London, Feb 6 – Neighbours of Harry Potter movie producer David Heyman are fuming over the extensive building work being carried out on his 11-million-pound home.
They say the lavish refit of the vast three-storey building – complete with domed ceiling and octagonal ballroom – is disrupting their lives in Pimlico, Central London, for three years, reports The Daily Mail.
Heyman, 49, and his interior designer wife Rose Uniacke have added a swimming pool and Jacuzzi, a winter garden and an elaborate glass extension to the imposing Grade II listed building, which locals compare to the fictional School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Now, a flurry of complaints has prompted Westminster Council officials to pay a visit to the 19th Century home.
“I made a complaint because building work was just non-stop. It was awful,” said Margaret Colville, whose home backs on to the property.
Stuart Aird, 33, an audio-visual consultant who lives in a nearby flat, added that the foundations had ’shaken violently’ as the family installed a geothermal energy system to extract heat from the earth.
“That meant they were drilling large holes into the ground, so you couldn’t fail to hear it. I called Westminster Council to complain that there was noise very early in the morning. They even had very bright floodlights late at night. Even the Jacuzzi pump is loud because it’s in the garden,” he said.
“The scaffolding was there for a long time. It was up and down, up and down. Building was constantly going on and, because of the scale of the work, builders took up parking bays, which was annoying. There are still builders around carrying out some kind of work,” said Moira Farthing, who lives opposite the mansion.
‘They started building at 7am some days, which is an outrageous hour. The council came round and told them they had to start later. It seemed they would never get it finished and work is still being done now. Everyone locally refers to it as Hogwarts as it’s so dark and gothic,’ said another neighbour, who did not wish to be named.
The building work has caused other problems, with one builder reportedly filing a High Court writ last year claiming Heyman – who produced all the Harry Potter movies after acquiring the rights to the J. K. Rowling books in 1999 – had not paid the full cost of the 3 million pounds extension. (ANI)
