Plans submitted to relocate pool at Anmer Hall which is expected to be gifted …

Plans submitted to relocate pool at Anmer Hall which is expected to be gifted to the royal couple
Topless photographs were taken of Kate while she was beside a pool on holiday in France last year

By
Amanda Williams

PUBLISHED:

14:32 GMT, 13 January 2013

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UPDATED:

15:14 GMT, 13 January 2013

The pool at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s new home could be moved to a sunnier and more private site it has today been claimed.

And the decision may have been influenced by the publication of topless photographs taken of Kate while she was on holiday in France last year.

Kate and William are expected to be given Anmer Hall, a Norfolk mansion, by the Queen.

Sprawling estate: The royal couple are expected to be given the country house by the Queen

Sprawling estate: The royal couple are expected to be given the country house by the Queen. Plans to relocate the pool may have been influenced by the publication of topless pictures of Kate sunbathing

Anmar Hall, which between 1972 and 1990 was lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, is currently leased to James Everett

Anmar Hall was lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Kent from 1972 to 1990 and is now leased to James Everett

A planning application has been submitted to the council to make changes to the Georgian property

According to the Sunday Times, a list of refurbishments to the grade II listed Georgian building have been released in planning documents, submitted on December 10 last year.

It includes a new driveway, installation of electric gates, and conversion of wood stores.

It is believed the work will be carried out by Charles Morris, who has previously worked for the Prince of Wales, and who is the great great grandson of Sir John Kelk, who built the Royal Albert Hall.

A source told the paper Anmer Hall was not an ‘occasional house’ but would be where the couple, who are expecting their first child, intend to spend a lot of time.

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council is being asked to approve plans to re-route the existing driveway in order to make it more private as well as construct a new garden room.

The application, which is described as a ‘major development’ in council papers, also involves converting a wood store into accommodation – which could be used for police guarding the couple – and extending an existing garage block to form an equipment room.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Couple:
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pictured as the Duchess left hospital
after a severe bout of morning sickness. The couple are currently based
in Kensington Palace, West London

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stay at Sandringham every Christmas with the rest of the Royal family

Anmer Hall is one of the 150 properties owned by the Queen on her 20,000 acre estate in north Norfolk and is only two miles east of Sandringham House.

It is surrounded by 60 acres of estate farmland, which will afford William and Kate a high level of privacy .

At the moment the main entrance to the hall is about 100 yards down a tiny lane which is also used as a public road to St Mary the Virgin Church, where services are held twice a month.

Anmer Hall which largely dates back to 1802 was reportedly one of the houses where Prince Charles and his then mistress Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, used to enjoy secret trysts, when it was rented by the prince’s friend Hugh van Cutsem.

William spent many childhood holidays playing in the grounds with the van Cutsem boys, who are all close friends.

It was earlier leased to the Duke and Duchess of Kent as their country house from 1972 until 1990.

The current tenant is James Everett, who owns a kitchen and timber company, and has leased the property until 2017, which means William and Kate’s son or daughter would be three years old when then move in.

The palace declined to comment.