Yahoo News 'It all seems very strange': Why Ed Sheeran's neighbours are upset about hay bales 'shielding' his pond
Ed Sheeran has run into trouble over his home improvements once more as his neighbours are said to be upset about a strange arrangement of hay bales in one of his fields.
The Shape of You singer had previously had a run-in with Suffolk Coastal District’s planning department over his kidney-shaped pond, as he wanted to lift restrictions on him being banned from using it recreationally.
Now, locals suspect that an odd hay bale set-up that has appeared around the pond could be to get around the problem.
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One neighbour told the Daily Mail: “It all seems very strange but in actual fact it appears to have been very carefully thought through.
“The bales have been placed precisely in the right places and at the right angle to shield his pool.”
In June, Sheeran objected to the planning permission restrictions that the £500,000 pond should only be used as a wildlife habitat and not for swimming or fishing, calling the rules unnecessary, difficult to enforce, poorly worded and unreasonable.
The curved wall of hay bales in the field which sits at the centre of a number of properties Sheeran owns in the area appears to shield activities in the pond from view.
Sheeran’s pond troubles haven’t been his only issue on his Suffolk estate that locals have nicknamed Sheeran-ville because of the amount of buildings he has bought up.
He converted a listed building barn into his own personal pub and named it in tribute to his wife, Cherry Lancaster Seaborn, by calling it The Lancaster Lock.
But objections were raised to the pub signs he put on the front of the barn, although the Castle on the Hill singer won his appeal for them to stay in place.
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He was blocked from building a private chapel in the grounds ahead of his wedding, with concerns raised over the village appearing to have a second church and whether protected species the great crested newt was living in the proposed building area.
At the time, Sheeran said: "It is every person's right to be able to have a place of retreat for contemplation and prayer, for religious observance, celebration of key life and family milestones, marriages, christenings and so forth."
