Property expert Sarah Beeny, who shot to fame in the early 2000s with Channel 4's Property Ladder, has found herself embroiled in a lengthy planning permission dispute surrounding her new "mini-Downtown Abbey" residence in Somerset. Sarah and her husband Graham Swift purchased a 1970s farmhouse set within a generous plot of land in Stoney Stoke in 2018, submitting proposals to undertake a complete renovation of the property. Opposition from local residents emerged almost immediately.

One neighbour labelled Sarah's proposals for the site "irresponsible and downright dangerous'' while another complained they were "extremely foolish." Initial objections to the development centred on a track connecting the property to a road that has gained a notorious reputation for traffic accidents.

One local, Paul Williams, told the Somerset County Gazette: "Having lived here for 35 years and in that time seem dozens of accidents on this notorious stretch of road, several of which have been through my hedge. The idea of adding a further entrance/exit in this zone seems irresponsible and downright dangerous."

Residents' frustrations intensified when Sarah reportedly chose to extend a portion of the £3m property, despite having originally planned to demolish it entirely. Local resident Kevin Flint told the Daily Mail: 'It's created a lot of bad feeling in the village.'"

The property plans – chronicled in her Channel 4 show Sarah Beeny's New Life in the Country – have changed since they were originally submitted to the council.

Mr Flint added: "She was given permission to build the new house on condition she knocked down the old one which she extended and refurbished, it's just not on.

"She thinks she can move down here and ride roughshod over everybody but it's not going to happen."

Following Sarah's decision to extend rather than demolish the original farmhouse, her planning consultants Avalon Planning and Heritage lodged a retrospective planning application with Somerset Council.

That application was rejected, and lengthy negotiations have failed to resolve the matter. Avalon Planning and Heritage maintain that while they are not complying with the originally approved plans, Sarah and Graham's revised proposals remain within the spirit of the regulations.

As separate planning applications called for six new buildings to be constructed on the land, substituting one of the proposed new builds for the original farmhouse effectively keeps the overall development within the permitted guidelines.

They also secured approval to convert five agricultural buildings into new dwellings — a consent that has been renewed until March 2029 owing to the ongoing planning disputes.

Sarah's planners Avalon Planning and Heritage are contending in the new application that by converting only four — rather than five — barns, while retaining both the original farmhouse and the newly built one, the total number of dwellings still amounts to six.

They further noted that, due to bats nesting within the roof of the farmhouse, any demolition would constitute a breach of the strictly-enforced Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

In a statement, they said: "The current planning obligations requiring the wholesale demolition of the farmhouse would result in the complete destruction of the Serotine bat roost which is significantly more impactful than the appeal proposals."

In a similar vein, an ecological case has been made for preserving the farmhouse, with claims that retaining the existing building would "offer a significant whole life carbon savings of up to 36 per cent" compared to knocking it down.

Express.co.uk has reached out to representatives for Ms Beeny for comment.