Ed Sheeran has secured planning approval for a new wildlife pond at his upscale recording studio complex in Suffolk.
The 35-year-old musician has been granted permission to create the large pond at his £1.1 million studio site, a rural retreat that has already earned the nickname the “countryside Abbey Road.”
At more than 9,000 square feet, however, the planned water feature has drawn attention for its sheer scale, with some observers noting it is approaching the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
The proposal had prompted concerns that the pond at Tannington Lodge estate, a 17th-century farmhouse property in Suffolk dubbed “Sheeranville II,” could tempt visiting musicians and other guests at the studio to use it for swimming.
The Shape of You and Bad Habits hitmaker previously faced a backlash after footage emerged showing him diving into a so-called wildlife pond at his nearby £3.7 million estate, widely known as Sheeranville.
Sheeran had received approval in 2016 for that £500,000 kidney-shaped pond after arguing it would “support nature conservation by providing a natural habitat for insects, amphibians and birds,” including “dragonflies and water beetles.”
That permission was granted on the basis that the pond would not be used as a swimming pool.
But in 2017, steps and a jetty were added, along with a wooden Romany-style caravan that could have served as a changing area.
Ed Sheeran has received approval to install another wildlife pond at his luxury recording studio complex.
Ed Sheeran bought Tannington Lodge estate, home to a Grade II-listed farmhouse, for £1.1 million more than two years ago.
Mr Sheeran previously acknowledged using the “wildlife pond” at his other estate for swimming.
Two years later, complaints from neighbours led the local council to investigate, though officials ultimately found that no planning rules had been breached.
But they ordered that the caravan, which had been turned into a sauna, be removed.
Retrospective planning permission for the ladders and jetty was granted provided the pond was not used for swimming and the enforcement case was closed.
It came despite complaints from neighbours who said the pond, which was surrounded by neatly-manicured grass, appeared to be ‘more like a swimming pool’ raising concerns it would attract a lot of activity during warm weather.
Sheeran insisted the jetty was to ‘form interest’ and the ladders would be used for cleaning the pond, which was dug in a newly-planted orchard area.
But two years ago locals erupted with anger after Sheeran posted a video on Instagram showing him leaping from the jetty into the water.
Sheeran had in the end been given permission for a change of use to allow ‘recreational leisure activity’ at the site but one local resident said at the time: ‘It seems Ed is now doing what he wants.
‘He seems to be getting permission for some things but thinking he can get away with other aspects of his renovations.’
Sheeran spent years building his beautiful country Sheeranville estate for his family after buying up five neighbouring houses and adding a pub, tree house, chapel and wildlife pond.
He spent £4 million buying five houses to create his country estate and an additional £3 million on extensive renovations – including a pub, tree house, prayer room, underground music room and tunnels.
Sheeran – who is worth an estimated £410 million – has had long-running disputes with neighbours since he bought a detached six-bedroom farmhouse near his childhood home just outside the Suffolk market town of Framlingham back in 2012.
The final home was added in 2019 when he paid £875,000 to buy out next-door neighbour Sharon Jest, who had often objected to his ongoing construction work
Sheeran’s previous application for a £500,000 ‘wildlife pond’ at his family home in East Suffolk caused huge controversy
The singer pictured after jumping into the large kidney-shaped structure on his estate in 2024
Sheeran diving into his pond on the grounds of his £3.7 million Suffolk estate near Framlingham
When not releasing records, much of Sheeran’s energy in recent years has gone into planning battles over everything from the construction of a hay bale wall to whether the pub called The Lancaster Lock should be allowed to have a sign on it.
A further row erupted after Sheeran wanted to build his own Anglo-Saxon-style chapel where he planned to marry his childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn, 34.
His plans were thrown out and he ended up marrying Cherry at a local church just before Christmas in 2018. The couple are now parents to daughters Lyra Antarctica, six, and Jupiter, four.
