Geri Halliwell and her husband Christian Horner have been accused of ‘trolling’ neighbours after putting up fairy lights on their ‘illegal’ pergola built without planning permission.
The former Spice Girl and ex-Red Bull Formula One team principal have submitted a new retrospective planning application for the pergola after their last one was rejected at their £9.2million Grade II listed Northamptonshire mansion.
One neighbour said the famous couple were ‘rubbing their noses’ in it by putting up fairy lights on the pergola in ‘complete disregard’ for planning regulations.
They said: ‘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 noses in it and showing complete disregard for the planning process, I don’t know what is.
‘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.’
Mr Horner, who was sacked by Red Bull in July last year, has said that renovating his home was his ‘hobby’ and ‘the way I put racing out of my mind’.
But his relaxing pastime has caused fury in the neighbourhood and has been branded as ‘ruining ‘ the tranquillity of the quiet village.
Nieghbours are not happy with Geri Halliwelland her husband Christian Horner’s ‘illegal’ renovations, saying they are being ‘trolled’ after fairy lights have been put up on them
The power couple built a large outdoor 12 metre pool in 2024, which the ‘illegal’ pergola and gazebo now sit alongside, a development previously described as disrespectful by neighbours.
They have also built stables for 14 horses in the grounds for their horse racing company, OMBI, as well as an indoor pool.
The offending gazebo and pergola were previously rejected for their retrospective planning permission because, while they were noted to be ‘well-constructed’, they obstructed views to and from a nearby Grade I listed Church, The Times reported.
The gazebo’s slate tiled roof sits about 1.3m above the garden boundary wall and is visible from outside the property, planning official Forrest Childs wrote in the planning refusal.
Their new planning application only mentions the oak frame pergola, which is not visible above the garden wall, but Mr Childs still took issue with it in his rejection, saying it ‘is prominent within the immediate setting of the listed dwelling.’
It is not clear whether the pop star and her F1 husband have or intend to remove the slate roof gazebo.
Their new application does not refer to the previous refusal but says they have added ‘climbing and structural planting’ around the pergola to ‘soften the appearance’ and ‘reducing its visual impact’.
Their design statement adds: ‘The proposal has been carefully designed to ensure that it remains clearly subordinate to the main house and does not result in harm to its significance or setting. The pergola is freestanding and lightweight in form, constructed from natural oak.
The slate roof of the pergola is visible from the road outside Geri and Christian’s property
‘The use of oak reflects traditional garden structures and ensures the proposal sits comfortably within a historic landscape context. The open nature of the pergola avoids the introduction of built mass and ensures that key views of the house and garden are retained.’
This is not the only planning conundrum that the couple is battling with, as they are currently hoping for permission to build a horse walker at their stables. This is still being weighed up by their Council.
Three years ago, they were also granted permission for a first-floor extension, a replacement barn and a new greenhouse.
It’s all too much for one neighbour who said: ‘The industrial-sized regular goings on at [the house] do not represent what a conservation area is supposed to be.
‘The local village is not better for it in many ways and there are many disgruntled residents still. The noise levels of construction are on a daily basis.’
Mr Horner had been the Red Bull team principal since its inception in 2005 and led them to eight drivers’ titles and six constructors’ titles.
But his final years were beset with tension, following claims he sent an inappropriate text to a woman he worked with. He was cleared of wrongdoing by two separate investigations into his conduct, however.
He is currently on gardening leave following his £80million deal to leave Red Bull, unable to return to the F1 paddock until April.
Several neighbours also submitted objections on the application.
One wrote: ‘This has already been built, along with a sauna block higher than the wall which in a conservation area is unacceptable.’
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 also questioned why action hadn’t been taken sooner to stop the development and 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 Daily Mail have approached representatives of Mr and Mrs Horner for a comment.