, emotional and physical’ wellbeing
‘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 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.’
Consultants working for the applicant say in their submissions that the proposed works include replacing the failing roof on the utility room with new and reclaimed Cotswold stone slate.
The oak frame conservatory is described as a ‘modest’ extension to the kitchen part of the building and would include fixed glazing, natural Cotswold stone tile roof with oak French doors onto the upper patio area in the garden.
They said a ‘traditional understated’ office/summerhouse in the upper garden was agreed in principle during the pre-application correspondence.
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.’
There was nobody at the house when approached for comment.
