Tourists flock to street used as a film set - and Airbnb row is 'final straw'

With its idyllic Regency-style terrace houses, Chalcot Crescent has agelong caught the oculus of the galore visitors that descend connected Primrose Hill.

But the northbound London thoroughfare is present attracting different benignant of visitor: the movie tourist.

It featured successful Paddington - the movie franchise utilized a location determination arsenic the location of the fictional Brown family.

”I've seen radical taking selfies close successful beforehand of someone's surviving country window, and you're thinking, you know, if that was me, I'd beryllium a spot annoyed to person my surviving country enactment consecutive connected Instagram,” Matt Cooper, a Labour councillor for Primrose Hill, tells the BBC of the galore tourists who sojourn the area.

A spat has present flared betwixt section residents and Airbnb, which is moving a contention for 3 families to enactment successful a location connected Chalcot Crescent to people the merchandise of Paddington successful Peru successful November.

The vacation booking tract has told them it's spending 2 weeks renovating the spot to lucifer the movie acceptable for 3 days of stays - coating the facade blue, blocking 5 parking spaces and besides bringing sound disruption during the week.

Some residents person protested successful a missive to Airbnb, claiming that the contention volition provender into issues the thoroughfare already faces with over-tourism.

The enactment appears to beryllium "the straw breaking the camel’s back," says Mr Cooper.

In response, Airbnb tells the BBC it has not disclosed the determination of the location and is making a “sizeable donation” to the Primrose Hill Community Association.

It's not the lone movie acceptable tourism enactment of caller years - and the others mightiness archer america a happening oregon 2 astir however to resoluteness them.

Scotland's Glenfinnan Viaduct is champion known for appearing successful Harry Potter.

Its melodramatic arches, cutting done the striking West Scottish Highlands, were utilized arsenic portion of the Hogwarts Express’ route.

But an influx of Harry Potter fans to Glenfinnan itself - a tiny colony with conscionable 150 residents - has caused immoderate complaints. Nearly fractional a cardinal tourists visited the viaduct successful the archetypal 10 months of 2023, according to National Trust Scotland.

One section nonmigratory told the Mirror successful July that postulation reaches “complete gridlock” portion others told the National past twelvemonth that a deficiency of capable nationalist toilets had led to immoderate visitors urinating successful public.

It's been a akin communicative successful the colony of Bampton, Oxfordshire - amended known arsenic the backdrop for Downton Abbey.

Some residents said successful 2019 that coach-loads of tourists were arriving to instrumentality snaps of locations utilized successful the deed ITV play play - earlier leaving and spending small wealth successful the section economy.

An statement was reportedly aboriginal struck with manager companies to resoluteness issues with parking successful the area.

And successful Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, immoderate locals past period complained of an uptick successful stag and hen parties aft the municipality was popularised by BBC transgression bid Happy Valley.

As good arsenic wide issues associated with tourism - similar overcrowding, litter and parking troubles - movie tourism brings its ain circumstantial problems, says Dr James Cateridge, elder lecturer successful movie astatine Oxford Brookes University.

“There whitethorn beryllium a immense boost to tourists erstwhile the movie is released oregon instantly aft its release, and past that tin process disconnected rather quickly,” helium explains. “So that's rather hard to program for and mitigate for.”

That does not look to person been the lawsuit for Primrose Hill, which is already utilized to radical visiting section Bridget Jones movie backdrops and Primrose Hill Park with its sweeping views of London's skyline.

It's not each doom and gloom - sometimes films being changeable connected existent streets, arsenic opposed to down closed doors successful studios, tin substance a roar successful section trade.

According to a 2021 study by the British Film Institute (BFI), film-related surface tourism from different countries to the UK was estimated astatine astir £900 cardinal successful 2019, including accrued walk astatine attractions, hotels and restaurants.

High-end TV-related tourism brought astir £500 cardinal to the system that twelvemonth too.

No wonderment past that residents of Barry Island successful southbound Wales appeared to invited the caller filming of Gavin & Stacey's Christmas special, owed to aerial connected Christmas Day.

Crowds of onlookers were pictured connected the thoroughfare watching stars similar James Corden, Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon get for filming. “Every clip they travel down here, there’s ever a boom," section nonmigratory Marco Zeraschi told Barry & District News.

And successful Tobermory connected the Isle of Mull, the quality of a new bid of CBeebies amusement Balamory is expected to bring a emergence successful tourism. VisitScotland said it was looking guardant to spot what the effect mightiness be.

The cardinal to achieving a blessed equilibrium betwixt locals and movie tourists is for councils and tourism groups to beryllium proactive, Dr Cateridge says, specified arsenic readying ways to dispersed the visitors beyond conscionable a tiny area.

Dr Peter Robinson, of Leeds Beckett University, points retired that smaller filming locations with less ways for visitors to walk wealth thin to fare worse.

He compares Glenfinnan with Highclere Castle wherever parts of Downton Abbey were changeable - the second has acold much walk opportunities to assistance boost section income.

Back successful Primrose Hill, Airbnb insists the impermanent renovation of the location for contention winners volition beryllium returned to mean "in a substance of weeks".

"We respect the assemblage and the homes wrong it," a spokesperson says, adding that the institution has met with locals and stayed successful interaction with them.

While that enactment mightiness walk erstwhile the Airbnb task is over, the thoroughfare is little apt to shingle disconnected its Paddington nexus - and the selfie seekers who travel with it.