He was eventually given permission to build his flint-walled chapel which he explained he would use as a place to mourn the people he has lost.
Sheeran later added a crypt which he has said will be his final resting place.
With everything seemingly in place, Sheeran turned his attention to his latest project after quietly buying Tannington Lodge estate, which includes a Grade II-listed farmhouse for £1,100,000 over two years ago.
The huge 20 metre by 43 metre habitat pond on his new Sheeranville 2 site would be surrounded by a wildflower lawn and a timber boardwalk to conceal the filtration system equipment.
In a planning statement to Mid Suffolk Council it said: ‘The proposal is for the creation of a small habitat pond with variable water levels, that will create a diverse wildlife area within the land. The proposed pond will be located within an existing arable field which is currently unused.
‘There is a raised bund proposed on the north side that will be planted with mixed native scrub, and a timber boardwalk on the south side that will conceal the filtration system equipment. The margins surrounding the pond will be enhanced with a wildflower lawn mix.’
It said the pond would make ‘good use of an unused area of agricultural land’ and would ‘enhance the diversity of the wildlife, flora and fauna in the area.’
It added that there was no intention to ‘stock the pond with fish, or to permit fishing’ and there ‘are no residents nearby that would be adversely affected by the proposals.’
But one local said: ‘Ed’s got previous history when it comes to wildlife ponds.
‘We don’t know what type of musicians will be recording there but rock stars have been known to get up to all sorts of antics including driving Rolls Royces into swimming pools so we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.’
Plans for the new ‘wildlife pond’ at Ed Sheeran’s new music studio called Sheeranville 2
Sheeran focused at first on turning one of the barns into a recording studio, where he part-wrote the album, Play, and has been given permission to knock down another barn and replace it with a large rehearsal space.
He also converted a former piggery into a stunning man cave, with a bar, gym, pool table and bowling alley – believed to have cost at least £150,000 to install.
The singer has also applied for planning permission to renovate six outbuildings in the grounds so he can use them and the main Grade II-listed house for storage space for a ‘music archive’.
The barns date back from as early as 1870 and currently lie in ruins.
Despite the locals’ concerns, Sheeran has insisted to planners that his new studio will be strictly for his own use.
After taking pre-planning advice, he dropped plans to link the barns to the main farmhouse, but has promised to repair all the buildings, insert new windows, doors, staircases and retain ‘as much of the original fabric and form of the outbuildings as possible’.
The council’s ecology team asked for the implementation of bat and bird boxes for sparrows, starlings and swifts, as well as bee bricks, green or brown ‘living’ roofs to ‘support diverse habitats’ and ‘hedgehog friendly fencing’.
The highways department has also given the green light as long as there is a construction management plan and the public right of way running through the farm is not obstructed.
Sheeran produced an ecology report that describes a low possibility of flooding and says it would be a ‘positive impact’ overall to the historic farm.
Meanwhile, construction of the music studios and renovation work has been slow, with builders having to use hand tools and take special measures due to the presence of protected Great Crested Newts.
Sheeran has also promised to create a ‘species rich, flowering lawn’ with 19 different species of flowers and 12 fruit trees.
An insider previously told Our News Outlet: ‘Ed has huge plans for the property and is taking his time to ensure the end result is exactly what he wants.
‘Each building will have a purpose, he’s very particular about that, and it’s all part of his masterplan to create the ultimate music hub.
‘There won’t be anything of its kind anywhere in the world – and it’ll be right on his doorstep.’
Sheeran – who has had nine UK number one albums and 14 UK number one singles – has amassed a huge property portfolio since turning his ‘one-man-band’ act into a global phenomenon.
Along with his home and studio he owns a £20 million Notting Hill mansion and an £8.25 million office building in Soho.
He has at least 22 properties across London’s most sought-after areas including Covent Garden, Battersea, Kensington, Chiswick and Whitechapel.
Sheeran also splashed out on a villa in Italy, which comes with its own vineyard.
