‘Next James Bond’ Aaron Taylor-Johnson wins battle to keep huge ‘eyesore’ lake at his home after council shut down work

AARON Taylor-Johnson has won a legal battle after excavating a lake – as an influx of birds came to his rescue.

The Bullet Train star, who has been rumoured as the next James Bond, succeeded in the dispute with Somerset Council over the garden in his rustic farmhouse home.

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Aaron, 34, and his wife Sam Taylor-Johnson, 58, were close to clashing with neighbours over work they’d planned with their 16th century farmhouse.

Locals raised the alarm about what they thought was an open water swimming spot after the power couple excavated a lake, but it turns out this was not their intention.

Instead, the retroactive application details how the two bodies of water that were excavated were set to become wildlife ponds.

A gaggle of geese have been spotted in the water feature with residents now praising the plans for “attracting birds.”

On the planning application documents, neighbour Amy Fukuyama, shared how she was “overjoyed” by the increase in wildlife.

She wrote: “I live to the west of the fields… and am overjoyed at the prospect of the increase to biodiversity in our area.

“I can see the ponds from my house and very much welcome the change to the view and monoculture.

“Since the ponds have been constructed there has been a noticeable increase in bird activity.”

Amy appears delighted to see geese and even the new sounds of a Tawny Owl.

Now “flocks of 100 plug Goldfinches” have been seen, further cementing neighbours’ acceptance of the lake.

Amy continued: “We now regularly see, and hear, flocks of geese flying over and can hear a Tawny Owl on occasions which I don’t recall hearing before.

“I recently attended a talk by another local rewilding enthusiast in which he spoke of the flocks of 100 plus Goldfinches which now visit his re-wilded farm and I fully support any application which would encourage such activity in our area.”

Last week inspectors gave the green light to the construction of the feature, giving them retroactive permission.

It’s being built at the couple’s farmhouse home, which was previously owned by Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud.

Nosferatu actor Aaron and Sam, who directed 50 Shades of Grey, insisted the wildlife lakes were necessary to avert flooding in the farmhouse.

The 007-tipped talent and his wife have a slew of planning applications for their Somerset home, with the “flood management system” lake getting the most attention.

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The couple, who have four children together, have also been given the go-ahead for new gates, a cattle grid, hedges and landscaping.

Neighbour Darren Tune agreed that the water feature added a little pizzazz to the area, writing: “Previously the field were monoculture providing very little habitat and this is better use of the field as it will increase the biodiversity of the area.

“My home looks over the field and my land buts on to the field, I can see the pond and I consider the construction noise was not intrusive.”‘

Previously, the plans accused their the pair of digging a lake on their country estate without planning permission needed for the Grade II listed property.

After the plans were accepted, officers wrote: “The works proposed will improve the access to the agricultural land of the estate facilitating management of that land.

“Part of the wider site has been the subject of a comprehensive flood alleviation scheme in recent years and the access will also be used to facilitate maintenance of these works.”

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