Feeling like a cross between a Hollywood set, The Prisoner, The Truman Show and some soulless gated community in a posh part of Los Angeles is the Lower Mill Estate, located in the heart of the Cotswolds.
Billed as a collection of ”stunning contemporary lakeside second homes,” the development is made up of a variety of upmarket houses built around artificial lakes created from abandoned quarry workings.
Here’s how the website describes the Lower Mill Estate:
In the heart of the Cotswolds there is a place where you and your family can safely live in a vibrant community. You can play immersed in nature at its purest, yet with a level of style and luxury never seen before in such a deep rural setting…
Exclusive, private villages committed to ecological best practice, with wonderful facilities, a luxury family spa plus over 550 acres of pure countryside to roam at will.
The pictures don’t really sure how weird the place is: everything is picture perfect, the streets clean, the grass verges are neatly clipped and the air is clean but there’s no one about.
It’s like a slab of Hampstead dropped into the countryside with big metal gates keeping out all the oiks, leaving a bland landscape of characterless, shameless, not-for-the-likes-of-you luxury.
I won’t predictably rant on about the obscenity of these kind of places being built when so many people are homeless or living in dreadful housing. Instead, I’ll let you decide how you feel about this statement on their website:
NB. Please note that the vacation homes may not be occupied in the period 6th January to 5th February each year as they holiday homes and not principal places of residence. You must have a first home in order to buy one of our properties.
Luxury villas surround tranquil lakes. These second home properties go for in excess of £400,000.
Patrolled by 24 hour security guards, the development boasts a shop “stocked with essentials and luxuries, and a new café for those life-giving cappuccinos,” while a private ‘family spa’ offers outdoor and heated pools, a steam room, a sauna, a technogym, a library and a’ restful’ residents’ lounge – all protected by those big electronic gates.
It’s rare that a place leaves me speechless, but this place did.
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These are mainly holiday homes and perhaps you should visit during a weekend when lots of families and friends get together and enjoy what Lower Mill has to offer. You obviously did not go out into the nature reserve!
We own a home at Lower Mill and it has changed our lives.
So you’ve no problem with all these homes lying empty in the week, though?
Anyone owning one of these places should be ashamed of themselves. It’s morally bankrupt.
What a myopic view. Surely providing those people (and like it or not there are 300,000 or more of them in the UK) seeking second homes with a purpose built alternative stops them from buying first homes that can be used to house people NEEDING a home?”
Sounds wonderful! Well said Tim.@Tim
There has always been, and will always be, rich and poor. Maybe a sad fact, but that shouldn’t stop people spending their money how they want to. If its that the homes could be housing the poor or homeless, then campaign to your local mp, or give up your own home and live in a tent. Byt whats the big problem with those who are well off enough being able to have a country retreat?@Richard Mitton
Emma: what’s wrong with staying at good old fashioned B&Bs and supporting the local community rather than investing in your own security-guard-patrolled, gated weekend retreat?
I have a problem with the wealthy fencing themselves off from everyone else. That’s how ghettos start.
I bet that whoever is complaining about this wonderful example of modern architecture married to ecology is doing so on their sun powered laptop made from recycled milk cartons! O spare me this type of whining hypocrisy.”
Editor: There is nothing wrong with staying at a good old fashioned B&Bs and there is nothing wrong with owning a holiday home in a gated development.
I reckon we storm the gates and squat them whilst they’re empty.
Emma: could you explain exactly what it is you like about gated developments, please?
It looks like Peterborough.
I wonder if the Editor has actually been? We went recently and loved it and have booked a weekend away there in Nov…. I don;t see what the problem is with nature, beautiful architecturally designed homes and a bit of fresh air…. its completely different to staying in a B and B
Hello? How do you think I took the photos, Emmie?
Yes, I was there and stayed overnight, passing by the rows of criminally empty luxury holiday homes.
This place needs burning, along with all the societal predators paid proctectors within.
Raze it and provide fertiliser for returning the place to nature.
Editor says:What’s wrong with staying at good old fashioned B&Bs and supporting the local community rather than ..
The users of these estates (and there are lots of “holiday home” type estates) do directly support the local community. Think of the people employed on the estate to run the facilities, build these houses, clean these houses, cut the grass etc – they are all locals. Almost all visitors to the estate go to the local villages, shops, pubs etc. All owners of the properties pay council tax or business rates in the local area AND don’t use local schools, GPs, rubbish collection etc.
On all of these estates including LME, many houses are rented out for holidays, so in fact anyone can visit if they are in the lucky position they can afford a foreign holiday (which for some reason people beleive is a god given right) they could save money by visting such an estate and support the UK economy. (Google “lower mill estate holiday” and look at the tariffs)
In fact, the many people with holiday homes abroad are the ones that are not supporting the UK communities. Recent estimates say there are about 120000 british nationals resident in Spain but there are about 600000 properties owned in Spain by brits. So thats 480000 holiday homes, just in Spain.
Richard
PS, if you raze it and all the other holiday home estates in the area, nature will return it to being a gravel pit, and there will be a huge increase in local unemployment.
Lower Mill Estate (where I have stayed twice, and recently bought my own holiday home there) is a wonderful place – beautiful, relaxing, stunning buildings. How can anyone object to such a lovely place? True, not everyone can afford a second home there, but then not everyone can afford a lot of things – are we really going to say that no one should treat themselves to anything unless everyone in the world can also afford it?
Not a good place for arachnophobes though…I’ve been staying here this week and lost count of the number of huge spiders that constantly came into the house. Probably due to the lakes supporting a large insect population.
Off to LME today – second visit. Excellent place and very popular with Londoners wanting to escape the city.