Cotswold villagers living in ‘most beautiful street in England’ cut off by road closure due to ‘dangerous wall’

A Cotswold street dubbed the most beautiful in England has been closed off, leaving residents “separated” from emergency services vehicles. Bibury residents living in picturesque Arlington Row have been cut off after a wall was declared unsafe.

It means residents currently have no vehicular access to their homes and ambulance crews have had to carry patients on stretchers over a footbridge. Arlington Row is very narrow and Gloucestershire County Council say they have been unable to provide access for emergency vehicles because of it.

Resident Valerie Smith was among those who voiced their frustration at the situation at a public meeting at Bibury Village Hall on May 18. She said residents were completely cut off.

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“They are completely and utterly closed,” she said. “They can’t bring their cars to Arlington Row. The small bridge does not accept vehicles.

“If a fire or an ambulance were needed, they would have to be put on a cart and taken over the bridge. The likelihood that it will be fixed soon is an open question. How long can the people of Arlington Row live like this?

Another resident said something like this happened on Sunday. Paul Johnson said his neighbor was thrown 300 meters to an ambulance. “Three times,” he said. He also told the meeting that another neighbor has not come out of his house since the closing.

“My son stopped coming because of it. One, you can’t park and two, you can’t access the row.” Mr Johnson said he had received no notice of the closure from the authorities and no explanation for it.

“You can’t even bring logs into your cabin, which sounds like a mundane thing,” he said. “I find it absolutely appalling. It was an absolute disaster.”

Cotswold District Council says it has been working with the owner of the wall to remove the trees which were the cause of immediate concern. The wall has since been re-inspected and the immediate danger to the public has been removed.

Gloucestershire County Council was notified this morning and the road will be reopened by tomorrow (May 22) evening. A Gloucestershire County Council spokesman said: “We have closed the road at Awkward Hill due to safety concerns over a wall at one of the properties.

“Cotswold District Council is working with the owner to ensure the wall is safe. We will reopen the road as soon as Cotswold District Council structural engineers let us know it is safe to do so.”