Cars are vandalised as row breaks out in picture postcard Bridget Jones and The Holiday village between locals and businesses over plot to charge tourists to visit

• Parish council in Shere, Surrey, wants to charge for parking and to use toilets

Battle lines have been drawn up in one of Britain’s prettiest villages made famous by Hollywood films over plans to charge visitors to park and use the public toilet.

Residents back the plan to impose the charges while business owners fear it will lead to a fall in the number of people who make a day trips to the Surrey village of Shere which featured in the films ‘The Holiday’ and ‘Bridget Jones’.

Such is the popularity of the quintessential English village that many locals say they cannot leave their homes after being blocked in by badly parked cars.

Rows over parking has become so heated that some cars have been vandalised with scratches gouged into bodywork.

And with a proposal to extend double yellow lines along the main High Street and charge people to use the public toilet business owners fear visitors will be put off from driving to the village about an hour from London.

‘The parking issue has been going on for months. I know of at least two cars that were keyed because someone didn’t like where they were parked,’ said one business owner.

Shere became a magnet for tourists when the village featured in the 2006 film ‘The Holiday’ staring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black 

Scenes from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason were shot in Shere with the local church St James’s featuring at the end when Bridget’s parents, played by Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones, renew their wedding vows

Residents in Shere, Surrey, back the plan to impose parking charges while business owners fear it will lead to a fall in the number of people who make day trips

Annabel Lewis (left) and Nicola Morrison (right) said they would be happy to any car park charges as Shere shouldn’t be different to anywhere else 

‘It is a very small village and incredibly popular. It is true that sometimes there are so many cars in the village that it is hard for delivery lorries to get down but I am sure that is the same for many villages around the country.

READ MORE: Fed up locals who live in the village where The Holiday and Bridget Jones was filmed now want to charge visitors to park and use public toilets 

‘Something has to be done, but making people pay to park is not the answer.’

Mandy McClean, who runs an estate agent business, is opposed to parking charges.

‘I don’t think it will be very helpful to have the charges imposed,’ she said.

‘Yes, we do get a lot of tourists and they are very good for business, but what about people who come to visit local residents. That will mean they will have to pay to park their cars.

‘If this is all about raising funds then the Parish council can go about it in other ways.’

Another business owner, who asked not to be named, said she had eight staff who drove to work.

‘We are in a cost-of-living crisis and I think it is unfair to ask them to have to pay to park. The nearest train station is one mile away and the bus stops running through the village at 4pm.

‘The only way they can get here is by car, and I don’t think they will want to be charged and lose money from their wages.’

There is a proposal to extend double yellow lines along the main High Street and charge people to use the public toilet, but business owners fear visitors will be put off from driving to the village

Christine Gorsuch runs a bakery in the centre of the village and wholeheartedly supports parking charges after she was blocked in by a car and unable to walk out her front door

The festive season always sees a surge of visitors and it is a popular stopping off point for ramblers and cyclists

A parish councillor said it is not about limiting the number of people coming to the village but about who pays for the upkeep

There is currently a free public car park at the edge of the village but when full cars spill out onto the streets

Local residents say they are fed up of not being able to park due the influx of cars from visitors and tourists 

The village, which has a population of just over 1,000, is nestled in the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

READ MORE: Small village is left in disarray after explosive row erupts between councillors over who controls the parish website – sparking mass resignations, more than £100,000 of community funds on hold and a police probe

It became a magnet for tourists after the local pub The White Horse featured in the 2006 film ‘The Holiday’ staring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Kate Winslet. A photo of Law and Diaz from the film takes pride of place in the pub.

Scenes were also shot at a cottage facade that had been purposely built in the village, but no longer exists.

The local church was in ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’ and other productions have also been filmed in Shere which dates back to 1086.

Local residents say they are fed up of not being able to park due the influx of cars. The festive season always sees a surge of visitors and it is a popular stopping off point for ramblers and cyclists.

Christine Gorsuch, who runs a bakery in the centre of the village, wholeheartedly supports car park charges after she was blocked in by a car and unable to walk out her front door.

She said: ‘This man parked his car right up to the front step. When I told him I could not get out, he just said go and use the back door.

‘We love all the visitors and I suppose you could say Shere is too popular for its own good, but I don’t see any harm in bringing in charges.’

Two American tourists making their first trip to Shere said they were ‘blown away’ by its charm.

Councillor Geraldine Reffo said the car park needs re-surfacing at a cost of almost £40,000 while the toilet costs £600 a month to maintain

American tourists Mim McKay and her sister Lyn Walkenhost had been driven to the village by a friend from London and were impressed by the quaint cottages and tea houses

Parish councillors said the proposal to impose charges for parking and the toilet stems from local residents being asked to pay for the upkeep of the two facilities

Estate agent Mandy McClean is opposed to parking charges and doesn’t think they will be very helpful. ‘If this is all about raising funds then the Parish council can go about it in other ways’

 A photo of Jude Law and Cameron Diaz from The Holiday takes pride of place The White Horse pub which featured in the 2006 film

The village, which has a population of just over 1,000, is nestled in the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty

Mim McKay and her sister Lyn Walkenhost had been driven to the village by a friend from London and were impressed by the quaint cottages and tea houses.

‘It is lovely but there are a lot of cars on the street,’ said Mim, who was visiting from Alaska.

At the popular Dabbling Duck café Annabel Lewis and Nicola Morrison said they would be happy to any car park charges.

The pair had driven from nearby Guildford and always use the free car park on the edge of the village.

‘I don’t mind paying to park the car if it means we can continue to come here,’ said Annabel.

‘Almost everywhere you go there are car park charges, so why should Shere be any different.’

Parish councillors said the proposal to impose charges for parking and the toilet, which is housed in a building that dates back to 1885, stems from local residents being asked to pay for the upkeep of the two facilities.

Councillor Geraldine Reffo said the car park needs re-surfacing at a cost of almost £40,000 while the toilet costs £600 a month to maintain.

Cllr Reffo said: ‘We just feel that the burden to maintain these facilities is being placed on the residents when they are not necessarily using them.

‘Nothing has been decided yet but this is not about limiting the number of people coming to the village. It is about who pays for the upkeep and we don’t fee that burden should fall on the residents.’

The Parish Council is in an adjudication process with Trustees who own the village car park with a decision expected later this week.

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