Sir Paul can keep estate pavilion

Sir Paul said the lakeside pavilion would be for recreational use

Sir Paul McCartney is to be allowed to retain a wildlife viewing pavilion that he originally built without planning permission on his East Sussex estate.

The ex-Beatle was told a year ago to remove the pavilion and a wooden lodge, but he has been asking Rother District Council to let him keep the buildings.

Planners have now granted a new application which means the pavilion can stay if the lodge is demolished.

Sir Paul's 933-acre country estate is situated at Woodlands Farm, Peasmarsh.

Legal agreement

The 64-year-old originally built the lodge to give his family extra privacy, and the lakeside pavilion for recreational use on the banks of a conservation pond.

But the council refused retrospective planning permission for both structures in January last year.

There followed 12 months of appeals and revised planning applications, which included Sir Paul offering to demolish a three-bedroom detached house and two agricultural barns in return for being allowed to keep both the lodge and pavilion.

But he signed a legal agreement in December, pledging to pull down the lodge by June.

It paved the way for Rother Council's planning committee to approve the retention of the pavilion at a meeting on Thursday.