Benedict Cumberbatch and the case of the noisy boiler

Updated
The hoardings around Benedict Cumberbatch's Camden house.
The hoardings around Benedict Cumberbatch's Camden house.



Benedict Cumberbatch may be set for a battle, following concerns over his plans to extend.

Cumberbatch bought the semi-detached house in Camden, north London, for £2.7 million last April.

But the Sherlock star then mystified his neighbours by putting up black hoardings around the property, which has remained empty ever since.

"There was a little frisson of excitement that he was moving into the neighbourhood. We were hoping he may come and present some prizes at our street party," one neighbour told the Camden New Journal.

"But the excitement quickly turned to boredom and then displeasure after his builders put up ugly black hoardings around what is a rather pretty home and then left it empty for ages."

Meanwhile, Cumberbatch and wife opera director Sophie Hunter submitted plans to Camden Council to renovate and extend the property. They want to add an attic bedroom and create a plant room housing a water heater and boiler at the front of the late Victorian house.

They also want to extend the house into the back garden.

But the council is worried about the proposed plant room, which would go in the front garden underneath the existing retaining wall. While it wouldn't be visible from the street, there are concerns over noise, and the council's calling for an acoustic report.

Noise is the biggest cause of arguments with neighbours, a recent survey found. Often, cases are pretty clear-cut, such as the nightmare neighbour who was jailed earlier this year for blasting out Dolly Parton at all hours - and at full volume.

Sometimes, though, people can get extremely upset over 'noise' that's barely perceptible to anyone else. Earlier this year, for example, one couple were told they were being 'oversensitive' for objecting to a pond feature that was found to make about as much noise as a fridge.

For action to be taken, neighbours need to be able to show 'an unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land or of some right over, or in connection, with it'. How that's interpreted depends on the level of the noise, when it's happening and how long it lasts.

'Doctor Strange': MovieBites
'Doctor Strange': MovieBites




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