Glamorous TV presenter Celia Sawyer has celebrated winning a planning battle with her neighbour by vowing: ‘I’m not going to let him stop me sunbathing in my bikini.’
The celebrity interior designer spoke out after ‘jealous’ neighbour Neil Kennedy tried to get a luxury sunroom at the bottom of her garden torn down in what one local described as ‘an act of revenge’.
Celia – who is known as Mrs Bling – told how the pair fell out after Mr Kennedy ‘illegally’ built a balcony which she says meant he could peer into her garden leaving her feeling uncomfortable when she was lounging around in her swimwear.
Mr Kennedy was forced to put in retrospective applications after Celia lodged a formal complaint over the ‘disgraceful’ breach of planning rules.
But she was later left stunned when the row escalated and officials turned their attention to her property.
She told how the local council received an anonymous tip-off that her sunroom – which was put up four years ago – had been built without permission.
After winning a fight to keep the £50,000 glass structure Celia, 58, told : ‘I’m not going to let him stop me sunbathing in my bikini.
‘We’ve worked very hard to buy a house like this. It’s all been very silly – it’s tit for tat.
‘I’m relieved and very, very pleased. I’m just glad that the council did the right thing.’
Celia and husband Nick bought their £4 million dream home overlooking Poole Harbour in 2007 and brought up their children Jack, 22, and Lili, 25, there.
The couple did not object when retired accountant Mr Kennedy put in plans to demolish a £2 million bungalow and replace it with an ultra-modern three storey house.
But once the work began they claim Mr Kennedy did not stick to the original plans and say he unlawfully extended the width of a first-floor balcony which overlooked their back garden and sun terrace.
Celia – host of BBC makeover show Your Home in Their Hands and star of Channel 4’s Four Rooms – said: ‘We object to being overlooked. When I’m in my bikini I feel very uncomfortable.
‘We have no privacy. He says it’s only for maintenance but he can literally stand there and look into our garden, it shouldn’t be allowed.’
Celia and her husband are also upset about an air source heat pump which had apparently been built on the flat roof of Mr Kennedy’s house without permission.
And they claim that windows had also been unlawfully added to both sides of the new house, with one of them looking directly into his other neighbour’s bedroom.
Mr Kennedy was forced to put in two retrospective applications to ‘regularise the as-built amendments’ which were finally approved in January.
But that was not the end of the matter and the row rumbled on – and this time it was Celia who was paid a visit by planning officials.
They quizzed her over the 21ft by 15ft glass building with retractable roof that was built in 2020 on decking alongside a small sandy ‘beach’ Celia put in with sun loungers.
Officials then ordered her to submit a retrospective planning application for the sunroom.
Celia said: ‘Someone from the council came round and knocked on the door saying there had been a complaint about our sunroom.
‘We thought ‘That’s ridiculous’. It was four years ago we put it up. Why would you complain after four years? There was never a word before that.
‘The council said they had to check it out.
‘There was a visit from the planning man. He got his tape measure out and everything else. We were really shocked.
‘If you’re going to moan about something you would normally do it straight away not four years later.
‘My husband asked Mr Kennedy about it and he said the reason he did it was because we objected to his planning.
‘We made it very clear that we didn’t complain about the original plans.
‘We objected when he didn’t do what he was supposed to have done and broke the planning rules.
‘The glass room is a non-permanent structure at the bottom of the garden so there wasn’t any issue with planning.
‘It’s just made of metal and glass. There’s a retractable sliding roof which has sensors.
‘I had it built on the basis it was totally planning free. We put it in and that was it. We never thought any more of it.
‘It’s not a place for living in or sleeping in – it’s a place for sunbathing and entertaining.
‘We’ve got a little bar in there and there’s heaters and lights.
‘We’ve had a lot of friends over and family and clients. It’s a beautiful spot – you’re right on the water’s edge.
‘I’ll sit there in my bikini and make the most of it when I can. Sometimes I go down at the end of the day and have a glass of wine.
‘Because it keeps the wind and rain and English weather off you, it prolongs the summer.
‘In the spring time we use it if it’s nice. If it’s a bit chilly you can keep the doors shut in the autumn – it’s great.’
But referring to her neighbour she added: ’It’s the sort of thing for people who enjoy life and like to have fun. Unlike him – he’ll never have one.
‘We think he’s jealous. He has no friends. Nobody ever goes there to visit him.
‘We think he doesn’t like to see other people having fun and he gets annoyed because we’re enjoying ourselves.’
Speaking of the impact the row has had on the family she said: ‘It has caused anxiety and stress.
‘We were worried that we might have to take it down.
‘You don’t need it. You work hard and you get something like that.
‘He’s already disrupted our lives by all the building work – then building the wrong house.
’It’s the cost as well. We were advised to get the planning so there wouldn’t be any issues.
‘We spend nearly £1,000 having to go to planning and get a planning agent which we should never have had to do.’
Celia, who left school aged 15 with no qualifications, worked her way to becoming a self-made multi-millionaire designing homes for pop stars, footballers, celebrities and royalty.
Her Mayfair based interior architecture and design firm now creates ‘luxury homes, super yachts, aviation interiors, commercial properties and leisure industry projects’ worldwide.
Celia told how it took years to find the perfect home after moving out of London.
She said: ‘This is our dream home.
‘I worked very hard in my business to try and make sure I was able to buy it.
‘When we first moved down here, we bought a holiday home.
‘Then we bought another house which is close by.
’It had a lovely view but it had a busy road in front of it. We moved the children down.
‘I saw it as being like a chess game to get ourselves on the waterfront
‘I was looking at literally everything on the market. I knew what everything was worth.
‘All the estate agents knew me. They’d see me and I’m sure they’d be thinking ‘Oh. It’s her again.’
‘In the end we found this place and it was perfect. I love it here. It’s very quiet all the neighbours got on – but now it seems that man next door just wants to cause trouble about everything.
‘We put a new deck down a few months ago and we were very careful not to do anything that would go any further than the old deck because we knew he would be looking over and he would be writing to the council.
‘It’s just so petty but it causes people a lot of stress when someone next to you is like that continuously.’
Earlier this week Celia was granted permission for the sunroom after Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said they were satisfied the building did not cause any harm to the area.
Planning officer Emma Woods said the sunroom was ‘open in nature’ and ‘does not appear at odds with its surroundings’ pointing out that many waterside properties have outbuildings like boat houses.
She noted it is about 3ft from Mr Kennedy’s property but it is not overbearing due to its modest height and open nature.
She said: ‘The design retains a sense of openness and is considered to fit comfortably with the established character and appearance of this stretch of the shoreline.
‘Overall it is considered that the development respects the amenities and privacy of the occupants of the neighbouring properties.’
The council only received one representation from a neighbour who said the sunroom was well designed and made a positive contribution to this part of the harbour.
The retrospective planning application was granted with the condition that the sunroom must not be used for habitable accommodation.
Now Celia insists she’s determined to put the troubles behind her after winning the latest battle.
She said: ‘We’re very relieved. It’s almost like waking up from a nightmare.
‘I’m just absolutely thrilled that the council weren’t difficult with us. They were professional and did the right thing.
‘The good news is we’ve got many more summers and parties to come.
‘We might have a little party to celebrate. We’ll invite the neighbours – well maybe not all of them.’
Mr Kennedy declined to comment.