James May has plans for ‘life-threatening’ garden steps

A grade II-listed south Wiltshire property reported to be connected to James May, star and member of the iconic presenting team behind the BBC show as well as Amazon’s The Grand Tour, has recently obtained planning permission to make a number of changes to ‘dangerous’ steps.

As reported in the Daily Mail , Mr May’s long-term partner, art critic Sarah Frater, filed a planning application in March of this year seeking to renovate the steps in their garden in a bid to make them safer.

The application sought to “reduce gradient to sloping garden in order to install new garden steps.”

On May 8, Wiltshire Council granted permission for the handrail and wider, deeper steps the homeowners sought.

Planning documents state the property had formerly been two “modest semi-detached worker cottages” that were made into a single home in 1992.

According to a design and access statement included in the application, in their current condition the steps mean there is a risk of “severe if not life-threatening injury in the event of a fall”.

The statement reads: “The existing steps lie at a very steep angle (52 per cent) with high risers and short goings as illustrated on the submitted drawing and are cut into the soil making them uneven and unstable.

“This makes them particularly dangerous where they lie is a precarious position immediately above a green house and with a significant drop over the retaining wall and thus risking severe if not life-threatening injury in the event of a fall.”

The proposals seek to reduce the gradient of the steps to 33/36 per cent "in line with building regulations for safe access...although for gardens this is still relatively steep when one is wearing outdoor clothing and carrying equipment."

File image of James May. (Image: Omaze)

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As reported in the Mail, Mr May has been together with his girlfriend since 2000 and they bought their second home for £770,000 in 2015.

In 2020, James May bought the Royal Oak, revealing in a Sunday Times article that he and Sarah had become regulars at the pub since moving there seven years before.

According to a report by lifestyle magazine Muddy Stilettos from July 2025, Mr May said: “I like that South Wilts, where our cottage and my pub are, is still genuinely rural. It’s still a novel experience for a townie like me.

“I love the scenery and the hilliness (except when I’m on my bike). We have deer in our woods and sheep in the field opposite to talk to.

“I am much more seasonally aware now I’ve spent time there. I enjoy tractors thundering around during the harvest and I’m on waving terms with some of the drivers.”

According to the officer’s report, Wiltshire Council’s archaeology, the council’s conservation, and the council’s arboricultural officer were consulted, but each said they had no objections to the proposal.

Concluding their report, the officer reviewing the proposal described it as “modest in scale” and not altering the fabric of the grade II-listed building.

The report reads: “The proposed development is considered to be acceptable in terms of its design, scale, and relationship with the surrounding area. It would not result in any unacceptable harm to the character of the locality, the amenities of neighbouring occupiers, or the setting of the listed building or conservation area.

“The proposal is therefore considered to comply with the relevant policies of the Wiltshire Core Strategy, the Wiltshire Local Plan, and the National Planning Policy Framework. As such, the application is recommended for approval, subject to the conditions set out below.”