A Tempest is brewing after tenants living near Shakespeare’s wife’s childhood home have been evicted ‘to cash in on holiday lets’.
People living in a row of historic cottages just yards from Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, now a museum, in Shottery, Warwickshire, have been given eight weeks to move out.
Some of the tenants, who pay around £800 per month in rent, have lived in the properties for decades.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust own the eight properties on Cottage Lane in the pretty village on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown.
After the charity does six months of repairs on the homes, they will be turned into a combination of long- and short-term lets which locals believe will be marketed to holidaymakers.
Tenants have blasted the trust and accused them of ‘ripping out the heart’ of the community – to which the trust told MailOnline: ‘We are not actively exploring other uses for the properties.’
Freelance construction site manager Anthony Greene, 46, who has lived in his cottage for three years, called the situation ‘madness’: ‘It’s all about going after the tourist money. It’s all the trust and Stratford care about.’
The trust’s move has set a plague on all eight of their houses – much more than Romeo’s best friend takes aim at in Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo And Juliet, fed up of the star-crossed lovers’ families’ feud: ‘A plague o’ both your houses!’
People living in a row of historic cottages (pictured) just yards from Shakespeare’s wife’s childhood home have been given eight weeks to move out
Some of the tenants, who pay around £800 per month in rent, have lived in the properties next to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage (pictured) for decades
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust own the eight properties on Cottage Lane in the pretty village on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s (pictured) hometown
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust – which manages Shakespeare heritage sites in and around Stratford, including Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – has said it needs to carry out essential, ‘significant renovation and maintenance work’ on the Shottery properties, which will take six months.
The cottages will then be turned into long- and short-term lets – but locals believe these will become holiday properties.
Three-year tenant Mr Greene said he was hoping his long-term partner would move in with him in spring: ‘Now that’s ruined.
‘We got an email out of the blue, then a letter telling us we were being evicted and had eight weeks to get out. I thought, “What the hell?”
‘I’ve got neighbours who work for the trust and they are just as surprised as I am.
‘There’s a family here who have been living here for over 20 years, it’s madness.
‘If that’s what it is, heating, they can come and do that this week with me here. That’s not a big job.
‘I’m a site manager and I’ve worked with buildings, there’s nothing here that cannot be done with the residents in situ. Unless it’s something about converting them to holiday lets.’
The trust – which manages Shakespeare heritage sites in and around Stratford – has said it needs to carry out essential, ‘significant renovation and maintenance work’ on the Shottery properties (pictured), which will take six months
The cottages (pictured) will then be turned into long- and short-term lets – but locals believe these will become holiday properties
Freelance construction site manager Anthony Greene, 46, said he was hoping his long-term partner would move into the cottages (pictured) with him in spring: ‘Now that’s ruined’
He said: ‘We got an email out of the blue, then a letter telling us we were being evicted and had eight weeks to get out. I thought, “What the hell?”
Mr Greene is ’99 per cent’ sure the two- and three-bedroom houses will be converted into holiday lets, with the income boosting the trust’s coffers.
He added: ‘The attractions around here are open pretty much all year round. All this ties in nicely with American tourists coming over.
‘My rent was £800 a month, which is one of the reasons why I moved here. It is good value.
‘The properties aren’t perfect, there are things that explain that cost. We’ve got communal gardens, downstairs bathrooms and single pane windows. It’s not perfect and I was willing to do work to the property myself.’
The construction site manager said he is already struggling to find alternative accommodation locally, adding: ‘I haven’t got a clue where I’ll live next.
‘There’s only one house in Stratford that comes into my price bracket but it’s smaller than this.
‘I’ll be very sad to leave this village, a lovely, peaceful area.
‘I’m about a 20-minute walk from the centre of Stratford and the neighbours are great.’
