For the past decade, iconic Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and pop star Robbie Williams have been locked in a town planning feud that shows no signs of letting up.
About 10 years ago, Williams moved in next door to Page's 19th-century manor the Tower House in west London, according to The Wall Street Journal. Williams soon sought to revamp and expand his new property, Woodland House. Because there were restrictions on adding stories, he built down.
In 2013, Williams applied for permission to install an underground man cave replete with a swimming pool and gym, but Page objected, concerned about potential noise.
The local council planning committee in 2018 settled on a compromise in which Williams could dig his basement using only hand tools and would have to pay for a "vibration monitoring strategy" that included sensors on Page's property, WSJ reported. Williams' lawyers appealed the restrictions in January.
During the feud, the two musicians have taken jabs at one another. In an interview, Williams accused Page of sitting outside his house with noise-monitoring equipment.
"I think Jimmy is bored. I'm next door now, I've got a studio in my house. We could write songs together," Williams said during an appearance on an Italian radio show in 2016, according to WSJ. "He's recording the workmen to see if they're making too much noise. And also two weeks ago, the builders came in and he was asleep in his garden, waiting. Honestly, it's like a mental illness."
Williams later apologized for the comments but it didn't stop Page from hiring a bevy of architectural advisers. He also repeatedly petitioned the planning committee of the London district where the homes are situated.
In urging planning officials to stymie the basement construction plans, Page wrote: "I am sorry to sound like a cracked record."
At one point, the council suggested Page find a way to muffle the construction vibrations, to which he responded, "This would entail me living in my home for a year or more surrounded by structural props and padding!"
After a series of setbacks, Williams got provisional planning permission in 2018 for his underground structure, with a list of restrictions. Williams was given three years to start construction and in 2022, his construction team said work was underway.
However, in January, a law firm filed to amend the planning restrictions around the basement.
"Construction works have currently ceased and will not be recommenced at the present time," Williams' lawyers wrote to town planners, according to WSJ. A decision is pending.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.