A BITTER war has erupted between locals and tourists in The Holiday Village after plans to charge visitors sparked keyed cars.
Fed-up residents are also embroiled in a heated row with business owners who welcome trade as people flock to the iconic countryside village Shere, in Surrey.
Festive movie fans descend on the quintessentially British spot as Christmas approaches every year – much to the fury of homeowners forced to stay inside as the tiny high street becomes a traffic nightmare.
The Holiday stars Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, and sees the two swap homes over Christmas.
Kate's character, Iris, moves to sunny LA where she meets love interest Miles – played by Jack Black.
Meanwhile Cameron's character Amanda travels to the English countryside to fall in love with widowed father Graham, portrayed by Jude Law.
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Eager tourists travel from across the globe to find Kate Winslet's legendary cottage, and sample a pint at The White Horse Pub just as Jude Law does in the popular film.
But, the ongoing battle between homeowners and visitors has reached boiling point and now parish council members are planning to introduce parking fees as well as a charge to use the public toilets.
It is hoped these fares will deter hoards of tourists, while also raising enough money to maintain the frequently used facilities.
Now businesses owners have fought back and claim it's "not the answer".
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"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," one anonymous owner told MailOnline.
"Something has to be done, but making people pay to park is not the answer."
Mandy McClean, who runs an estate agent business, also feels charges will deter helpful tourism.
"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," she added.
Meanwhile another anonymous business owner, is worried about eight staff who will now need to fork out daily parking fares.
"We are in a cost-of-living crisis and I think it is unfair to ask them to have to pay to park," they said.
"The nearest train station is one mile away and the bus stops running through the village at 4pm."
This means the only way to and from work is by car and a cut of their wages will be lost.
'I don't mind paying'
However, there is plenty of support for the intensely debated parking fees.
Christine Gorsuch, who runs a village bakery, 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."
She added that while local business "love" tourists, she didn't "see any harm" introducing charges.
Meanwhile, customers at the much loved Dabbling Duck café revealed they would be more than willing to pay for their parking.
"I don't mind paying to park the car if it means we can continue to come here," said one happy visitor.
"Almost everywhere you go there are car park charges, so why should Shere be any different."
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."
Councillor Geraldine Reffo explained the village car park needs re-surfacing for which the council will have to fork out an eye-watering £40,00.
Meanwhile, the toilets cost £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."
Shere parish council are currently in an adjudication process with Shere Recreation Ground Trustees, who own the village car park.
A decision was set to be made on Wednesday, November 15 but has not yet been announced.
'It’s become so bad now that we want to move'
Locals previously spoke to The Sun Online about the ongoing battle.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We’ve lived in the village for 18 years and the parking and traffic situation has got worse and worse.
“It’s become so bad now that we want to move, which is such a shame as it’s a beautiful village, with lots of lovely walks around it, but the invasion is just too much.
“We don’t go out with the car much anymore as there are just too many visitors to the village and I’m sure there will be an accident soon.
Almost everywhere you go there are car park charges, so why should Shere be any different."
“The village has become a complete tourist trap and the other day a fire engine struggled to get down the road as there were cars parked down both sides.
“The situation got worse during lockdown when people couldn’t travel abroad and started finding pretty places in England to visit and it has continued.”
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Another anonymous local added: “Parking has become a huge issue in the village and it’s a real problem when I have visitors.
“The Holiday movie is great for the pubs and businesses as it brings in crowds and money, but it’s not good for locals trying to get out and about to the shops and the school.”
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