Fifty Shades Of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 55, and her actor husband Aaron leave villagers seething after excavations for a lake begin at their countryside retreat despite not having planning permission
- Excavations near Bath began in October when diggers turned up one morning
- Work halted earlier this week after council officials visited following complaints
She directed Fifty Shades Of Grey and he is among the bookies’ favourites to be the next James Bond.
However, Sam Taylor-Johnson and her actor husband Aaron have left villagers seeing red after starting to dig a lake – without planning permission.
Excavations at the couple’s country home at a beauty spot near Bath began in October when diggers turned up one morning.
But the work was halted earlier this week after council officials visited following complaints from villagers.
Film director Mrs Taylor-Johnson, 55, and her 32-year-old husband have agreed to submit a retrospective planning application if they wish to continue with the circular, gaping hole, which covers roughly an acre and is up to three metres deep.
Sam Taylor-Johnson and her actor husband Aaron have left villagers seeing red after starting to dig a lake – without planning permission
They have agreed to submit a retrospective planning application if they wish to continue with the circular, gaping hole, which covers roughly an acre and is up to three metres deep
Even then there is no guarantee it will be approved, and if it is refused it will have to be filled in.
Some locals have called the crater an ‘eyesore’. There is speculation it is intended to be used for wild or open water swimming.
The couple bought their Somerset farmhouse home, which was once owned by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCleod, for £1.85million in 2010. It sits in the middle of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hole is visible from several others’ properties.
Jackie Inch, 64, a retired counsellor, said: ‘When I open my bedroom curtains in the morning the first thing I see is that eyesore. We had no idea they were going to do it, and I can’t believe they went ahead without permission. The hole has just got bigger and bigger.’
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘It’s a huge blot on a beautiful green landscape. I’ve been getting all the noise from the diggers going until 9pm at night even on the weekend.’
Shelagh Hayward, 88, a retired teacher, said she hoped the project was stopped for good as it was ‘too big and unnecessary’.
Alan Townsend, a district councillor, said: ‘The matter was discussed at the parish council meeting a couple of weeks ago and it was decided we needed to involve the district council’s enforcement team to find out what’s going on.
‘The sheer size of it means we are a bit concerned and want to know what it could be.’
The couple bought their Somerset farmhouse home, which was once owned by Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCleod, for £1.85million in 2010. It sits in the middle of a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A spokesman for the Taylor-Johnsons did not respond to a request for comment
The Taylor-Johnsons met on the set of her directorial debut Nowhere Boy, about John Lennon, in which Aaron starred. They married in 2012 at Babington House in Somerset.
Filming for Sam’s biopic of singer Amy Winehouse, Back To Black, began recently in London. Aaron won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor for his role in the 2016 thriller Nocturnal Animals.
Their Somerset home is offered for rent at up to £10,000 a week on a luxury properties website.
A spokesman for the district council said ‘concerned’ residents and councillors alerted them to ‘significant engineering works’ being undertaken on land close to the house on February 7.
‘Following discussions with the land owners’ representative, it was agreed all excavation works would stop by 12 noon on February 11 and a retrospective planning permission for a lake and a change of use in the land would be made to the council,’ a spokesman for the council said.
The spokesman added: ‘We can confirm that all works have stopped on site, as agreed, and the owners are now in discussion with the council’s planning officers.’
There has been some support for the couples’ plans, including one local who said they would be in favour if it involved ‘rewilding’.
A spokesman for the Taylor-Johnsons did not respond to a request for comment.
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