This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby angers her neighbours over plans to add a two-storey extension to her £3m London mansion (so now she's going for a super-basement instead)

  • The presenter and her husband Dan Baldwin lodged a planning application
  • Neighbours objected to plans that were on an already-criticised extension
  • Complaints plans would 'compromise the character' of the area
  • The local council has rejected the plans but the couple could still appeal
  • The day after the plans were rejected they sent a separate proposal for an extra basement floor

 Holly Willoughby has angered her neighbours with ‘flawed’ building plans to put a two-storey extension on her £3million mansion

 Holly Willoughby has angered her neighbours with ‘flawed’ building plans to put a two-storey extension on her £3million mansion

On daytime television she exudes girl-next-door charm, but those actually living near Holly Willoughby appear to think she is the neighbour from hell.

The TV presenter, 35, has angered her neighbours with ‘flawed’ building plans to put a two-storey extension on her £3million mansion.

The Edwardian property in an affluent London suburb already has five bedrooms, but Miss Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin, now want two more.

Their neighbours have objected fiercely to the proposal because the house is in a conservation area and the extension would ‘compromise the character and appearance of the building’.

The row is just the latest instalment in what seems to be a difficult relationship between local residents and the This Morning presenter and her TV executive husband. 

Miss Willoughby has three children with Dan Baldwin, known as a producer on Ministry of Mayhem, Virtually Famous, and Through the Keyhole, after they married in 2007.

It is believed the couple moved into the multi-million pound property in 2012, where they now live with their children Harry, Belle and Chester. 

Not only have they been accused of having noisy, late-night parties – a claim they vehemently denied – they have also been criticised for causing excessive disruption to neighbours when they had building work done.

Undeterred by such complaints, the day after their two-storey extension was denied on September 26, the couple submitted a separate application for a 'super' basement extension to their house on September 27.

The North-West elevation of the celebrity couple's house where they live with their children

The North-West elevation of the celebrity couple's house where they live with their children

The two-storey extension plans that neighbours said were flawed and would affect them and their neighbourhood (pictured in grey left)

The two-storey extension plans that neighbours said were flawed and would affect them and their neighbourhood (pictured in grey left)

After the two-storey plans were rejected Mr and Mrs Baldwin have now submitted a large basement extension  (pictured tunneling below main house)

After the two-storey plans were rejected Mr and Mrs Baldwin have now submitted a large basement extension  (pictured tunneling below main house)

The couple submitted plans for the first and second floor extension in July. But their neighbours complained the work would disturb the area and breach conservation rules.

Responding to the public documents one resident said: 'We are objecting because we believe the proposal will be a detriment to the quality, character and amenity value of the area,'  

Perhaps the most damaging of the objections is their accusation that Miss Willoughby and Mr Baldwin have tried to ‘exploit’ the planning system.

Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin (pictured here at the British Grand Prix) were also accused of having a loud party

Willoughby and her husband, Dan Baldwin (pictured here at the British Grand Prix) were also accused of having a loud party

They say the couple are using an ‘unsympathetic’ extension they built previously to persuade the council to approve their new plans.

In 2012 they were given the green light to build a flat-roofed, ground-floor extension, which they said would ‘enhance’ the design and appearance of the house.

But their latest plans, to build on top of this extension, say that ‘the building has been unsympathetically extended with the addition of flat roof elements’.

In objection letters to her local council, residents said this means the application is ‘flawed’ and that approving the work would set a ‘bad precedent’.

In one resident's letter of objection they emphasise the noise and the persona impact on them

In one resident's letter of objection they emphasise the noise and the persona impact on them

Neighbours Dr Christina Atchison and Kirsty Brown wrote: ‘The justification made by the applicants regarding using the proposed alterations to remove out of context flat roof ground floor extensions, is flawed. 

She has charmed viewers with her girl-next-door-like personality during her successful career (pictured here with Phillip Schofield on This Morning)

She has charmed viewers with her girl-next-door-like personality during her successful career (pictured here with Phillip Schofield on This Morning)

'Firstly, it was the present applicants who made these unsympathetic extensions in 2012, secondly it would set a bad precedent and send the wrong message that house owners can exploit their previous poor developments as a justification for further development.’

The spat comes three years after the couple were accused of having a drunken, noisy party in an anonymous letter purporting to be from someone in the area.

Holly Willoughby with her husband Dan Baldwin who emailed neighbours seeking help in tracking down the person who wrote the letter to them

Holly Willoughby with her husband Dan Baldwin who emailed neighbours seeking help in tracking down the person who wrote the letter to them

Mr Baldwin responded by emailing 50 neighbours, many of whom the couple had never met, seeking help in tracking down the letter-writer. 

The presenter is set to start in a new dating show

The presenter is set to start in a new dating show

And he denied creating any noise, claiming that he and Miss Willoughby were instead watching the US drama Nashville on the night in question.

Planners have refused Miss Willoughby and Mr Baldwin’s extension plans after receiving the letters of objection.

The couple have been given six weeks to appeal against the decision. And they have submitted an application to add a one-storey basement, though this has not yet been considered.

Since living in the house Miss Willoughby has co-presented charity telethon Text Santa, presented on The Voice UK and began hosting a revived version of Surprise Surprise.

She worked with her husband on the sports-based panel show Play to the Whistle on ITV in 2015, as he produced and she presented. 

As well as her role on This Morning, Miss Willoughby will present primetime dating show Meet the Parents on ITV this year. 

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