Christian Horner and his Spice Girls wife Geri Halliwell have gotten themselves embroiled in a local scandal with angry neighbors over plans to build a swimming pool in their back garden.
Locals living near the couple’s Grade II listed home in Northamptonshire are in an uproar at the couple’s plans, which would see the swimming pool edge onto the grounds of a church dating back to 1220.
It seems wealthy village residents are particularly concerned about the commotion an excitable Horner family could cause as they frolic by the pool while weddings and funerals take place next door.
Neighbors fear ‘screaming, shouting, and splashing’
The Sun first reported that Horner and Halliwell had sent off planning permission last year to build a 40-by-16-foot swimming pool at their vicarage house residence, which Horner bought for £2 million ($2.5 million) in 2006.
The pool was expected to have an apple or rose walk, a yew hedge, and a vegetable garden.
However, the Mail Online reported that this request has been met with severe criticism from nearby residents, many of whom have officially voiced their disapproval in strongly worded letters.
“It would be the height of disrespect to be standing in the churchyard during an interment to be distracted by screaming, shouting, and splashing from a short distance away,” one neighbor wrote.
Another neighbor argued that the area around the property “has historically been a peaceful and quiet part of the village,” adding to reservations about the potential added disturbance caused by a pool, the Times of London reported.
In 2022, the Mail Online reported that Horner and Halliwell had sought planning permission to add an extra floor to their mansion so they could build a sixth bedroom for their growing family.
Those proposals were accepted and received nothing like the apparent backlash that plans for a pool have set off.
Horner under pressure
Horner has faced mounting pressure in recent weeks after he was accused of “inappropriate behavior” by a female Red Bull Racing colleague.
The F1 team boss was cleared of wrongdoing following an internal investigation by Red Bull.
Not long after he was cleared, however, leaked nudes and illicit messages purported to be from Horner were sent to several media publications including Fortune.
“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said in a statement read to journalists by a team spokesman following the leak.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way. It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