The construction site manager said he is already struggling to find alternative accommodation locally, adding: ‘I haven’t got a clue where I’ll live next’
The construction site manager said: ‘I’ll be very sad to leave this village, a lovely, peaceful area’ (pictured, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage)
Keith Smith, 50, has lived with his wife and daughter in one of the cottages (centre, near Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, above and right) for 18 years and pays £725 rent per month. He said: ‘There was no proper contact or a meeting to discuss it. To just get an email was a bit of a shock’
Tenants were informed on February 17 they were being issued with a Section 21 eviction notice, giving them two months to leave their homes.
Keith Smith, 50, has lived with his wife and daughter in one of the cottages for 18 years and pays £725 rent per month.
He said: ‘There was no proper contact or a meeting to discuss it. To just get an email was a bit of a shock.
‘I think it’s rather rushed, because it takes time to find somewhere else to live.
‘My wife was very emotional about it because we’ve been here a long time. It’s a fantastic place to live.’
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: ‘To me the trust is ripping out the heart of the village for the sake of making more money.
‘The trust don’t want long term tenants like us renting and living here. They want to do the cottages up and rent them to holidaymakers.
‘It’s a disgusting way to treat people who have lived in these properties and contribute to village life.’
He added: ‘I think it’s rather rushed, because it takes time to find somewhere else to live’
Mr Smith said: ‘My wife was very emotional about it because we’ve been here a long time. It’s a fantastic place to live’ (pictured, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage)
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: ‘To me the trust is ripping out the heart of the village for the sake of making more money’
The drama comes after neighbours of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage said last year that county lines drug dealers had turned the village into ‘hell’ and made their lives ‘miserable’ – and police could not protect them.
One woman, who has lived on Shottery’s South Green Drive for 50 years, but did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said: ‘It’s quite frightening when you see cars full of big men sitting in the street.
‘We have had drug dealers move in next door and you get these big burly blokes coming in and out at all times of the day and night.
‘You’ve got to pretend that you don’t see it. You see the younger dealers buzzing around the area too.
‘They tend to go in next to the children’s play area so they are not overlooked by people’s homes.
‘You also get kids aged 14 and 15 coming up in the holidays and throwing stones at people’s windows.
‘Talking to the police, it’s obvious they can’t cope. It’s the county lines drug gangs who are operating here.
‘We live in one of the most beautiful towns in the country, yards away from Anne Hathaway’s famous cottage, but our lives are miserable.’
They added: ‘The trust don’t want long term tenants like us renting and living here. They want to do the cottages up and rent them to holidaymakers’
Pressed on whether they were looking to offer holiday lets, a Trust spokesperson said: ‘In order to continue to meet our statutory requirements all eight properties on Cottage Lane must undergo renovation and maintenance work’ (pictured, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage)
It added: ‘We are not actively exploring other uses for the properties’
Pressed on whether they were looking to offer holiday lets, a Trust spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘In order to continue to meet our statutory requirements all eight properties on Cottage Lane must undergo renovation and maintenance work, including new heating systems and insulation.
‘The works are being directly funded by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust as part of our wider commitment to conservation and sustainability across our estate.
‘Due to the complexity and invasiveness of the works, which will take considerable time to complete due to the properties being listed buildings, we have ensured that tenants have been given extended and advance notice, a minimum of three months, to make alternative arrangements.
‘As responsible landlords, we are working with our property management company to support this.
‘We are not actively exploring other uses for the properties.’
The trust previously stated: ‘In order to meet our statutory requirements all eight properties on Cottage Lane must undergo significant renovation and maintenance work, including new heating systems and insulation.
‘Due to the complexity and invasiveness of the works, which will take at least six months, all tenants are required to vacate the properties.
‘We have ensured that tenants have been given extended and advance notice, a minimum of three months, to make alternative arrangements.
‘The works are being directly funded by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust as part of our wider commitment to conservation across our estate.
‘We will work closely with our contractors to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the residents of Shottery as well as the visitor experience at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage.
‘Following the completion of the works the trust will seek to re-let these properties on either long or short-term tenancies.’
Sergeant Clair Price of Warwickshire Police said last year, regarding anti-social behaviour in Shottery: ‘While we cannot comment on individual cases, we welcome reports of suspicious activity and officers across the county regularly take action based on these reports.’
