Gary Lineker's neighbours give star red card over 'rabbit hutch' building plans

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and a business partner have tried three times to get permission to develop a property in south London and locals are not happy with the plans

Gary Lineker has fallen foul of residents over his property development plans for a tiny plot.

The Match of the Day host, 63, is the BBC’s best paid star, earning £1.35million last year but he is trying to make more money through the building scheme.

The ex-Spurs, Barcelona and England striker set up GCGL Properties Ltd in 2020 with pal George Constand. Last year they bought a four-bed bungalow in Coulsdon, South London, for £630,000 and a month later applied to replace it with a block of nine flats.

But the plan was ­withdrawn after 50 complaints, including from local Tory MP Chris Philp, were sent to Croydon Council.

GCGL applied six months later for a three or four storey building of six flats, but this received 24 objections, including from Mr Philp again, and it was refused.

Lineker and his business partner went back a third time in March. Their plan for two four-bedroomed semi-detached houses, three storeys high was approved in June, despite eight complaints.

But neighbours are angry, concerned excavation on the small plot will damage their foundations and the houses will impinge on their privacy. One said: “There’s been no communication, no engineer visits, the plot is now overgrown and we’re having to keep cutting it back. A lot of people are against this, it’s a street that is predominantly full of older people who’ve been here years.”

Other objections include fears of flooding, over-development, ­disturbance during construction, and a “lack of information regarding energy efficiency and CO2 emissions”.

Jennifer Jones, who lives opposite the proposed development, said they felt they were not being listened to by the local council. “Now they want to build two semis and, by all accounts, they were good looking buildings. But the plot is too small, it’s got a tiny garden, it’s no good for a family, as there’s no space, it’s also not the sort of building we need in this area.

“Developers just want to make cash. Making a profit isn’t necessarily wrong but there needs to be regulation in place so it’s the right sort of buildings for this area’s demographic. You don’t want to be squeezing people into rabbit hutches.”

A spokesman for Mr Lineker said he did not want to comment.