Tile and error: Tom Hardy falls foul of planners
NO ONE would dare snitch on Tom Hardy’s violent gang leader character, Alfie Solomons, in hit drama Peaky Blinders. But an unidentified source has reported the Hollywood star to his local council for allegedly breaching conditions imposed as part of the planning permission that he was granted for an extension to his £3.4 million home.
The 41-year-old was given the go-ahead to demolish a singlestorey side extension and build a two-storey replacement at his Georgian property in South-West London in 2014.
However, Hardy’s informer has claimed that the actor was ordered to use clad tiling but replaced it with a high-quality white-oiled Siberian larch timber finish instead.
Having fallen foul of the exactitude required by the regulations, Hardy’s planning agent has now submitted a retrospective application in a bid to be allowed to keep the extension as it is.
The agent contends that the development could have even won an architectural award if it had been nominated. And they seem to have won the backing of neighbours.
In a letter to the council, one local wrote: ‘This is a very attractive extension using highquality materials.’
Dunkirk star Hardy and his wife and Peaky Blinders co-star Charlotte Riley, who were guests at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, are clearly anxious not to invite further scrutiny. They have also conceded that a rear window was also moved from the right to the left of the extension to their three-storey pad, a designated Building of Townscape Merit which lies in a conservation area.
Hardy’s planning agent said: ‘Our clients were somewhat surprised to be notified over an alleged breach of planning control.
‘It will be noted that the first-floor rear extension is set well away from the street scene and is so discreet in nature that it cannot be appreciated from the public realm.’
Planners are expected to make a decision next month.