A PREMIER League star in an intense row with his neighbour over a basketball court and firepit has won a battle to keep them.
Ben Chilwell, 27, became embroiled in the disagreement when he raised the back garden of his £5m Surrey mansion and erected a retaining wall for a new walkway.
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But the Chelsea defender failed to get the go-ahead for the Ground Force-style makeover at his luxury five-bed pad which boasts a swimming pool, gym and two games rooms.
He needed consent from the local council for the “engineering operation” and faced a possible red card over the unauthorised development.
His next-door neighbour objected, citing loss of privacy and overlooking, but the council have now granted retrospective permission for the landscape alterations.
In his ruling, a planning officer said: “Despite the change in levels in this part of the garden, it is considered that the works do not significantly alter the overall land levels of the application site.
“Moreover, the works are located in the rear garden and would not be visible from the street scene and are therefore acceptable.
“The proposed development is considered in terms of scale, form, bulk, height, massing, spacing and design, and there would be no adverse impact on the character of the area or the visual amenities of the street scene as a result of the proposals.”
Chilwell wants to plant new laurel and yew hedges to provide screening with further soft planting in grey, green and purple – but no blue.
He also wants to splash out on a stone-stepped pool seating area with glass balustrade, and new paving at his home near Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.
Documents submitted as part of the planning application reveal that building work on the sunken fire pit and basketball court started in April but has not yet been completed.
In a letter objecting, the neighbour wrote: “This increase in height means someone in this section of the garden or on the firepit walkway now has direct line of sight into our garden, terrace and kitchen area.
“This is a loss of amenity and the new levels mean we are now overlooked.
“We are keen to retain the privacy and amenity of our home, terrace and garden and whilst we would prefer the new ground levels not to be so high we appreciate that some mitigation through screening foliage has now been proposed.”
Ben Chilwell ‘thrown career lifeline’
BY Tony Robertson
BEN Chilwell has been thrown a career lifeline after being offered a Chelsea escape route, reports suggest.
The 27-year-old has effectively been frozen out of Chelsea‘s squad by new boss Enzo Maresca after being told he does not feature in the manager’s plans.
Chilwell, who signed for the club for £45million from Leicester in 2020 and was named vice-captain last season, is down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella and new signing Renato Veiga are both ahead of him for the left-back slot.
Chilwell had been joined in the Blues “bomb squad” by Raheem Sterling and Trevoh Chalobah, who both managed to secure loan deals away from the club on deadline day.
However, the 21-cap England international was unable to secure a transfer despite reported interest from Brentford and Manchester United, though the latter are understood to have never initiated talks.
Instead, Chilwell, who is earning £200,000-a-week with three years to run on his deal, will have to secure a transfer overseas if he is to earn playing minutes this season.
According to GiveMeSport, Chilwell is thought to be content at Stamford Bridge and will not move unless the right move presents itself.
The Dutch and Portuguese transfer windows both shut tonight, as well as the transfer window for Saudi Arabia, although it’s understood Chilwell is not keen on a move to the Middle East.
One window that will remain open for a while longer is the Turkish Super Lig window, which does not close until September 13.