David Cameron’s plan for ‘tacky £50,000 swimming pool’ met with local outrage
Neighbours fear former PM will keep them up at night with ‘rowdy pool parties’
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Your support makes all the difference.David Cameron's plan to build a swimming pool in his back garden has been met with outrage from neighbours of his Oxfordshire home who fear the former prime minister will party into the night and damage the “character” of the quiet Cotswolds village.
Mr Cameron filed a planning application for 14x4m swimming pool to be built on a section of the garden at his home in the village of Dean, Oxfordshire, where he lives with wife Samantha and their children. The pool is expected to cost £50,000, according to The Times.
But neighbours fear the former prime minister will keep them awake with “rowdy pool parties going on into the night” if his application is approved.
One local resident filed an objection to Mr Cameron's application on grounds of “neighbourliness”, claiming that a swimming pool would be “totally out of keeping with the local area”.
The small village of Dean sits on the edge of the Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty and boasts some of the most breathtaking views of the countryside in all of England. Locals have asked why this tranquil setting alone is not enough for the retired leader.
In her formal objection filed to West Oxfordshire Council, Sue Jones asked: “Why can't people just enjoy the character of charm of the Cotswolds without trying to turn their gardens into some kind of tacky Benidorm resort?”
For the construction of the proposed garden addition, Mr Cameron has enlisted Blue Water Pools, an Oxfordshire-based company.
In addition to providing drawings of the design with the application, Mr Cameron said the interior of the pool would be dark grey or black tiled.
In response to the application, West Oxfordshire Council asked questions regarding pool maintenance and requested further details on expected noise levels. The council said on Thursday it would not comment on an ongoing applications, according to The Times.
Back in 2017 after resigning as MP for the local constituency, Mr Cameron famously had a sheperd's hut built in his garden in which he wrote his memoirs, published last year as For the Record, a book which drew plenty of attention over the former prime minister's defence of his decision to hold the Brexit referendum.
He returned to headlines last week upon the release of friend Sasha Swire's tell-all book Diary of an MP’s Wife which made allegations about the extent of the retired politician's taste for alcohol (“endless bottles of wine, whisky and brandy”) along with an alleged and now-famous “lewd” remark.
The Independent has approached representatives of David Cameron for comment.
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