Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner have sparked a fresh planning row with their neighbours over an ‘illegal’ brick-built pizza oven in the garden of their Grade II listed mansion.
The former Spice Girl and ex-Red Bull Formula One team principal have already found themselves at loggerheads with residents over a pergola and gazebo built without planning permission.
Neighbours have claimed that the couple are ruining the ‘tranquillity’ of the quaint village with their never-ending home improvements while another said it feels like they’re being ‘trolled’ after Mr and Mrs Horner ‘wrapped fairy lights’ around the pergola.
Now, it has been revealed that Geri and Christian have resubmitted a separate retrospective planning application for ‘an oak framed gazebo with lead roof and a brick-built pizza oven’, which they isn’t fully built.
It comes after the couple last week re-applied for planning permission for just the pergola.
On their most recent application, they admit building work on the gazebo started on 14 April last year – and now nine months later they’re submitting a second application to validate the ‘illegal’ works.
When asked ‘Can the site be seen from a public road, public footpath, bridleway or other public land?’, they’ve ticked the ‘no’ box.
It’s unclear whether this is true, as recent pictures show that the pergola at least can be viewed from the neighbouring church’s grounds.
Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner have found themselves at loggerheads with their fellow residents over a number of planning rows over their countryside mansion
Pictured: Geri and Christian’s application for their gazebo and pizza oven. The local council’s heritage and conservation team said the pizza oven’s ‘flue is also visible over the wall and which cumulatively is considered to have a harmful impact of the setting of the listed building’
The form says that they sought pre-application advice on November 27 last year and the pair have made changes to the application which was refused.
It states: ‘The proposed lower pitched slate roof was still deemed too impactful, and so in this application we have proposed a much lower pitch that is now finished in lead.’
But a neighbour, who asked not to be named, spoke out this week about the constant renovations at the £9.2M Grade II-listed building.
They said: ‘The pergola and wooden gazebo that were refused retrospective planning permission still exist, and are being used with fairy lights on top.
‘It is like we are being trolled as the black wired wrapped around fairly lights over the length of the pergola are still in situ.
‘If that is not rubbing our noises in it and showing complete disregard for the planning process I don’t know what it.
‘Any ordinary person would have been forced to tear it all down.
‘This just shows the level of injustice and inequality shown between the super wealthy and the average person.’
The slate roof of the pergola is visible from the road outside Geri and Christian’s property
The original application for both pergola and gazebo were badly received by residents .
Several neighbours also submitted objections on the application.
‘This has already been built, along with a sauna block higher than the wall, which in a conservation area is unacceptable,’ one wrote.
Another neighbour wrote: ‘The council would have been onsite to know this construction has been built for at least four months when signing off a swimming pool and other construction.
‘Questions need to be asked and answered. Somehow, a 30 foot long pergola was missed.’
Another neighbour questioned why action hadn’t been taken sooner to stop the development.
They added: ‘This was once a beautiful quaint property and plot in this conservation area.
‘Where are you inspectors, or do the rules not apply here?’
The Queen joined former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner as they visited a cancer support charity to meet people living with the disease
Despite being in the bad books with her neighbours, the former Spice Girl seems to be in good graces with the Queen
Also, objecting to the scheme was the council’s heritage and conservation team, who said: ‘Whilst well-constructed the pergola lies in direct sight of the church when viewed from this garden area to the east of the house and detracts from views of the church which Grade I listed and therefore impacts its setting.’
The heritage team added: ‘It is worth also noting a pizza oven has been constructed in red brick with flue.
‘Based on its construction I would consider this development.
‘This flue is also visible over the wall and which cumulatively is considered to have a harmful impact of the setting of the listed building.’
Despite being in the bad books with her neighbours, the former Spice Girl seems to be in good graces with the Queen.
The Queen joined former Geri Halliwell-Horner as they visited a cancer support charity to meet people living with the disease on Wednesday afternoon.
Horner, who has recently been introduced to the charity, said: ‘I think it’s absolutely amazing. I appreciate everything so much more when I have support and you bring joy into that process and that’s what Maggie’s does.
‘I’m such a big fan of the Queen. I think she’s amazing and stoic. I think she’s fantastic, a formidable force of nature. She’s watched Maggie’s grow, and it teaches us that we need each other.’
The Daily Mail have approached representatives of Mr and Mrs Horner for a comment.