Neighbours have blasted Pink Floyd legend Dave Gilmour after it emerged builders are still working on his new £2.5million luxury villa.
The rock star has been branded ‘irresponsible and entitled’ as the team of builders put the finishing touches to the lavish seafront property which is set to become his new family home in Hove, East Sussex.
Gilmour, who is worth an estimated £140m, and his novelist wife Polly Samson, who live just a few doors away, are set to move into the new home later this year.
But they have decamped with their family to their second home – a country estate in Billingshurst – while the builders finish their work.
The exterior of the existing seafront home (pictured far right) and new house (pictured far left) far left with scaffolding
A builder carries a large beam into the property that Gilmour and his wife are expected to move into in the summer
The Pink Floyd guitarist bought the former 19th century Turkish bathhouse with his wife, the novelist Polly Samson, in 2015
One neighbour said: ‘I think it’s ridiculous that builders are still working on the property when other building projects across the country have come to a halt. It seems to be one rule for the rich and another rule for us.’
Another Hove resident said: ‘It’s completely irresponsible and highlights the divide between the entitlement of those with and those without.
‘Some people don’t realise that we all have to change our ways to stop this virus.
‘Compelling builders to carry on working on his seafront mansion is highly irresponsible and many of his fans will be shocked.’
After fires in 2013 and 2014, surveyors said the derelict building was beyond repair, and alternative plans to replace it with a ‘echo’ of the original building were approved by planners in March 2018.
Builders knocked down the property before reconstructing a new home to Gilmour’s specifications which include a walled courtyard garden for the family to use in the summer.
Gilmour, who is worth an estimated £140m, and his novelist wife Polly Samson, are set to move into the new home later this year
The property, which boasts sea views, was used as a makeshift hospital during the Second World War.
Squatters from an art group called Chalk Circle occupied the building in 1999 and were allowed to stay there until 2006, when they were evicted due to complaints from residents about noise and rubbish.
The new house will have a large kitchen, dining room and hall, a study, library, snug, gym and five bedrooms – three with en-suites – and a courtyard garden with a 2.2 metre high glass canopy around its perimeter.
In 2018 the rock star’s plans for the property caused protests from a group called ‘Save Hove from Property Tycoons’.
Locals penned chants to match lyrics from the 1979 Pink Floyd hit: Another Brick in the Wall replacing it with:
‘We don’t need no demolition. We don’t need no thoughtless plans no tall dark shadows across our windows.
‘Leave Medina House Alone. Hey Gilmour, leave our hood alone. All in all it’s just another betrayal of us all. To you it’s just another brick in the wall.’
A builder at the Hove property carrying a large piece of wood. In 2018 the rock star’s plans for the property caused protests from a group called ‘Save Hove from Property Tycoons’
Builders continue at a pace at the property on Hove seafront which will be David Gilmour’s new home when finished this summer
Plans previously submitted by Dave Gilmour and his wife show the layout of the property
The work is being carried out by builders from Size Group which specialises in high quality residential homes.
From the 1940s to 1993 it was the home to a diamond cutters before lying empty and falling into disrepair.
The couple were given the property in 2015 by a local developer, Sirus Taghan, on the understanding they kept it.
Taghan became frustrated after having 20 planning applications rejected, so decided to give the property away for nothing.
Miss Samson bought the property in 2015 for a seven-figure fee from developer Sirus Taghan who gave up proposals to demolish it after 14 years.
The couple had the original building demolished last year and a new building which aims to capture the spirit of the original has been built.
The original Medina House dates from 1894, and formerly housed a laundry and women’s slipper baths.
Once complete, the house is expected to be one of the most valuable properties in the city and also one of the most spectacular.
A previous planning application for the property shows the layout of the property
A picture of Medina House when it was a Turkish bathhouse, before being purchased by the rock star’s wife in 2015
Locals penned chants to match lyrics from the 1979 Pink Floyd hit: Another Brick in the Wall to protest the development of the property
Gilmour played an integral role in Pink Floyd after he joined the band and subsequently became the band’s co-leader with Roger Waters after Syd Barrett departed.
He helped to create some of the most influential rock records of all time, including Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall and Wish You Were Here.
The adopted son of Pink Floyd guitarist, Charlie Gilmour, was sent to prison for 16 months in 2011 for swinging off a London war memorial.
The 124-year-old Turkish bathhouse was a popular attraction in the Victorian era but fell out of favour and became derelict before being further damaged by arsonists.
The old Victorian bathhouse first opened in 1894 offering women slipper baths and steam rooms.
The slipper baths were opened for people with no baths at home and were designed to improve hygiene and sanitation.
It is the only surviving building from the famous King’s Esplanade in Hove and during the Second World War it saw service as a makeshift hospital.