Cotswolds locals say Airbnbs have 'spoilt village'

Kingham resident Graham, who did not give his surname, rang a phone-in on Radio 4's You and Yours on over-tourism claiming the village has been 'absolutely swamped'.

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He said: "The local estate has bought a lot of properties. I think at the last census the population of the village was about 600 and we’ve now got over 60 weekend and holiday let cottages and Airbnbs and it’s basically it’s taken the spirit out of the village.

"The WI’s packed up, the football club’s struggling, the flower show and gardening club have all packed up.

"It’s just become a place where people come at the weekends. We even notice more dog poo on the street on Monday mornings because of people being here at the weekends who don’t pick it up.

"It’s a spoilt village."

Meanwhile Matt Winter, from Bourton on the Water, said over-tourism is causing huge problems for them.

He said: "It’s tiny. There’s little beautiful beaches on the river - it’s called the Venice of the Cotswolds. Before Covid it was already very busy but since Covid people it’s gone mad really.

"You can go down the village which is normally a two minute drive and now takes 40 minutes sometimes."

He said since the coach park closed in 2022 "coaches just pull up on the side of the street and the place becomes gridlocked".

Mayor and chair of nearby Chipping Norton Town Council Sandra Coleman said Airbnbs were "a growing problem particularly in older areas of the town where small cottages are crammed close together, with limited outdoor space and car parking.

"Here local residents complain when visitors staying in Airbnb properties don't obey local parking conventions, blocking access for emergency vehicles and rubbish collection.

"They are also irritated when holiday makers understandably sit out late on the patio furniture provided for them, drinking wine and chatting into the small hours when those living next door need to get up for work in the morning!

"If the number of Airbnb properties continues to grow, this will need to be addressed," she said.

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But she said "poor behaviour such as speeding and not picking up dog poo are not restricted to tourists!"

Steve Akers, deputy mayor of Chipping Norton, said some staff working for Daylesford "are from Chippy families who are lifelong residents."

He said Daylesford bought several houses for staff in Parkers Circus many years ago, but he knew of no others and the expansion of Airbnbs "was not carried out by Daylesford to my knowledge".

He said issues such as increased traffic have only ever been raised in regard to Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm Shop, which he described as "definitely a double edged sword for us" but the town does not suffer from overtourism.

"It all feels manageable," he said.

Daylesford was contacted for comment.