Ed Sheeran dives into specifically put in pond at £3.7 million property

Ed Sheeran kicked off his day by diving into his specially installed pond on the grounds of his £3.7 million Suffolk estate near Framlingham on Tuesday. 

The singer, 33, applied for permission to build the large kidney-shaped structure in 2016 but was met by concerns from disgruntled neighbours who claimed it would promote a ‘wild lifestyle’ rather than ‘wildlife.’

To settle the dispute Suffolk Coastal District Council was sent to investigate the pond – which is in the middle of a field – in 2019. 

Later that same year he was also forced to fight a ban on using his ‘wildlife pond’ for swimming in after yet more complaints from neighbours. 

Giving an insight into his routine for a fun Instagram update this week, Ed leaped off the jetty into the water while record producer Benny Blanco narrated. 

The musician started his morning with coffee and some porridge before heading out for a bike ride and a dip in his pond. 

‘Filmed a day in the life and had Benny Blanco narrate it for the lols,’ he captioned the update. 

Such ‘natural’ pools – typically priced around £120,000 – have become a fad among the wealthy wanting something that blends in with leafy gardens better than a traditional design, and uses plants rather than chemicals to keep the water clear.

Ed installed his with a jetty to dive off and a wooden Romany-style caravan, which could be used as a changing room.

A planning application at the time described how the pond would ‘support nature conservation… providing a natural habitat for breeding and wetland invertebrates such as dragonflies and water beetles, as well as providing a source of drinking water to birds and mammals’.

The £500,000 ‘pond’ which features two sets of steps and is believed to have been installed by Gartenart, which specialises in wild swimming pools.

After complaints in 2019, officials said there was ‘no evidence’ the ‘pond’ was being used for swimming but did find a Romany gypsy caravan parked by the water, which had been converted into a sauna.

They told Ed the sauna needed planning permission, or to be removed, and the caravan has now gone, with just the concrete base remaining. A council spokesman said they would ‘continue to monitor the situation.’

The 6.3-hectare grounds include informal gardens, an ornamental pond, lawns and fields. Ed was granted planning permission to build a wildlife pond in the grounds of his estate. 

But the jetty and two sets of steps were added last summer and the council undertook an enforcement investigation, which questioned its use for recreational purposes.

The musician then applied for retrospective planning permission for the ladders and jetty, which was granted provided the pond was not used for swimming, and the enforcement case was closed.

He had promised council bosses the pond it would ‘support nature conservation… providing a natural habitat for breeding and wetland invertebrates such as dragonflies and water beetles’.

One local resident told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It seems Ed is now doing what he wants. He seems to be getting permission for some things but thinking he can get away with other aspects of his renovations.’

Councillors imposed four planning conditions with one stating that the permitted landscape features, buildings and pond should only be used as a wildlife habitat, and for no other uses, including any recreational leisure.

However, Ed later appealed to the planning inspectorate on March 28 2019 against this condition. His representatives said in a document: ‘The wording of the officer’s report shows clearly why the condition is not necessary.

‘The officer notes that there is no evidence that the pond is to be used for recreational purposes and that it remains as a wildlife pond where the planting and naturalisation is already becoming established.

‘There is no evidence to suggest that the pond would be used for any other purpose than what it has been constructed for and, therefore, there is no need for a condition seeking to prevent future uses.’

Neighbour Andrew Cattee had claimed that ‘what was initially a wildlife pond has become a recreational swimming pond, now with the addition of steps, handrail and jetty’.

Another neighbour Tony Robinson wrote in planning documents: ‘I believe that the development of the site is more about creating an environment for a ‘wild lifestyle’ rather than actual ‘wildlife’!’

The rising popularity of wild swimming has sparked a flood of interest in natural pools.

The Beckhams and actor Dominic West and are among the celebrities to have splashed out on eco-friendly ponds or lakes.

Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith also installed a 10-ft deep lake with an island and Chinese-style bridge and pagoda within her Oxfordshire estate when her children learnt to swim. 

Whenever the mercury rises, like this week, demand for chemical-free swimming ponds also soars.

Paul Mercer, of Norfolk-based The Swimming Pond Company, says that they are a clean, green alternative to polluted rivers or conventional chlorine-based pools.

He said: ‘We were one of the first companies to set up in the UK in 2006 when very few people had heard about swimming ponds.

‘We had very few enquiries and we would finish one contract and wonder where the next one would come from.

‘But now there are around 2,000 natural swimming ponds in the UK and we get as many as 300 enquiries a year.’

A typical 180 square metre swimming pond costs around £160,000 and is divided into two zones of equal size separated by a wall.

The ‘regeneration zone’ is planted with aquatic plants such as reeds, which attract wildlife, and a pipe pumps clean, filtered water from it into the swimming zone.

The ponds tend to be much bigger than conventional swimming pools and lower maintenance as they do not require draining and refilling.