BREAKING NEWS: This Morning’s Josie Gibson ISSUES Heartbreaking News as she suffers ‘REAL NIGHTMARE’
Josie Gibson’s dream of transforming her new £1.1million country cottage into a Grand Designs-style eco-retreat is hanging in the balance – after planners warned her revamp could be too big by just one per cent. The This Morning host, 40, has applied for permission to build a new entrance, gym, dressing room and garage annexe at the 1980s four-bedroom home in Somerset, which she says is in “dire need” of refurbishment.
The ambitious project is due to be documented in a new seven-part ITV series, Josie Gibson’s Big Country Build, set to air next year. But the programme could now be thrown into crisis. Because the 2,238 sq ft house sits on green belt land, Josie is only allowed to increase the overall volume by a third. Her current plans push that limit to a 34% rise, putting her application at risk of being refused. Planning experts say even the smallest percentage increase can make or break applications on green belt land, with councils under pressure to strictly enforce the rules.
While neighbours have raised no formal objections, conservationists have flagged concerns over the impact of extra glazing.
In a letter to the local council, a Preservation Trust warned: “An increase in light spill can be detrimental to the character of the national landscape.
“Given this, the officer/decision-maker(s) must be assured that any light spill will not detract from the special qualities of the designated areas.
“Of course, increases in artificial light can impact on ecology and this should be considered by the local planning authority in its determination of the application.”
Some locals have been supportive – with conditions. One neighbour wrote: “The development looks very good. I support it, with one request. We have bedroom windows that look towards the proposed new structure.
“Please can there be no outdoor lights that stay on late into the night. We have a beautiful dark sky, and it would be lovely to keep it that way.”
Josie, who won Big Brother 15 years ago and went on to carve a career as a reality star before joining This Morning as a presenter, bought the 3.4-acre property in November.
She has revealed plans not just for luxury living, but also for a slice of the good life – keeping sheep and bees on the land, which already boasts an orchard, paddock and ornamental pond.
She admitted on Instagram: “My dream is to build a house as eco and luxurious as possible where you are immersed in the setting of nature. I want bees, birds, badgers to all live in harmony though I’m becoming increasingly concerned that my harmonious dream is slowly turning into a construction nightmare.”
Council officials are expected to make a decision on her proposals later this month.
