Ed Sheeran flaunted his artificial “wildlife” pond in a video shared on his Instagram page on Tuesday (August 20). Despite stunning many fans, people closer to the singer’s real life held opposing views. According to his neighbors, Ed’s natural body of fresh water is nothing more than a swimming pool, one that has been somewhat of a nuisance to his community.
Highlights
- Ed Sheeran's neighbors claimed his 'wildlife pond' is actually used as a swimming pool.
- Ed was initially granted permission for a pond to support nature conservation.
- Neighbors heard 'yelling and splashing' from the pond, suggesting recreational use.
- In 2019, a council inspection found no breach despite neighbor complaints.
- Some neighbors now accept the pond.
Taking to his Instagram page on Tuesday, the 33-year-old shared a video montage of a day in his life narrated by record producer and Selena Gomez’s boyfriend, Benny Blanco.
Among the many activities flaunted, Ed jumping into his private pond notably stood out amid growing criticism that his seemingly natural feature on his property has caused some disturbances.
A neighbor who asked not to be named told The Daily Mail on Thursday (August 22) that he had previously heard “yelling and splashing” from the pond, suggesting the star and his guests were swimming in it.
Image credits: Harald Krichel
He told the British tabloid: “I'm not particularly happy about what is going on. You can actually hear him around the pond.”
Upon having Ed’s recent Instagram video presented to him, the angered neighbor added: “What you have shown me there is him taking the mick. It is exactly like we said it was going to be.
“When they first applied for that, it was supposed to be a wildlife pond, but it just escalated from one thing to another.”
The A Team hitmaker was initially granted consent to excavate a pond in the center of a field that he planted with trees on his £3.7 million (approximately $ 4.9 million) estate in Suffolk, UK.
At the time, Ed stated in planning documents that the kidney-shaped pool would “support nature conservation” and provide “a natural habitat for insects, amphibians, and birds.”
The musician added a jetty and steps in 2017, leading to council staff making it clear it should not be used for “recreational leisure activity, such as swimming,” The Mail reported.
Kenny and Carol Cattee, Ed’s neighbors, subsequently complained: “The so-called wildlife pond would now appear to be more like a swimming pond.”
Despite stunning many fans, people closer to the singer’s real life held opposing views
Image credits: teddysphotos
Suffolk Coastal District Council investigated the site in 2019 and concluded that there had been no planning breach, as per The Mail.
A council spokesperson said at the time: “There was no evidence that it is not a wildlife pond, as plants are growing in and around it, or that the planning conditions had been broken.”
Ed was later successful in removing the ban on swimming and other leisure activities in and around the pond after arguing it was unreasonable and unnecessary, The Mail reported.
“It is like everything that has gone on,” the frustrated anonymous neighbor recently told the outlet. “The cart lodge should never have been there. It was refused when it was further back, and it went to appeal and they said he could have it there.”
He admitted: “From our point of view, it's one thing after another, and for us, it's completely ruined our outlook and everything.
“We are no longer happy here and we feel like we have lost a lot. He might be Mr Nice Guy to everyone else, but he just does what he likes.”
The Grammy Award winner notably created his estate, dubbed “Sheeranville” by locals, after buying up a string of neighboring properties and land on the outskirts of a village near the town of Framlingham, UK, where he grew up, according to The Mail.
Ed added a string of ostentatious features, such as a chapel with a 25-foot (approximately 7.2 meters) tower, a pub, a tree house, underground music rooms, tunnels, an outdoor kitchen, sculptures, a walled kitchen garden, a mini paddock for chickens, goats, and sheep, and an entertainment area with a hot tub and fire pit.
However, the anonymous neighbor said he became fed up with the celebrity developing his land and turning a former arable field into his own piece of woodland, The Mail reported.
According to his neighbors, Ed’s natural body of fresh water is nothing more than a swimming pool
Image credits: teddysphotos
The insider confessed: “It has ruined our life up here. We used to have farmland all the way around us. It's one of the worst things for us.
“It's a very contentious issue when it comes down to what's fair and not fair. With the deepest of respect to him, he's a very talented young man, and he's done very, very well.
“But to move into a residential area like this, and do what he has done around us is totally out of order.
“It's all the development and we're now enclosed by high hedges and security. I don't like any of it.
“It used to be open fields all the way to Brundish, but that has all been taken away from us.”
Image credits: teddysphotos
The source further argued: “The whole thing is just a tinder box. It's been let go and with the weather we have had, it's all overgrown.
“It just needs the wrong kind of person to do something, and the whole place could go up in smoke.
“It's not nice anymore. For somebody who has worked hard all their life, I feel slightly upset by it all.
“He has people around, and there's screaming and shouting over there. He even had a blinking security guard patrolling our perimeter with a generator going at night.
“We bought this house because this was where we wanted to retire, but we didn't want to retire to this.”
A separate neighbor chimed in: “The swimming pool is not that noisy, and it doesn't happen that often – but it is not supposed to be a swimming pool. They can just say it is a wildlife pond and people sometimes swim in it.”
Another resident in the area told The Mail: “The wildlife pond is a bit of a sham when it is actually being used as a swimming pool.”
Moreover, people claimed that Ed's pond has become somewhat of a nuisance to his community
Image credits: teddysphotos
An additional neighbor, Tony Robinson, who had initially expressed concern about Ed's pond, revealed to the tabloid that his opinion had now changed: “I couldn't care less. He has done a lot to his property and he's calmed down.
“I have absolutely nothing more to say. We are fine with him. He's built his lovely chapel next to our field, and I supported that. I have no qualms at all with him anymore.”
Five years ago, Tony had reportedly told the press that the famous local had a “wild lifestyle.” After being confronted with his past comments, the neighbor responded: “That was probably right at the time.
“But he has done a lot to redeem himself as far as I am concerned, so I have no particular issues.
Ed has two children with his wife, Cherry Seaborn, whom he has known since childhood. The couple welcomed Lyra Antarctica in September 2020 and Jupiter in May 2022.
Asked if Tony had a problem with the Suffolk native swimming in his pond, he joked: “No. not at all. I'm just waiting for an invite.”
Paul Mercer, of Norfolk-based The Swimming Pond Company, told The Mail that ponds like the one Ed built are a clean, green alternative to polluted rivers or conventional chlorine-based pools.
According to Paul, his company was among the first to set up in the UK in 2006, when very few people had heard about swimming ponds.
Ed excavated a pond in the center of a field that he planted with trees on his £3.7 million ($ 4.9 million) estate in Suffolk, UK
Image credits: teddysphotos
“But now there are around 2,000 natural swimming ponds in the UK and we get as many as 300 inquiries a year,” he told The Mail.
A typical 180 square meter (approximately 1938 square feet) swimming pond costs around £160,000 (approximately $ 210,000), and it is divided into two zones of equal size separated by a wall.
The “regeneration zone” is planted with aquatic plants such as reeds, which attract wildlife, and a pipe pumps clean, filtered water from it into the swimming zone, as per The Mail.
The ponds reportedly tend to be much bigger than conventional swimming pools and have lower maintenance as they do not require draining and refilling.
Ed's pond endeavor has left many readers divided
