Neighbours of James Corden have accused him of paving over the front garden of his £11.5 million mansion so that he has more room to “park wheelie bins”.
The comedian, 47, demolished a large planting bed in the strict north London conservation area, angering resident groups and local councillors.
Gavin & Stacey star Corden carried out the work before submitting a retrospective planning application, in which he described it as “minor landscaping works to the front garden to repair existing paving slabs”, the Daily Mail said.
He added the project was aimed to increase the area of hard surface for storage of bins, pointing out the paving slabs were repurposed from the back garden of the property where he lives with wife Julia Carey and their three children Max, 13, Carey, 10, and Charlotte, seven.
A representative for Corden and the local authority were approached for contact by the Standard.
Earlier this year, he won a planning battle to build an extension following complaints from neighbours about drum noise having moved back to the UK last year.
Corden returned after an eight-year stint living in the US where he presented The Late Late Show.
One neighbour objected to the renovations, claiming there were no slabs at the front as the surface appeared to have a gravel look.
Another raged: “Is there a pressing requirement for an enlarged site for waste bins given this is a single family dwelling?”
The works have resulted in the loss of a planting bed measuring 11 square metres, the Mail said.
In a bid to compensate, Corden has planted four new trees and a mix of plants, but even this has riled the local residents’ association, which states that the trees are too close together and have little chance of surviving.
Lib Dem councillor Tom Simon said: “There is no valid justification for the loss of green space in this instance, so the application should be resisted.”
Local Deborah Buzan added: “Front gardens being paved over is bad for the environment.
“It is not good for wildlife in the area, and it reduces the enjoyment of residents who now look at barren areas instead of plants and London flowers.
“It’s so sad seeing the disregard for conservation.”
David Thomas, chair of the neighbourhood’s conservation areas advisory committee, quoted strict council rules on planning permission stating that “applications to make or enlarge a hard surface in your front garden are unlikely to be granted permission”.
Another neighbour said: “If all the houses in the conservation area decided to pave over 11 square metres of existing flowerbeds in their front gardens there would be a very serious negative impact on the character and appearance.
“The application says the works were done primarily to repair existing paving slabs. However, there were no existing paving slabs as the surface was a gravel look surface.
“The application says the increased hard surface is for the storage of bins. However, this is a large house with a front drive the full width of the plot so there is plenty of space that is already hard covered for bin storage.
“There can be no doubt from looking at the photos that these works have negatively impacted the character and appearance of the conservation area.”
