Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has lambasted the grand plans of next door neighbour Robbie Williams to build a massive basement complex at his luxury £17.5 million west London home, which he says nearly doubles the size of the house.
The two musicians have been at war ever since Robbie bought the historic Grade II listed property over four years ago and started extensive renovation works, much to the annoyance of his legendary neighbour.
Last month, Robbie submitted a planning application to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a single-storey ‘iceberg’ basement containing a gym and 30ft pool under the garden.
Robbie and wife Ayda Field, who married in 2010, are pictured in Germany last year
The star wants to create a tunnel from the main property to a renovated basement (pictured)
The new plan includes garden landscaping and work on a ground-floor balcony, which is only yards away from the boundary with Jimmy’s home.
The 44-year-old former Take That star is also wanting to remove ‘two mature, multi-stemmed Sweet Bay trees’, which Jimmy says will ruin the view from his window and the ‘feeling currently enjoyed’.
Robbie’s neighbour, Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page has objected to his plans
Although Robbie’s plans does include planting nine new trees (according to the ‘proposed tree planting’ document).
Jimmy’s house is Grade I listed and is one of the most important historic homes in the Holland Park area. It was designed by Victorian architect William Burges in the 1870s and has also been owned by poet John Betjeman.
The 74-year-old claims that work on Robbie’s property, particularly the vibration from all the construction, could cause irreversible damage, especially the inside of the house, which contains historic paintings, decorations and frescoes.
A similar planning application was withdrawn by Robbie in April 2015, which Jimmy had described as ‘catastrophic.’
In a two-page letter of objection, dated 19 February, Jimmy wrote: ‘I hoped that the reasoning in the appeal decision, which set out the principle of a ‘precautionary approach’ to the consideration of any application for proposals for properties adjacent to the Tower House and especially in respect of subterranean development, would have further discouraged further applications of this sort.
‘On the basis of the appeal inspector’s assertion of a ‘precautionary approach’, it seems reasonable to expect the council to dismiss any application for subterranean development on a site so near to such an important ‘heritage asset’ as the Tower House.
Angels singer Robbie bought the property that belonged to Michael Winner for £17m in 2012
‘As I have written previously (and repeat here for the sake of clarity), the Tower House was in built in the 1870s by the eminent Victorian architect, William Burges, for his own use.
‘Burges designed the house when he was at the height of his powers and it has been described by his biographer, J Mourdant Crook, as an extraordinary distillation of his artistic career.
‘As you know, the Tower House is listed grade I and is thus one of the most historic buildings in the Borough. I believe the house was one of the first Victorian buildings in the country to be listed and was saved by John Betjeman and Evelyn Waugh, who amongst others, campaigned against the threat of its demolition in the early sixties.
Jimmy’s home (pictured). The 74-year-old claims that work on Robbie’s property, particularly the vibration from all the construction, could cause irreversible damage, especially the inside of the house, which contains historic paintings, decorations and frescoes
‘Having protected the Tower House for over forty years, I am now continuing the fight against a new threat to this precious and unique building.
‘Although relatively plain on the outside, the interior is richly decorated with a variety of finishes/techniques designed in a highly original manner. Many of these finishes and fittings are extremely delicate and, of course, irreplaceable and include stained glass, decorative plasterwork, painted ceramic tiling and painted frescoes.
‘I believe during the period I have been fortunate to own the Tower House, I have been a good steward of Burges’ masterpiece. My efforts in preserving the building have been recognised as being exemplary by Historic England and its predecessor, English Heritage.’
Robbie has feuded with his wealthy neighbours over the plans in the past. They have until March 2 to lodge any complaints with the council
Jimmy goes onto say that the building work is way too close to his house and the ‘basement development (at just over 200 square metres) is only slightly less than the footprint of the main house and therefore excessive.’
According to the proposed basement plan, the distance between the basement and Jimmy’s house is 12.8m, but Jimmy is concerned that it’s only 5m from his wall, which he says is as old and historic as the main house.
He claims that the ‘the consequences for building fabric and decorative finishes of the Tower House may well be catastrophic if this project is allowed to proceed.’
He cites the example of his other next-door neighbour’s basement renovation work as a reason not to allow Robbie to do his, stating that it caused ‘an alarming level of vibration within the Tower House and led to the fall of dust/debris in several rooms on the west side of the house, even though these works were of only a preliminary nature.’
It’s not just the building work that annoys Jimmy, as he also claims that such a project will mean the removal of mature trees in Robbie’s garden, which ‘is essential to the character of the site.’
Jimmy says he will lose the ‘feeling currently enjoyed when looking out from the north side of the Tower House of being surrounded by dense foliage will be lost.’
He then adds that he ’strongly opposes the proposals’ before signing off as ‘J Page.’
Jimmy also submitted a letter from his architect Andrew Townsend, who claims the musician’s house ‘is a magnificent tour-de-force and is strikingly complete… You have clearly cared for the house and maintain it admirably in its original configuration and with original finishes and fittings’.
He goes onto say that ‘vibration from building works to the adjoining property could have disastrous effects on these decorative finishes… thus creating the potential for damage to the building fabric and especially to the decorative finishes in the rooms on the east side of the house.’
Jimmy has also sent into the council a letter from Clive Hudson Associates, Consulting Structural and Civil Engineers, which states: ‘From the information provided, we do not believe the applicant’s agents have categorically demonstrated that there will be no damage whatsoever to the finishes, fittings, or structure of the Tower House during the proposed works, as a result of the long-term side effects on your property.
‘While this movement may be acceptable for modern buildings, and even historic buildings with undistinguished interiors, a precautionary approach must be adopted with categorical assurances that there will be no damage whatsoever to the finishes, fittings, or structure of Tower House during the proposed works.
‘It should be documented the analysis presented by the applicant’s agents is based on a number of assumptions; including, we assume, a good standard of workmanship throughout the construction process. However… accidents do occur on building sites. It only takes one mistake to cause irreversible damage.’
He failed in his attempt to build a summer house at his £17million West London mansion last year following complaints from neighbours – but then submitted new plans (pictured)
Robbie – married to US actress Ayda Field, 38, and they have two children Theodora, five, and Charlton, three – bought the exclusive Grade II-listed Woodland House from the late film director Michael Winner back in December 2013.
Since then, he’s been in a running battle with Jimmy, who has repeatedly complained about his neighbour’s planning application for trying to add mod-cons such as a luxury summer house, the basement indoor swimming pool, gym and music studio and the damage it will do to the foundations of his own 19th century property.
In 2015, Robbie withdrew plans for a two-storey grand basement, and last year apologised for calling Jimmy – who opposed it – ‘mentally ill’.
The Stairway to Heaven musician got his own back on Robbie by having roof work done on his swanky pad in 2015 and using a firm with the same name as one of Williams’s biggest hits, Millennium.
In May last year, Robbie’s builders CC Construction Ltd was fined £3,000 by Westminster magistrates court for disturbing Jimmy when builders took apart a shed on a Sunday and contravened strict noise limits.
Ex Take That singer Robbie wants it as a place to relax with wife Ayda Field and their kids Theodora, five and Charlton, three – and is hoping these plans will be accepted by the council