Robbie Williams suffers hurdle in bid to build pool and gym at home

Robbie Williams ‘suffers new hurdle in bid to build underground pool and gym at his £17.5million home as battle with neighbour and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page rumbles on’

Robbie Williams has hit another stumbling block in his attempts to build an underground swimming pool and gym at his £17.5million London home.

The singer, 48, has been hoping to start work on a fitness suite at his expansive mansion in posh Holland Park for the last six years but his neighbour, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, 79, has opposed the plans.

The plans were initially passed by Kensington and Chelsea council but the former Take That star has since been told he has to apply for the deeds of his property to be legally changed for the building work to go ahead.

Rocker Jimmy claims the vibrations from the works could damage the ancient paintings and frescoes in his Grade I listed property, where he has resided since 1972, according to The Sun.

Robbie also previously applied to construct a trellis fence the size of a two-story building around his home in a bid to keep him out of fans’ view but he withdrew his planning application after he received an anonymous letter from a member of the public which appeared to mock him.

New blow: Robbie Williams, 48, has hit another stumbling block in his attempts to build an underground swimming pool and gym at his £17.5million London home (pictured in November)

It read: ‘I wholeheartedly support Robbie Williams right to have a fence around his home.

‘An Englishman’s home is his castle and he should be afforded his right. The general public would perhaps benefit from the fence being higher and constructed to a sound-proofed standard!’

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Robbie and for Jimmy for comment.

In November, Robbie risked reigniting tensions with his rockstar neighbour Jimmy after deciding he wanted to chop down trees close to their shared fence.

Several trees lie close to pop star Robbie’s boundary with Jimmy, who founded his band Led Zeppelin.

Robbie planned to totally fell a heavily leaning magnolia, said to be in an unsuitable position, and grind the stump, totally removing all trace of it.

He also wanted to chop up a cherry tree leaning over a footpath as it was felled to ground level.

Robbie hoped to thin a bay tree in his front garden by 20 per cent to allow for light penetration and cut back the neighbouring trees by up to 1.5 metres.

Speaking out: Robbie’s neighbour, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, 79, has opposed the plans, which were first submitted six years ago (pictured in 2021)

A horse chestnut was also set to be thinned out – with one over-extended branch to be cut back by five metres and the rest of the canopy being subject to a 15 per cent thin as he removed dead and defective wood.

Robbie also wanted to further thin a Chinese ash by up to 20 per cent as he battled to allow light penetration and retain the form of the tree.

A Loquat, an evergreen shrub prized for its orange fruit, would also have been cut back by up to 1.5 metres.  

The Candy singer’s garden is shown to include vintage limestone paving, overlooked by a bay window.

A circular path in the corner of the property is made of magma granite to match the borders of shingle paths circling his house and at the back of the property.

Mansion: Robbie, who owns properties around the world, has lived in his 47-room house after buying it from the family of late director and restaurant critic Michael Winner in 2013

Other sections are lined with Cedagravel mats while cut-faced Yorkshire paving steps lead away towards the front of the garden.

The Led Zeppelin guitarist was allowed to prune trees at his luxury pad in June last year – just a month after Robbie was denied permission to cut one back.

Jimmy submitted plans on April 21 to reshape a Bay tree in front of his Grade I listed pad.

It was approved a month later with the council calling works ‘routine maintenance’. 

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said: ‘The Council raises no objection to the proposed work.’

Expansive: Jimmy’s mansion, named The Tower House, was previously owned by poet John Betjeman and Dumbledore actor Richard Harris

Just two weeks before Jimmy submitted his application, Robbie was denied planning permission to cut back a 70ft Robinia tree in his garden.

This was despite the sprawling monster destroying his garden wall, obscuring a street light and being rotten at the base.

But officials working under delegated powers dismissed his application, claiming Robbie had not provided evidence of the extent of the decay.

They even suggested Robbie rebuild and move his cracking boundary wall to allow the tree to grow more.

Amanda Reid, the council’s Director of Planning and Place, ruled: ‘If there is decay at the base of the tree, this extent of decay needs to be quantified before the removal of this high amenity TPO’d tree can be considered.

Fame game: Robbie rose to fame with boyband Take That in 1991 (pictured in 1992, clockwise from top left: Jason Orange, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams) 

‘If the tree is causing the wall to crack, this problem will not be rectified by pollarding the tree to a height of 1 metre, as the tree will regenerate.

‘Additionally, the wall could probably be re-built to allow future growth of the tree without damage reoccurring.’  

Jimmy’s mansion was previously owned by poet John Betjeman and Dumbledore actor Richard Harris.

He outbid David Bowie to buy it in 1972, aged just 28.

The Tower House was designed between 1875 and 1881 by ‘art architect’ William Burges as his home – and the rooms have themes such as Time, Love and Literature.

Rocking out: Jimmy (right) is seen on stage with his Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant in 1975

To maintain the house, the star has had specialists install scaffolding and sugar-soap the walls, and only plays acoustic guitar to prevent damage.  

Robbie, who owns properties around the world, has lived in his 47-room house after buying it from the family of late director and restaurant critic Michael Winner in 2013.

In this time it has been subject to 46 planning decisions as he fights to renovate it.  

In 2017, former The X Factor judge Robbie submitted plans for a giant shed on stilts in his garden so his kids could have somewhere to play.

This sparked fury with residents who complained it would block light to their gardens and spoil the surroundings.

He later sparked more fury and had to apologise after saying Jimmy had a mental illness and had been sitting for hours in his car outside his house.

He told Italian Radio DeeJay: ‘Jimmy has been sitting in his car outside our house four hours at a time.

‘He’s recording the workmen to see if they’re making too much noise.

‘The builders came in and he was asleep in his garden waiting.

‘It’s like a mental illness.’

Wars: In 2017, former The X Factor judge Robbie submitted plans for a giant shed on stilts in his garden, upsetting his neighbours (pictured in November)

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