Kate’s village in a tiswas over Tarrant’s new extension
IT IS the bucolic Home Counties village that the Duchess of Cambridge still calls home, but Bucklebury’s tranquillity has been rudely disturbed by the ambitions of superannuated quiz show host Chris Tarrant.
To the alarm of neighbours, the 67-year-old former DJ has submitted proposals for a redevelopment of his home that, should they be accepted, will mean the former thatched cottage will have almost doubled in size since he bought it for £1.02 million in 2004.
Tarrant, who presented the last edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in February, has asked planners to approve a two- storey front and rear extension to the property, Osgood’s Gully.
‘Although the house sits in isolation, having only one near-neighbour, it’s the principle of the thing,’ complains a resident in the Berkshire village, where Michael and Carole Middleton own a manor house.
‘People are expanding their homes rather than moving because it’s cheaper, but it can affect the character of small villages like ours.’
Some members of the parish council’s planning committee appear to agree, with two abstaining from a vote on Tarrant’s plans, although a majority of councillors were in favour. ‘We had a full debate,’ says committee chairman Barry Dickens. ‘Issues around the size of the house were raised.’
It is the third time Tarrant, who owns properties across the South of England and on the Riviera, has extended the cottage, which is now worth more than £2 million. A final answer about his current project — which aims to create two extra bedrooms, an en suite bathroom for the master bedroom, a new living room, snug and a utility room — will come from West Berkshire Council in the coming weeks.
A spokesman for the star says: ‘Chris has always been sympathetic to people in the area. The house stands in its own grounds far from neighbours and I would say the vote by the council speaks volumes.’
Tarrant divorced his second wife, Ingrid, in 2007 and is now courting legal secretary Jane Bird.
The TV host, who shot to fame on anarchic Saturday morning children’s TV show Tiswas, bought Osgood’s Gully for trysts with his former girlfriend, teacher Fiona McKechnie.
Its proximity to the Thames could come in handy for his hobby, fishing, of which Ingrid once complained: ‘He would literally jump in [bed] next to me reeking of carp, bream and pike.’