Thursday 18 August 2022 02:01 PM New owners of Cilla Black's mansion risk war with neighbours as they resubmit ... trends now
A couple who bought Cilla Black's £3.8m country mansion are risking war with neighbours after resubmitting plans to develop the swimming pool.
Cecilia Elrin and Damian Gully want to replace the old pool house and kit it out with a new sauna, plant room, changing rooms and kitchen.
The first application was denied in January last year by Buckinghamshire Council for being an 'inappropriate development in the Green Belt.'
But the latest plans, submitted on Monday, 8 August, attempt to address some of the issues by scaling down on the floorspace and height of the pool house.
Ms Elrin and Mr Gully bought the late Blind Date star's sprawling 17-acre estate in Denham, Buckinghamshire in 2016.
Cilla bought the property with her husband Bobby Willis in 1970, and live there until her death aged 72 in 2015.
The new owners claim the current pool house, which was built with a brick structure around a structural plywood portal frame in 1996, was only meant to last 25 years and is due to be replaced.
The swimming pool, originally built in 1996, will remain unaltered, according to the executive summary by forestry expert Glen Harding
The pool building will be extended and built with red brick to remain in style with the main house, according to fresh plans submitted on 8 August
The resubmitted proposals seek less floorspace than original plans but will add new plant room, sauna, changing rooms and landscaping around the pool house
They applied to demolish the existing pool building in 2020, but this was refused in January last year.
The design statement, by Jane Duncan Architects and Interiors, said: 'The proposals seek to update a building which in its current form is not workable.
'We are seeking to increase the size of the plant room to incorporate filtration and air handling equipment, changing facilities as well as improve the insulation and sustainable method of heating to bring it up to current day standards.
'The proposal is to extend the internal and refurbish the pool itself and replace the building around it.
'The proposed building is therefore in the same location as the existing.'
The original plans increased the size of the building by a third.
Late star Cilla Black and her husband Bobby Willis (pictured at their home) bought the sprawling 17-acre estate in Buckinghamshire together in 1970. Cilla owned it until her death in 2015
Cilla bought the property with her husband Bobby Willis in 1970, and live there until her death aged 72 in 2015
The new application looks for 31-square-metres less in floorspace and will decrease the height of the building by half a metre.
The pool will stay the same size but new landscaping will be installed near to the new building.
They also want to expand the changing room to make two larger ones, each with a toilet and basin.
The current sauna, toilet and shower room, will become a large plant room and the extra space will allow for a larger sauna and store room to be added.
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