It's a beautiful day for The Edge: U2 guitarist wins controversial ten-year battle to build five luxury mansions on California's Malibu coast - despite ferocious opposition from environmental campaigners

  • Irish guitarist The Edge and his team bought the 156 acres of land in 2005 
  • U2 star has been involved in a ten-year battle to win planning permission 
  • Campaigners fear it will endanger habitats for mountain lions and bobcats
  • Controversial cheme given the nod by the California Coastal Commission

By Julian Robinson for MailOnline and Reuters

Published: 21:29 EST, 10 December 2015 | Updated: 11:33 EST, 11 December 2015

U2 guitarist The Edge has been given the green light to build five hilltop homes in Malibu - despite fears it will endanger habitats for mountain lions and bobcats.

The Edge, whose real name is David Evans, and his team bought the site in 2005 and since then he has pursued approval from the California Coastal Commission to build the homes and live there. 

The unanimous vote to approve the 5.2 acre project in the exclusive beach community, near Los Angeles, came four years after members rejected the scheme.

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U2 guitarist The Edge, pictured, bought the 156 acres of land in the Santa Monica mountains in 2005
U2 guitarist The Edge, pictured, bought the 156 acres of land in the Santa Monica mountains in 2005

U2 guitarist The Edge, pictured, bought the 156 acres of land in the Santa Monica mountains in 2005

Long dispute: Evans has gone to great lengths to secure permits to build the five houses, including his own, and an access road

Long dispute: Evans has gone to great lengths to secure permits to build the five houses, including his own, and an access road

The project must next go before officials in Malibu and Los Angeles County to obtain permits.

A statement from The Edge's project team said the latest design takes up 43 percent less space than the one rejected in 2011 and would be built on a lower plateau, instead of high on the ridgeline. 

Each home will have a footprint of less than 10,000 sq f (929 sq m), it said.

Staff members on the commission had suggested the proposed configuration for the project that was approved on Thursday, said Noaki Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the commission.

A report from staff members for the commission said the project is 'designed to avoid or minimize significant disruption' of natural habitats.

But despite those changes, environmental groups and lawmakers such as state Senator Fran Pavley, a Democrat who often speaks in favor of green measures, opposed the development, saying it would infringe on wildlife.

Luxury development: The project must next go before officials in Malibu and Los Angeles County to obtain permits

Luxury development: The project must next go before officials in Malibu and Los Angeles County to obtain permits

State and federal park agencies are working with the National Wildlife Federation to invest millions of dollars to preserve corridors in the area for animals such as mountain lions and bobcats, Pavley said in a letter this month.

As a result, creating an island of homes within the area will 'have potentially disastrous consequences,' she added.

Pavley and environmental group Heal the Bay also opposed the Coastal Commission's holding of the meeting in Monterey, 250 miles (402 km) north of Malibu, saying it was too far away for people affected by the project to attend.

The Edge and his development team have dedicated 140 acres (57 hectares) of their land in Malibu as open space, officials said.

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