England’s long national nightmare came to an end this week as Robbie Williams emerged victorious over his neighbor, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, in a dispute over the indoor swimming pool Williams wants to build in the basement of his London mansion, the Guardian reports. Kensington Town Hall granted Williams conditional approval on Tuesday to build his pool requiring Williams to provide assurances that the vibrations and ground movement involved won’t damage Page’s property. Councillors may also ask Williams to pay a bond that he’ll forfeit if the proposed construction conditions aren’t met.
The mansion wars started five years ago when the former Take That singer purchased the $21 million West London property and announced his extensive renovation plans, which included installing the aforementioned pool in the basement. Page — who lives in The Tower House, the Victorian mansion next door — has tried to stop construction out of fear it would damage his 237-year-old castle.
According to Sky News, Chairman Quentin Marshall suggested the two get together and settle their differences, now that Williams has been given the green light. That might be a tall order given how ugly the feud has become over the years, with Williams accusing the “Stairway to Heaven” guitarist of spying on construction workers and secretly recording them in the hopes of proving that they’re too loud.
“Jimmy has been sitting in his car outside our house, four hours at a time,” Williams told Italian station Radio Deejay in 2016. “He’s recording the workmen to see if they’re making too much noise. And also, two weeks ago, the builders came in and he was asleep in his garden, waiting. Honestly, it’s like a mental illness concentrating.”
Williams later apologized for saying Page has a mental illness.
