Sir Bob Geldof submits plans for wildlife pond inspired by Claude Monet's water lily paintings
[Aug. 5, 2020: Daily Mail Online]
Sir Bob Geldof is planning to promote wildlife at his historic residence by installing a pond inspired by Claude Monet's water lily paintings.
The former rockstar has submitted proposals to the local authority to create a 40m pool to attract wildlife at Davington Priory, the 68-year-old's long-term home.
Inspired by Monet's famous water lily pond in Giverny, France, planners have drawn up blueprints for the pool to go in the estate's paddock in Faversham, Kent.
If approved, it will contribute to the One Million Pond Project, a nationwide bid to create a network of new ponds to provide habitats for endangered wildlife.
The Boomtown Rats singer has owned the 12th century Davington Priory since the 1980s.
Planning documents submitted to Swale Borough Council state: 'The design inspiration for the pond has come from Monet's pond at Giverny, with a mix of fresh-water plants and trees to maximise the biodiversity value.
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'The environmental benefits are considered to outweigh any perceived 'less than substantial' harm to the setting of the listed buildings nearby, however the buildings are well distanced to be physically unaffected by the development.
'A critical element of the project is that these new ponds will have clean water.
'This is important because most countryside ponds are now badly damaged by pollution, and evidence shows that pond wildlife is declining across the UK..'
Neighbour Jennifer Pout backed the Live Aid founder's plans, saying: 'The priory already has a thriving wildlife population which we benefit from seeing, bats, owls, squirrels, birds, and stag beetles.
'It's great news that this area will benefit from another type of wildlife haven. Let's hope it'll not get swamped with the mozzies we're already plagued with.'
Claude Monet's water lily oil paintings are a series of 250 art works done by the French master at his home in Normandy during the early 1900s.
Many of them were completed while he was suffering from cataracts and now sell for tens of millions of pounds..... Read More
