Bourton wants to ban BBC Great British Bake Off
Plans to film a new television series at Bourton-on-the-Water have cooked up a storm.
BBC2 wants to shoot its new prime-time television series The Great British Bake Off on the village green.
-
Melanie Giedroyc and Sue Perkins
But the parish council feels its cherished centrepiece could be ‘overwhelmed’ by a massive marquee and entourage of vehicles.
Parish and district councillor Sheila Jeffery said: “They are trying to cash in because Bourton is known.
“We’re too small and too precious to have them trample all over us. It’s a massive amount to put in the village centre.
“And why do they want to come here – we’re not known for cakes, the Cotswolds is known for its wolds and sheep.”
Love Productions propose to set up a 60ft by 40ft marquee on the green sward, a gazebo to store equipment, a generator on an 8m truck and bring some 15 other support vehicles.
The show, a quest for the UK’s best amateur baker fronted by comedy stars Melanie Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, would also bring in more visitors and could cause chaos unless it was properly controlled.
Councillor Tim Faulkner said: “TV companies can be an absolute nightmare – they never do what they say they’re going to do.”
Colleagues also wondered if the green was even wide enough to fit in the ambitious marquee.
Councillor Alan Palmer said: “Have they taken account of the trees?”
And they wanted to know if any money was going to exchange hands in return for giving the go-ahead.
Parish council village green bookings committee chairman Gill Crippen said: “We only want to give permission if the marquee’s an acceptable size and lorries, equipment and other paraphernalia are not parked on the green or alongside it.
“If they abide by this, I think people will genuinely welcome something of this order in the village and it will enhance it.
“We should point out we have some anxieties and have an on-site meeting.”
But Chairman Bryan Sumner cautiously welcomed the move.
“I feel the programme’s sufficiently relevant and good for Bourton if it doesn’t overwhelm us,” he said.
After the meeting, parish clerk Sue Cretney said: “It’s a one-off series going around the country with each programme showcasing baking of that area.
“They thought of the Cotswolds because we’re synonymous with tearooms.”
It is not the first time film crews have not been welcomed with open arms to the Cotswolds.
In 2006 Stow Town Council snubbed movie-makers fearing they would disrupt trade.
They regretted it after discovering it was Brockworth schoolboy Simon Pegg’s new film Hot Fuzz, which went on to be a blockbuster.
21 Comments
View all
by chippie244, Kingham
Friday, May 14 2010, 10:03AM
“The filming took place in Kingham last weekend and didn't cause any distruption and hopefully will be good for the village.”
by Ash, Kingham
Friday, May 14 2010, 10:01AM
“The filming took place in Kingham last weekend and didn't cause any distruption and hopefully will be good for the village.”
by Bill, Bourton
Wednesday, February 10 2010, 2:21PM
“There are no more than a handful of residents (and often, none) who attend the well publicised monthly meetings of the Parish Council. There are also very few residents who attend the annual Annual Parish meeting, to which they're invited in order to let the Council know what local issues are of importance to them, and how they feel about decisions that are being made. When vacancies on the Council have arisen in past years there are often not enough applicants to fill the vacant posts. If residents feel strongly about issues in Bourton then they can and should take a more active part in the life of the village. Parish Councillors are unpaid volunteers, and if residents don't like the decisions they are making then they can always volunteer to do more, or better, themselves. I realise this is extremely unlikely as most people prefer the easy option, which is simply to sit on their backsides, and do nothing but complain.”
by Nubfish Goatpanic, moreton in marsh
Sunday, February 07 2010, 8:59PM
“Would hate for a marquee to ruin the beautiful sight of tubby oiks stuffing fish and chips down their cake-holes whilst splodged out all over everywhere. Might spoil the ambiance of this delightful mini Blackpool.”
by Locationmanager, Chelt
Sunday, February 07 2010, 10:19AM
“Bob, Stow,
Do you have personal experience of "flim crews do not respect peoples' time or their property despite all the reassurances they spout beforehand."
I ask as in 20 years of being involved with crews I can safely say that we have done everything to try and keep local residents happy when we use their area for filming.
Also bear in mind that this proposed production seems to be a very small scale TV production, certainly not on the lines of a picture where you might have a couple of camera trucks, a grips van, lighting, generators, catering, make up, wardrobe and so on.
This sort of production appears everyday of the week somewhere or other and is not the massive upset that some Bourton residents think it will be.”
by jules, Bourton
Saturday, February 06 2010, 6:47PM
“can we have a few facts straightened out , 1bourton is synonimous with milling of flour ie the motor museum was the old mill, and how many cream teas have to be sold before we become known for cakes , 2 mrs jeffery does not live in bourton so it would be more relevant if she listened to a few more locals and by that i dont mean those that have been in the village for 2 mins and want to change every thing even though when they moved into the village they must have seen it in its true light as a village centered on tourism, 3 the shops haven't had the best of years lately with the recession to bring more people into the village may help some of them , and finally what is wrong with a marquee on the green amongst all the sun beds and barbaques”
by Simon Henly, Eastington
Saturday, February 06 2010, 1:15PM
“I had to laugh at the Bourton parish counciller accusing the BBC of cashing in on the reputation of Bourton.
It is a good job the parish council would do no such thing, er people who live in glass houses etc”
by Danny, Cirencester
Saturday, February 06 2010, 9:46AM
“Time for Bourton to get rid of the great and the good that decide everything for them - get some candidates to stand against the crummy Tories who are only interested in agreeing to something when there is money to be had !”
by VIDEOGRAPHER, UK
Friday, February 05 2010, 10:18PM
“""Moreover, the Wells choice had already been made even before Stow was approached as a back-up location just in case.""
INCORRECT. STOW had 1st choice. I KNOW.”
by Bob, Stow Square
Friday, February 05 2010, 9:46PM
“Stow rejected "Hot Fuzz" because the film crew wanted to take over the town and the car parks for at least 6 weeks with little or no compensation!
And as we all know, flim crews do not respect peoples' time or their property despite all the reassurances they spout beforehand.
"Hot Fuzz" hasn't done anything for visitor numbers in Wells [where it was filmed] which was how the film-makers tried to sell it to Stow.
Moreover, the Wells choice had already been made even before Stow was approached as a back-up location just in case.”