Camilla Parker Bowles faces MONTHS of building work next door

EXCLUSIVE: Queen of spades! Camilla Parker Bowles faces MONTHS of building work at her country pile after her neighbour gets permission for massive overhaul of his estate

•  The neighbouring estate around The Old Mill has been granted planning permission for extensive building work
• The Duchess of Cornwall has opposed plans to expand the property in the past
• The two estates share a private lane, along which diggers and lorries will pass
• Ray Mill House is a Wiltshire haven to which the Duchess escapes city life

Camilla Parker Bowles faces months of disruption with trucks and diggers passing close to her sleepy Wiltshire estate after her neighbour was granted planning permission for a huge overhaul of his property.

The Duchess’ Grade-II listed property, Ray Mill House, in Lacock, Wiltshire, has only one close neighbour, The Old Mill, owned by Phil Clayton. The two estates share a private lane.

The council approved the plans last month, while stipulating that care should be taken with ‘the use and routing of heavy plant and vehicles, and the control and removal of spoil and wastes.’

An aerial view of Ray Mill House, Camilla Parker Bowles’ country estate in Wiltshire

A site plan of The Old Mill, set to undergo extensive building work in the coming months

The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince of Wales on a country walk, left, and the Duchess, right

• 
  Will Charles buy Camilla the house where she was nearly…

  
  Do Charles and Camilla have THREE marital bedrooms? Friend…

Share this article

But locals have expressed fears that the building work will cause ‘widespread disruption’ and will disturb the Dutchess at the rural haven that she relies on as an escape from the stresses of royal life.

The Duchess of Cornwall uses her historic property to get away from husband Prince Charles’s Highgrove House estate, which is open to the public in the summer months and receives more than 30,000 visitors a year.

Mr Clayton has been granted permission to renovate the interior and exterior of his house, build an extension with a glass passageway, replace the garage with a two-storey gymnasium and hobby room, and construct a new sewage treatment plant.

He and the Duchess were recently involved in a planning spat when she successfully opposed his plans to renovate an outbuilding to create two accommodation residences, one for his elderly mother.

Ray Mill House in Wiltshire, the country retreat of Camilla Parker Bowles, is facing disruption

An ornamental pig appears to be rooting for truffles in the grounds of Ray Mill House

The apostrophe-shaped swimming pool belonging to Ray Mill House in Wiltshire

She expressed what was described as ‘concern’ with the neighbour’s proposal, which involved the outbuilding’s replacement with a new, timber-clad, slate-roofed structure for ‘ancillary accommodation’.

While that planning proposal was subsequently turned down by Wiltshire Council, Mr Clayton has gained permission for a much bigger project.

Ms Parker-Bowles bought the property in 1996 for £850,000 with the proceeds of her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles. It is a welcome respite from the pressure cooker of Highgrove, which is only a 15-minute drive away. 

One source said: ‘At Ray Mill she can sit down with a big G&T, kick of her shoes and watch Coronation Street, which Charles loathes. 

‘She also doesn’t have to bother about how the place looks – Charles is so fussy about tidiness, while she leaves her stuff all over the place. She doesn’t need her cushions plumped all the time.’

This tranquility is sure to be spoilt by the building work going on next door. 

A plan of the proposed ground floor of The Old Mill, belonging to Phil Clayton

A site plan of the proposed first floor building that will be erected on The Old Mill estate

The south side of The Old Mill, which is due to undergo extensive building work

The front of The Old Mill, which shares a private lane with Camilla Parker Bowles’ estate

An outbuilding at The Old Mill which was knocked down in preparation for the renovations

The garage at The Old Mill which is due to be turned into a gym and a hobby room

The rear of The Old Mill, which is due to greatly expand in the coming months

The original plan to transform the property was withdrawn after the Duchess and other neighbours wrote to the council expressing concerns about the flood risk and that Clayton was trying to turn the garage into living quarters.

In a letter of complaint, the Duchess said the renovations could have a ‘negative affect on the flow of water from the river during any periods of flooding… this should therefore be subject to a detailed survey by the Environment Agency.’

She added: ‘I am concerned about the proposed garage. The design is not conducive to a normal garage.’

When a new planning application was submitted in April and approved just over a month ago, the Duchess did not object, though other residents were still concerned about the flooding risk.

The building work includes transforming the main house on two floors, increasing the size of the bedrooms, lounge and dining room, as well as building a separate extension wing with a breakfast room and sun room. 

The main house and extension will be linked by a glass passageway. It also means demolishing the current conservatory. 

Mr Clayton bought The Old Mill from long-term owner Ralph Adams, who died last year. He was also involved in a spat with the Duchess over her overgrown hedge back in 2006.

The bush was so out of control that bin men refused to reverse down the narrow private lane to collect the rubbish, and residents were told to drag their bins to the main road, which infuriated some. 

Mr Adams, a retired sand merchant, complained: ‘Walking 400 yards is hard for me but she can get a flunky to do it. 

‘It might not be a problem for her, but I’m 83, with arthritis and collapsing discs. She needs to cut the hedge. It sticks out about three feet further than it should.’

In the same year, it was revealed that the taxpayer was footing a £1.8 million security bill at the house, with the area being dubbed by the Daily Mail as ‘Camillashire’.

Source: Read Full Article