Ed Sheeran has told his neighbours to “mind their own business” as he admitted he did swim in his wildlife pond, along with his showbiz pals.
The Castle On The Hill singer has been caught up in numerous planning disputes over his estate in Framlingham, Suffolk, including over a kidney-shaped ‘wildlife pond’, which local residents opposed his application to build, on the grounds he would use it as a swimming pool.
Sheeran told Hits Radio Breakfast show: “The craziest one for me is the lake I got dug. It’s essentially a pond. It is grey, filled with tadpoles and swamp stuff.
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“I do get in it – but it’s not a swimming pool. It’s nature. Stormzy got in.
“They make it look blue online, it does not look like that at all. There’s no filter system, it naturally cleans itself with the plants that are in it. Before it was there it was like a ploughed field, so there is way more wildlife now, it’s surrounded by 14,000 trees that were planted, which is great for the environment. There’s loads of animals, we let the meadow grow up.
“I just think people need to mind their own business!”
The pond is surrounded by man-made beach and has steps and a jetty.
The Bad Habits singer now owns six properties in Framlingham, where he grew up, and has built a treehouse and his own pub in the grounds of the property which has been dubbed ‘Sheeranville’ by neighbours.
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Sheeran said: “I didn’t name it that. I actually tried the name of it to The Shire because I love The Hobbit but it got denied.”
The Shape Of You singer, 30, is estimated to be worth £220m and in 2019 won a planning battle to build a boat-shaped “prayer retreat” in the grounds of his country estate where he lives with wife Cherry Seaborn and their baby daughter Lyra.
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