English villagers oppose 'Disneyland' home

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WRABNESS, England, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Residents of the tiny Essex, England, village of Wrabness are upset with plans for a fairytale house by Turner prize-winning artist Grayson Perry.

Critics say the proposed structure -- with a gold roof and green and white walls -- looks like a "ginger bread Indian temple," The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Others called it a theme park building like "something out of Disneyland."

Perry, who won the Turner Prize in 2003, has said he hopes to complete the rental home -- which would tell the story of a mythical Essex woman from childhood -- by 2014, and he has approval to raze an existing farmhouse on the property.

The Tendring District Council had rejected his initial plans for the house.

"It is not a large structure and it does not seek to dominate its surrounding, but is to be discovered, with what I hope will be delight, by any of the many passers-by along the footpath," Perry told the Telegraph.

Villagers and the parish council say they fear the building's sculptures, tapestries and ceramics will permanently spoil the character of quiet English countryside overlooking the River Stour estuary.

Perry has acknowledged his initial idea was based on a doodle he drew while imbibing as he watched television.