Latest news with #gardenShed
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Neighbours at war over Pink Floyd guitarist's garden shed
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour is embroiled in a planning dispute with neighbours over a new garden shed at his Hampstead home. Gilmour built a green shed after demolishing a summer house and is now seeking retrospective planning permission for the structure. The Hampstead Hill Gardens Residents' Association claims the shed is 'overbearing', having been constructed against the boundary fence. The residents' group has urged Camden Council to refuse the retrospective application and demand the shed's removal, arguing it sets a precedent for ignoring planning terms. Gilmour's application asserts the shed is 'well-designed', 'high-quality', and painted green to minimise its visual impact, claiming it has less overall impact than the previous arrangement.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Pink Floyd guitarist caught in planning row over ‘obtrusive' garden shed
Pink Floyd's guitarist is caught in a planning row with his neighbours over claims his new garden shed is 'obtrusive' and 'overbearing'. David Gilmour built a green shed in his garden in Hampstead after demolishing a summer house and later asked for retrospective planning permission. But his application has sparked calls from The Hampstead Hill Gardens Residents' Association to remove the shed on the grounds that it is obstructive. The local residents group argued in a letter published on Camden Council 's planning website that the new shed is 'significantly more visually and physically intrusive than what was originally approved or what stood there before'. The residents group said the shed has been built against the boundary fence, unlike the previous building, which they claim was built two metres away and called for it to be 'removed as soon as possible'. Residents added in the letter: 'We urge the Council to resist being misled by this retrospective rationalisation and to refuse this application. 'Allowing it would be a signal to all applicants that they can ignore the terms of their permissions.' A neighbour also responding to the retrospective application said because the shed was built up against the back garden wall, there was no opportunity for it to be blocked from view by vegetation. Another resident of Hampstead Hill Gardens said: 'The applicant's garden is long and ours is very short which makes this stand out all the more. You can see why they want the shed at the fence, but their gain is our loss.' The Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum has also asked for a gap behind the shed for wildlife to pass by and to provide space for planting. 'The proposal does not include any works affecting the fabric of the listed building,' Mr Gilmour's application said. 'The replacement of these two buildings with a single well-designed new garden shed would have less impact than the previous arrangement. 'The proposed shed of high-quality design and build and is appropriate in this location.' The application added: 'The shed is painted green to minimise its visual impact. As such, the modest size of the shed, good design and colouring mean that there would not be any harm to the setting of the listed building or that of neighbouring listed buildings. 'Nor would the proposal adversely impact the character of the conservation area.'
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour in row with neighbours over his ‘obtrusive, overbearing' garden shed
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has fallen foul of neighbours over his 'obtrusive, overbearing' garden shed. The 79-year-old submitted a retrospective planning application to Camden Council after beginning work on the development in April this year. He has insisted the new shed at his home in Hampstead, north London - which is replacing a summerhouse and old shed - is of 'modest size' and 'traditional construction'. But locals fear the development is 'significantly more visually and physically intrusive than what was originally approved or what stood there before'. They have also gone so far as to accuse Mr Gilmour of being 'unneighbourly'. If constructed as planned, the new shed will be 5.95sqm larger than the summerhouse it is replacing. But submitting a lengthy objection online, a local residents association urged Camden Council to reject Mr Gilmour's application - and asked the shed be removed 'as soon as possible' to 'stop the continued harm to neighbourhood amenity'. The group argued the application is 'deliberately misleading' - claiming what Mr Gilmour has built 'no longer complies with' the existing planning permission for the site. HHGR chair, Audrey Mandela, wrote: 'Permission was granted to rebuild a shed on its original footprint, approximately two metres from the boundary. 'However, what has actually been built is abutting the boundary fence, in a substantively different and more intrusive location. 'The application should be rejected as the structure now in place is obtrusive, overbearing, and significantly more visually and physically intrusive than what was originally approved or what stood there before. 'The matter was raised with the applicant by residents of our road, who hoped to avoid the need for formal action. 'The applicant has reacted by submitting this retrospective application to pre-empt enforcement action. 'Although we understand that formal enforcement action may now be difficult due to the applicant having approached the Council pre-emptively, that does not remove the fact that the current structure is materially different from what was permitted and is too harmful to amenity given that it provides no benefit other than to the applicant. 'We urge the Council to send a strong rebuttal here to the applicant.' Other neighbours have also submitted complaints - with one saying the new shed is against the rear fence and therefore cannot be obscured with vegetation, as was the case with the old structure. Another claimed the building should be amended to allow a two-metre gap behind the shed - in order to 'provide space for planting and wildlife'. Objector Alex Shinder added: 'There was no consultation and the action is unneighbourly.' But in a statement supporting Mr Gilmour's application, agent Whiteacre Planning said: 'The shed is of a similar design to the previously approved summerhouse. '[It] is painted green to minimise its visual impact and has a cedar shingle roof which will quickly silver down. 'It is of high quality design and build and is appropriate in this location.' The letter has also rejected the notion the shed would cause any adverse impact on neighbouring amenity. It states: 'Although the roof of the shed is above the height of the boundary fence, it will not lead to any overlooking, loss of privacy, or overshadowing.' The singer and songwriter (second from right) joined Pink Floyd in 1967 before the band became one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history in the early 1980s The letter concludes Mr Gilmour's proposal should be 'granted without delay' - as it 'complies with all relevant local and national planning policy'. It is not the first time one of the guitarist's sheds has caused controversy. In 2011, Mr Gilmour was told he must pull down a beach hut at his listed £3million seafront mansion or face prosecution. The local council told the rock musician the yellow hut he used to house his bicycles was an eyesore in the conservation area at Hove, East Sussex, and had to go. Mr Gilmour famously sold his house in London's Maida Vale to Earl Spencer – and donated the £3.6 million proceeds to Crisis, a charity for the homeless. The singer and songwriter joined Pink Floyd in 1967 before the band became one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history in the early 1980s. Mr Gilmour has also released five solo albums. Camden Council has not yet set a date by which a decision should be made on the guitarist's new shed.
