Geldof: I really DO like Monets!
Inspired by French artist, singer Bob plans a lake haven for plants, insects and birds (but no rats, can’t imagine why!)
CLAUDE Monet was so entranced by the flower garden at his home in France, he captured it on canvas at least 250 times. And it seems rock star Bob Geldof has long coveted a sliver of paradise for himself – as he hopes to build a huge pond at his Kent estate inspired by the Impressionist’s work.
The Live Aid organiser, 68, wants the 39-metre feature as a nature reserve at the 12th-century Davington Priory in Faversham.
Inspired by Monet’s Water Lilies series, it will provide a home for frogs, insects, birds and other wildlife. Neighbour Jennifer Pout backed the plans in an official comment to planning officers, saying: ‘The priory already has a thriving wildlife population which we benefit from, seeing bats, owls, squirrels, birds, stag beetles.’
She added: ‘It’s great news that this area will benefit from another type of wildlife haven.’
Proposals by the singer’s planning agents say the pond would be 20metres wide, up to 2.5-metres deep and be built in a paddock near the Grade II listed main house.
Native plants in the margins and shallows would include yellow flag iris, meadowsweet and hemp agrimony, while among the deep water plants are alba water lily, pink water lily and water hawthorn.
The document adds: ‘The design inspiration for the pond has come from Monet’s pond at Giverny [in Normandy], with a mix of freshwater plants and trees to maximise the biodiversity value.
‘A critical element of the project is that these new ponds will have clean water.’
‘This is important because most countryside ponds are now badly damaged by pollution and evidence shows that pond wildlife is declining across the UK.’
The estate was designated part of the Faversham Conservation Area in 1976, a few years before the Boomtown Rat bought it in the 1980s.
If approved, the pond will be part of the Million Ponds Project to increase the UK’s freshwater wildlife habitats.
The estate includes features such as the arch of the lavatorium (the communal washing area in a monastery), a cloister and a
Norman doorway.
The Dún Laoghaire-born singer, who is married to French actress Jeanne Marine, did not respond to a request for comment.
His reformed band, the Boomtown Rats, last played together in March this year and were due to tour Europe this autumn, although that is now unlikely, due to the pandemic.
He is not the first celebrity to have designs for a lake recently. David and Victoria Beckham’s proposals for their Cotswolds home ran into a series of protests from locals before finally winning planning approval.