Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint enrages neighbours with plans to turn 18th-century barn into THREE homes

Rupert Grint has enraged his neighbours with plans to turn his country manor’s old barn into three eco-friendly family homes.

The 32-year-old found fame in the Harry Potter films as Ron Weasley when he was just 11, and amassed a £40million fortune working on the eight movies, adaptated from J K Rowling’s books. He now has an estimated net worth of £36m.

He has since used his wealth to create a sprawling multi-million pound property business and has submitted plans to turn an old barn in the grounds of his 18th century mansion near the small village of Kimpton, Herts, into three eco-friendly homes.

The actor – currently starring in the Apple TV drama Servant – grew up in nearby Watton-at-Stone, and bought Kimpton Grange for £5.4million in 2009.

The former vicarage lies in 22 acres of grounds, and has six bedrooms, two swimming pools and a private cinema.

Grint tried to sell the country pad for £6million last year, but couldn’t find a buyer. Now he’s decided to turn the disused barn into residential homes.

If the actor gets the green light from North Hertfordshire District Council, he will be laughing all the way to Gringotts as his property empire expands.

Yet the star has failed to cast a spell over his neighbours, as the proposal has sparked fierce local opposition.

MailOnline has contacted his reps for comment. 

Grint – who welcomed a baby daughter named Wednesday with his long-term girlfriend Georgia Groome, 29, in May last year – was already forced to withdraw his first application for the project, which wanted to turn the barn into six houses.

Planning chiefs blasted the proposal for having too many properties and that they would negatively affect the barn.

Now Grint has signed off a plan to turn the barn in the 22-acre grounds of his manor house into just three homes – cutting the original plan in half.

But this has provoked an array of objections from local residents to the parish council. Neighbour Tim James, of Kimpton, slammed the housing proposal for causing too much traffic.

Mr James said: ‘I object to this development due to the impact on the local road network. The Kimpton Road – from Kimpton to Peters Green is a single track road in numerous places.

‘This road is particularly badly served with passing places especially the section near the Kimpton Grange entrance onto the Kimpton Road and then toward Peters Green.

‘Often in pre-Covid times, this resulted in serious congestion in the mornings as there simply is not room to pass lorries and buses which are traversing in the opposite direction.’

He added: ‘The proposed entry and exit for refuse lorries to this development will further exacerbate this problem.’

Adding to the hurdles, Matt Dodds from Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust objected to the plans due to a lack of extensive ecological research.

He said: ‘Ecological surveys have not been completed. Surveys must be completed and definitive mitigation put forward before a decision can be made.

‘The preliminary ecological appraisal survey identifies the high likelihood of the presence of protected species (bats) and recommends that more surveys are required to assess what mitigation is required to facilitate the development.

‘It is a preliminary survey to identify constraints and not a full ecological survey and so is not appropriate to support a full application.’

Mr Dodds demanded a full survey to check if bats were roosting in the barn.

Kimpton Parish Council was also sceptical about the actor’s plans.

It said: ‘The requirements of Kimpton Parish Housing Needs Survey March 2019 clearly states the need for 24 additional affordable homes mainly of one and two bedroom size within the parish.

‘The applicant has indicated a provision of only very large three bed properties. Clearly the above criteria have not been met by the applicant. These issues should be addressed by the applicant.’

It added: ‘We note that the applicant intends to fell four ash trees. We have not seen a proposal of how the applicant intends to mitigate such a loss by alternative provision.

‘This represents a clear significant negative impact for which no measurable mitigation or compensation has been offered.’

However the Harry Potter star can be hopeful his plans may get the green light.

Hertfordshire County Council’s highways authority has no objections to the proposal, provided certain conditions are included.

The design and access statement said: ‘The proposal seeks to sympathetically convert a domestic barn into new residential properties maintaining its existing character and appearance and that of the character and appearance of the Kimpton Bottom Conservation Area and setting of Kimpton Grange.

‘The new homes are of high-quality design and in keeping with the rural surroundings. The rural aesthetic is retained as a firm principle of the proposal.

‘Significant work has been carried out to ensure the impact of the proposed development has a positive effect upon the Green Belt in terms of visual appearance due to sympathetic minimal alterations and removal of external storage and shipping containers.’

The three-bedroom houses will have a ‘spacious’ open-plan living and dining area. Each of the bedrooms will have an ensuite, and each home will have its own private garden.

And owners will be able to use some of Grint’s country estate as their own private space.

The houses also have their own car parking spaces, and the plans create a new footpath link to the village of Kimpton.

The plans also claim the homes have top eco credentials. Rainwater will be stored in an underground tank, which will be used in the toilet, to water the garden and to wash any cars and bikes.

There will also be a ‘flat green roof’ made up of plants which will encourage wildlife nesting.

Grint certainly appears to have the magic touch when it comes to his property empire.

He recently put three homes on the market for £2million – which were modelled on the Dursleys’ Privet Drive home in Harry Potter.

His property empire is now worth £24million, as he has snapped up and sold an array of houses in the Hertfordshire commuter belt.

According to the latest figures, Grint made a £3million profit in the past year from his company Clay 10 Ltd, which is worth a whopping £20.3million.