Josie Gibson in crisis as £1.1million ITV home makeover | UK News

Josie Gibson’s dream of reworking her new £1.1million nation cottage into a Grand Designs-style eco-retreat is hanging in the stability – after planners warned her revamp could possibly be too big by just one per cent. The This Morning host, 40, has utilized for permission to construct a new entrance, health club, dressing room and storage annexe at the Nineteen Eighties four-bedroom home in Somerset, which she says is in “dire need” of refurbishment.

The formidable project is due to be documented in a new seven-part ITV collection, Josie Gibson’s Big Country Build, set to air next 12 months. But the programme may now be thrown into crisis. Because the two,238 sq ft home sits on inexperienced belt land, Josie is only allowed to increase the general quantity by a third. Her current plans push that restrict to a 34% rise, placing her software at risk of being refused. Planning specialists say even the smallest share increase could make or break functions on inexperienced belt land, with councils under stress to strictly implement the principles.

While neighbours have raised no formal objections, conservationists have flagged issues over the influence of additional 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 circumstances. One neighbour wrote: “The development seems to be superb. I assist it, with one request. We have bed room home windows that look in the direction of the proposed new construction.

“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 officers are anticipated to make a choice on her proposals later this month.

Express Online has contacted Josie’s representatives for remark.