Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robbie Williams continue neighbour row

Take That star bought £17.5m mansion in London’s Holland Park in 2013
Now he wants to build extension with large subterranean swimming pool
Plans upset some neighbours – chief among them veteran guitarist Page
71-year-old said it could upset the fabric of his Grade I listed tower house
He hired architects and engineers who warned of ‘damaging’ vibrations

Dan Bloom for MailOnline

Published:
17:51 GMT, 1 March 2015

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Updated:
20:43 GMT, 1 March 2015

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A celebrity neighbour row has taken a new twist after Jimmy Page hired architects and engineers to say how Robbie Williams’ basement pool could destroy his ‘irreplaceable’ home.

Led Zeppelin veteran Mr Page, 71, has sounded the fears for his Grade I listed house in Holland Park, West London – a stone’s throw from the Take That star Mr Williams’ £17.5million mansion.

The pop star, who bought Michael Winner’s former 46-room home in 2013, first sparked Mr Page’s ire last month with plans for an extension including a lift and recording studio.

Not a whole lotta love: Former Take That singer Robbie Williams wants to extend his London mansion (left) – which allegedly could harm the Grade I lsited home (right) of his neighbour, Led Zeppelin veteran Jimmy Page

Take that, Robbie! The singer (left) has received a fresh complaint from his neighbour Jimmy Page (right)

Then Mr Wiliams submitted plans for a two-storey basement with a swimming pool – prompting drastic action from Mr Page, who has been in his house for 43 years.

The Led Zeppelin guitarist hired three firms – architects, structural engineers and town planners – to prepare three separate reports on why the development should be blocked.

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His biggest fear is that vibrations from the building works could harm his 1870s home, which he describes as a ‘masterpiece’.

Over the years he has conserved the house as a ‘custodian’ and claims his restorative works have been labelled ‘exemplary’ by English Heritage.

Described as one of the most important homes in the borough, the red-brick tower house was saved from demolition in the 1960s following a campaign led by John Betjeman and Evelyn Waugh.

In his latest objection to Kensington and Chelsea Council, Mr Page wrote: ‘Similar schemes have been carried out on other properties in the area locally and each time the level of vibration cause during the works has caused concern about the effect on decorative finishes of [my] house.

Stairway to bedlam: Robbie Williams’s latest plans include a basement complete with a swimming pool, right

Williams bought the house – which is the former home of Michael Winner – with his wife Ayda Field in 2013

‘The work now proposed is much nearer than other major excavations carried out so far and the consequences for the building fabric and decorative finishes… may well be catastrophic if this project is allowed to proceed.’

Mr Page’s concerns have been supported by a report carried out on his behalf by historical building consultants Andrew Townsend Architects.

Mr Townsend, who has been practising as an architect for nearly 30 years, described Mr Page’s house as ‘one of the most important houses built in this country in the nineteenth century’.

‘Excessive vibration from building works to the adjoining property could have disastrous effects on these decorative finishes’, he wrote.

His report added that it was possible the ‘hand-made brickwork’ boundary wall between the two stars’ houses would collapse.

Surveyors from civil engineering firm Clive Hudson Associates wrote that the home was ‘designed by William Burges, one of the greatest architects of the 19th century, as his home and contains original and irreplaceable interiors.’

Mr Williams’ house’s main bedroom, pictured during the time the late Michael Winner lived at the property

Williams bought the house in 2013, after the director’s death, and is now keen to renovate the property

The west London mansion, pictured in 2011 when Winner tried to sell it, includes a swimming pool room

They added: ‘These unparalleled interiors are of national significance and, we believe, are at serious risk if the applicant’s proposals (as they currently stand) are accepted.’

And the Led Zeppelin guitarist included a lengthy report from town planners Bell Cornwell, which detailed how the plans allegedly fail to meet council recommendations.

The 41-year-old pop singer has said he is simply trying to turn his mansion into a modern family home.

But his plans have also upset another wealthy neighbour, Marks Spencer heir Jonathan Sieff.

Mr Sieff wrote to Kensington and Chelsea Council to complain about Mr Williams’s request to install air conditioning units at the bottom of his garden, which backs onto Mr Sieff’s property.

Plans on the local council’s website show the extent to which Williams plans to re-tile his home’s roof

The great-great grandson of Mr Marks is worried the machines’ noise will detract from his quality of life.

He wrote that the three units together will produce a constant sound of 43.5dB, ‘which is nearly the same comparison as an adult speaking’.

Another complaint has come to the council despite being 10,000 miles away in Melbourne, Australia.

Despite the strongly-worded objections, one person sent a letter of support to the council.

Alan Dargue, from Yorkshire, wrote: ‘As the custodian of several listed buildings and a scheduled ancient monument, it is my firm belief that heritage assets are best preserved by their continued use even if this means altering them significantly in order to meet their occupier’s needs.’

The council is expected to make its decision on the initial plans by the end of this month. Mr Williams and Mr Page have previously declined to comment.