A PICTURESQUE village has been heralded as one of the best places to live – but residents are concerned how such praise could actually prove detrimental.

Dedham has been named in The Sunday Times’ Best Places To Live list – a commendation it has regularly received over the past few years.

The list described the village – a landscape depicted in many a painting produced by artist John Constable – as “prime countryside”.

The fiercely protected area was also praised as the “perfect option” for anyone with a desire to live close to nature while remaining in range of the nearby city of Colchester.

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Citing its ability to accommodate birdwatchers, runners and cyclists, the respected list celebrated the Dedham Vale for offering a space to all to explore “every level of activity”.

But despite the plaudits, Charles Clover, chairman of the Dedham Vale Society, has his reservations about Dedham being such attention.

He said: “We are privileged to live in Dedham and it is a very nice place – but that has been known for hundreds if not thousands of years.

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“The problem is saying this all over again without any understanding of the area's problems means you end up killing the thing you love.

“Articles like these are driving tourism which has a positive but also a negative side: Dedham Parish Council has had a nightmare with crowds, misbehaviour and litter.

“So these articles make Dedham a less nice place when they could be acknowledging the problems and spreading the load instead of making these honeypots worse.”

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Mr Clover has now called for more awareness to be placed on the other delightful spots of the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“There are lots of equally wonderful and historic places all up the Stour Valley and elsewhere in the AONB, with lovely architecture of the same age and, ironically, more wildlife and tranquillity,” he added.

“We are now calling for an urgent extension of the AONB up into Gainsborough country - to protect what's there and create a broader overall understanding for tourists of what the Stour valley has to offer, not just focused on Dedham. 

“Let's hope people write about that in future.”