Stink over hardman Winstone’s home plan
RAY Winstone’s ‘hardman’ credentials can scarcely be in doubt. But some bigwigs in his adopted county of essex don’t seem to be frightened by his tough guy act.
For i can disclose that one local councillor has made fearless comments about an ongoing domestic hygiene problem at Winstone’s £1.8million residence. she is objecting to his bid to get planning permission to add a first-floor extension.
the sexy Beast star’s plans, which involve the creation of an additional ensuite bathroom and a new open-plan living area with a kitchen extension, have prompted Councillor nicola Wilkinson to express ‘concerns’ about Winstone’s septic tank.
she alleges that ‘excess fluids’ have ‘run out’ from the tank onto the road for years, ‘creating a channel’ which, she claims, has been ‘very smelly at times’.
the 65-year-old actor may be unaware of, or indifferent to, that fact, as the councillor says that this causes difficulties throughout the year.
‘even in dry weather this area is always wet,’ she says, adding that in winter ‘fluids’ spread across the road, ‘resulting in an ice warning outside the property’.
now she is urging Winstone, who tried selling the late Victorian farmhouse three years ago, and his architects to rethink. ‘i feel that before any development is considered or approved, the drainage should be modified to provide the run-off from the street onto the grounds within [the property].’
Further criticism of the extension proposal comes from the council’s conservationists, who have deemed aspects of the plans ‘poorly designed’, ‘unacceptable’ or ‘unsympathetic’ to the local conservation area.
Winstone, who is the father of actress Jaime, declines to comment, but i doubt that he’ll take this lying down.
Born in east London, as a baby he was held aloft by the psychopathic gangster Ronnie Kray — on whom he promptly urinated.
not only did he and his parents live to tell the tale, but he also ended up as a three-time London schoolboy boxing champion, winning 80 out of 88 welterweight bouts.
His fighting sport instincts appear to remain intact. Asked four years ago if he would ever consider directing, Winstone candidly replied: ‘i don’t know if i’d have the patience… i’d probably kick the s*** out of someone.’