Hollywood film star George Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife Amal have clashed with their local council over plans to install security cameras on 18ft poles around their property.
The couple's plans have sparked objections from locals in the village of Sonning Eye, near Reading, Berkshire, over proposals to erect a total of 18 cameras at their luxury home. The Ocean's Eleven star and his barrister wife bought the nine-bedroom £10million mansion shortly after marrying last year and have already had permission to begin work on a new swimming pool, pool house and home cinema and new boundary fencing.
George, 54, and wife Amal, 37, are set to move into the 17th-century Mill House later this year once renovations are complete. They are now seeking planning permission to install a CCTV security system including eight cameras on poles placed throughout the mansion's grounds, with a further 10 attached to the Grade II listed property - but the parish council has objected to the plans.
Each camera would be housed in a protective vandal-resistant dome and could be tilted or panned to face in any direction - six of the poles would be 4m high, one would be 5m and one would be 6m. Eye and Dunsden Parish Council has objected to the plans and said the wide range of the cameras represents a 'potential infringement of the privacy of neighbouring properties'. It argues the poles would be a 'visual intrusion' into the village's conservation area, and said: 'A more appropriate security system could be achieved by a greater number of inward-facing low-level cameras.' But South Oxfordshire District Council's conservation officer has recommended approving Clooney's plans as long as the cameras can easily be removed from the building.
The district council, which approved the other improvements two months ago, will make the final decision. The parish council had objected to the initial plans because it wanted the fencing set further back from the river. The Times reports the couple's planning agent, Paul Butt, agreed to reduce the tallest poll from 6m to 5m but insists nearby properties are well screened and 'a long way away.' He told the paper he 'was struggling to understand' the parish council's argument as no local residents have actually objected to the plans.
According to The Sun on Sunday, the Ocean's Eleven star has reportedly hired the designers behind private members' club chain Soho House to transform his UK home. A source told the tabloid: 'George is a regular at Soho House over in West Hollywood and loves the relaxed vibe and design of it so wanted to replicate a bit of that at his British home. 'Both George and Amal have had a lot of input into the plans but the Soho House guys have worked their magic.'
