Locals in a picturesque Cotswolds village where F1 racing team boss Christian Horner and his pop star wife Geri have been given permission to build a second swimming pool at their country home are furious that their objections were ignored.
They fear that the 40-foot outdoor pool will become a magnet for the power couple’s jet-set friends and that the noise they make will make their lives a misery.
A resident of the affluent village of Marston St Lawrence in south Northamptonshire said: ‘This is a quiet village and has always been that way – until this couple moved in.
‘Now we will have to endure months of noisy construction work, and then years of listening to the Horners and their friends party day and night around the backyard pool.
‘The rear of their house borders several nearby properties and I think it would be fair to say their lives are about to become quite miserable.
Locals are furious after Christian Horner and his pop star wife Geri Halliwell were given the green light to build a swimming pool in their Grade II listed mansion
Residents fear the 40-foot pool will become a magnet for the couple’s jet-set friends and the disruption will make their lives a misery
It also turned out that the Horners already have one swimming pool in their country house (photo)
“I mean, if someone’s having a pool party, who’s going home before midnight?”
It has also emerged that the Horners already have an indoor swimming pool in one of the barns of their country house, complete with changing facilities and a gymnasium, leading to further complaints from locals.
Another resident, in her late fifties and who has lived in the village all her life, said: ‘A second swimming pool? It’s downright greedy, isn’t it?’
The furious neighbor added: ‘Surely they don’t need two swimming pools. Most people would settle for it if they could.
‘They certainly don’t make themselves very popular here, that’s for sure.
‘They are not really integrated into the village yet. We hardly see them and when we do see them, they are very aloof in their demeanor. I don’t have time for either of them.’
Planning documents revealed that the Spice Girl, 51, and the F1 Red Bull team boss, 50, had applied to have the swimming pool installed in their garden, along with decorative planting including a new vegetable and rose garden with tree arches.
But city officials have turned their attention to possible soil disturbance as a result of the construction work.
According to Oxford Archeology, the site has a ‘long history of human habitation’ dating back 900,000 years to the Old Stone Age.
Some excavations in the village have uncovered medieval and undated remains, the organization said.
As a condition of the work, a program of ‘observation, research, recording, analysis and publication’ is required during the construction phase of the pool.
Many local residents who worship the village’s 17th century church, St Lawrence’s, which is directly opposite the Horners’ Grade II manor house, had expressed objections to the planning application for the swimming pool from the start.
They argued that the noise generated by the gatherings at the Horners’ pool would potentially drown out services at the historic church, a mainstay of the charming hamlet.
Christian (left) and Geri Horner (middle) pictured during the Jeddah Grand Prix. Locals fear the couple’s new pool will have a noisy heat pump and attract social gatherings that could disrupt the nearby church
An irate neighbor said the couple were ‘aloof’ in their behavior in the village and were rarely seen
One churchgoer said, “The church is just a few yards from their house and if there’s a pool party in full swing on Sunday, how are we going to hear the service? I’m afraid this is a very bad decision by the council.
‘It’s further proof that it’s a rich man’s world – and around here there aren’t many richer than this couple.
“I think the pastor will have to project his voice a few decibels louder from now on.”
Another local resident, a retired accountant in his early 70s, said: ‘I heard this ginger pool has a heat pump too, so that’s going to make a lot of noise. I wish they would move to California, or somewhere else to their liking.
‘This is a beautiful village, loved for its peace and serenity. This swimming pool development goes against these values. “I am very disappointed and I urge the Horners to reconsider their plans.”
The rector of St Lawrence Church, Rev Nicholas Leggett, said he was ‘not aware’ the pool had been given the green light when MailOnline contacted him.
He said, ‘This is news to me. I didn’t know it was approved. I don’t want to comment further until I’ve checked the details myself and talked to a few people about it. I have to make some inquiries.’