James Bond star Daniel Craig wins battle over GATE at £6m home after neighbour complaints about ‘strangers on property’

DANIEL Craig and Rachel Weisz have WON a battle with conservationists to build a new entrance at their historic £5million home. The James Bond star and his Oscar-winning actress wife want to put up a barrier to help keep out intruders at their 18th Century terraced pad in North London. But instead of his usual Aston Martin, Craig just wants a secure parking area for his electric car, installing a small gate believed to be just over 6ft high.

Neighbours backed the couple in their bid for a "sense of enclosure" at their Grade II listed home but conservationists objected to the proposed scheme. They said: "We note that this is a listed building and that the vestiges of the front boundary walls, where they survive, can be seen to have been part of the overall design of the crescent. "We regret, therefore, that this opportunity has not been taken to make some effort to restore the pattern of the front boundary in this application.

"The proposed railings/gate are not appropriate to the historic pattern of the front boundary. It is also regrettable that no attempt has been made to soften the hard paving either.". But in a letter of support, a neighbour wrote: "We also have an exposed front yard with little privacy and concerns about security. "We frequently have random people wandering into the yard, sometimes sitting on our stairs if we are not at home.".

Craig, 56, and Weisz, 54, bought their four-storey home for £3.2million, in 2008, but it is now believed to be worth £5million. Previous plans to install vehicle gates and demolish a front boundary wall were thrown out by officials at their local council in 2003, calling the gates an "incongruous feature" that would be out of keeping with the conservation area and detract from the special architectural interest of the listed building.

But all these years later, officials at the council have now given Craig the go-ahead for a set of vehicle and pedestrian gates after there were no objections from neighbours. They said: "It is considered that the proposed works would not cause a detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the host property and would preserve the special character of the conservation area.". Although the neighbours have supported Daniel and Rachel's application for a gate, trees and a conservatory have been more of a sticking point.

In 2017, famous couple won a battle to keep a 65ft London plane tree in their garden following complaints from locals who said its roots were causing damage to their properties. Neighbours applied to chop down the tree, thinking it was causing subsidence to their homes. The tree was saved though after Daniel and Rachel offered to cut the it back. In November 2022, the couple had to apply to Camden Council again to cut the same tree back by another 13ft.

They also asked to trim another London plane and a pear tree that was covered in ivy. The couple had to seek permission to carry out the changes because the trees are protected by a Tree Preservation Order in a designated conservation area. In 2023, Daniel and Rachel also locked horns with neighbours over plans to knock down a 20th century conservatory. They wanted to split up the ground floor, double reception room into two, move the kitchen and replace the first floor.