Neighbors force David Gilmour to rebuild shed

In a dispute with his neighbors in Hampstead Hill Gardens, England, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour will have to move a cabin he had built in his garden after demolishing two structures there. At stake are the privacy and light of the adjoining yards, as well as the "amenity" of the neighborhood in the borough (district of the Greater London area) of Camden, neighbors say.

As reported in the Camden New Journal , residents described the cabin as "obstructive" and "significantly more visually and physically intrusive than had been approved" in the property's original plans. Gilmour's planning team had applied for retrospective permission—a request that authorities approve changes already made without prior consent—after completing the project, but the new structure is actually closer to the garden fence than the shed and summerhouse that previously stood there .

At the time, the Hampstead Hill Gardens Residents' Association posted its complaints on Camden Council's website . The document called for the authorities' assistance in removing the structure, stating that the shack should have been built on the same foundations as the old buildings, and adding that the council's inaction would demonstrate that residents "can ignore the terms of their permits."

Jeffrey Jowell KC, a renowned public law attorney who lives nearby, noted the installation of "extensive foundations" and landscaping work, which he believed suggested Gilmour had "more ambitious" plans for the structure, The Telegraph reported. The lawyer also added that a neighbor's attempt to "resolve the matter without disturbing the council" was unsuccessful .

For these reasons, Camden Council ruled against Gilmour, giving him one month to remove the shed . The artist reversed his plans and promised to move the structure eight feet from the property line.