Chris Tarrant upsets neighbours with extension plans

TV host Chris Tarrant has upset some of the villagers in Bucklebury, Berkshire, by applying for planning permission to extend his £2 million cottage for a fourth time.

Tarrant, and his partner Jane Bird, have put in for a two-storey extension, to make more room for his children and grandchildren. Apparently at the moment, the seven-bedroom house doesn't quite have enough space. It would add another two bedrooms, turning his 'cottage' into even more of a mansion.

It would also take the size of the property over planning limits. The rules state that no house built after 1949 can be extended by more than 50%, and this additional extension would break the rule.

The Parish Council has submitted a formal objection to West Berkshire Council, which will make a decision by next week. The neighbours, meanwhile, have been talking to the papers. One told the Daily Mail that hosting a TV show had gone to his head, and had persuaded him to take a step too far. The chair of the Parish Council told the Sun that "It comes to a point when you say actually it is big enough."

The Middletons, who also live in the village, have not commented. Those who have shared their views with the press, have also pointed out that Tarrant is a 'lovely man' who helped out at the summer fair and is a valued member of the community.

Tarrant's spokesman added that the house couldn't be seen by anyone - unless they were in a helicopter, that the extensions were sympathetic to the character of the house, and that it hadn't been his intention to upset anyone in the village.

An architect involved in the planning application said that the extension is actually designed to connect wings of the building - improving the overall look of the property.

Neighbour problems

It goes to show that celebrities aren't immune to planning permission dramas. In fact, there have been several in the past few months alone.

Gordon Ramsay got planning permission to demolish his holiday home in Cornwall, and build two more houses on the plot - closer to the sea. However, the permission was granted in July despite the formal objections of the neighbours.

A month earlier we reported the ongoing saga of renovations at Robbie Williams' house in Holland Park. Work has been underway for a year now, and one neighbour told the paper they were getting together to have a meeting about it.

And two months before that Judy Murray was given permission to change a crenelated roof on a tower that makes up part of her home in Stirlingshire. Some of her neighbours objected, saying that it would change the quirky character of the house - an argument which failed in light of the fact that the design made it leak.