Blur frontman Damon Albarn upsets his parish council with a ‘noisy eyesore’ in his massive Devon farmhouse
After singing about a ‘Successful fellow’ with ‘a lot of money’ who ‘lives in a really big house in the country’ in his 1995 hit Country House, Damon Albarn then bought a huge farm in South Devon.
Now, however, the Blur frontman has upset his parish council by installing a ‘noisy eyesore’ heat pump without planning permission next to a public footpath in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in South Hams.
He also landed himself in hot water with planners after installing wood instead of approved metal cladding on a renovated workshop and studio.
And Albarn, 55, who recently announced the release of Blur’s first album in nearly a decade, The Ballad Of Darren, now wants to add glass doors to the main floor with sliding doors to increase his privacy and weather protection.
But in a letter to planners, Albarn Parish Council said: ‘The officer had previously felt on the original application that the introduction of charred larch cladding would have a historical and environmental impact.
Damon Albarn, 55, recently announced the release of Blur’s first album in nearly a decade, The Ballad Of Darren (pictured in 2015)
The Blur frontman has upset his parish council by installing a ‘noisy eyesore’ heat pump without planning permission next to a public footpath in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in South Hams (file image)
However, the applicant had gone ahead and done these works and this application was noted as retrospective.
‘Retroactive applications were never well received so the Parish Council were disappointed with this location as the purpose of the pump was to heat additional commercial non-residential buildings.
‘The setting of a second heat pump outside the redline on the application, located next to the footpath, was visually and acoustically disruptive when it was thought that it could have been placed outside the footpath and still keep the noise out of the main building. ‘
South Hams District Council officials retroactively granted permission for the heat pump and cladding of the property (file image)
Albarn now wants to add glass doors to the ground floor with sliding shutters to increase his privacy and weather protection (file image)
South Hams District Council officials retroactively granted permission for the heat pump and cladding of the property, which is believed to be worth nearly £1.5 million.
Planning Officer Harriet Fuller said: ‘In general, the proposals are considered acceptable in terms of design and are not considered to have significant adverse effects on the pristine character, appearance or tranquility of the landscape.
‘The change in openings is not considered detrimental to the historic fabric of the building due to the loss of only small areas of historic masonry.
“The proposal would have no additional impact on adjacent properties.”