Why neighbours are seeing red over Cumberbatch’s ‘shed’
HAS right-on luvvie Benedict Cumberbatch had a change of heart over housing an asylum seeker? The Sherlock star recently revealed that he and wife Sophie Hunter considered housing Syrian refugees in their £2.7 million North London home, but decided not to open their doors to migrants because they had ‘a very new baby’ at the time.
Now Cumberbatch intends to build a large pavilion at the foot of his garden, sparking mystery over his plans for the new structure at his five-bedroom villa in leafy Dartmouth Park.
The actor’s architects claim the proposed building, measuring 161 sq ft, almost half the size of some London flats, is a ‘shed’. It is to be built in a ‘simple design’, with traditional timber and a planted ‘green’ roof.
The Dartmouth Park conservation area advisory committee, however, has opposed the plans. A spokesman says the structure is ‘too big’ to be called a shed.
A spokesman says: ‘This “shed” is in fact a large construction across almost the entire width of the property at the bottom of the garden. ‘It protrudes above the boundary wall. It has timber-glazed windows across the wall facing the garden, suggesting it could have many uses as an extension to the main building.’ An irate neighbour says: ‘What on earth does he need yet more room for? Why can’t he just go to B&Q, get a little pre-pack number and knock it up himself on a Sunday afternoon?’ Another adds: ‘This is massive over-development on… the urban equivalent of the green-belt.’
Cumberbatch, 41, bought the four-storey property almost three years ago, but he and his 39-yearold wife Sophie, and their children Christopher, two, and Hal, eight months, have yet to move in.
The Old Harrovian actor has already annoyed neighbours with previous building works to improve the house, including a rear extension and attic conversion. One neighbour says: ‘It [his building project] is dragging on and on.’
Cumberbatch delivered a foulmouthed rant after playing Hamlet at the Barbican in 2015, calling the Government ‘an utter disgrace’ for not doing more to help Syrian migrants.
When critics asked why he had not yet taken in a refugee, he admitted: ‘Maybe people had a point.’ A spokesman for Cumberbatch declined to comment.