DUA Lipa starts work on “mega-basement”with pool after THREE-year battle with council and conservation groups.
Judging from our exclusive photos, the singer is completely gutting the place and has already started digging under the house and ripping apart the ground floor internally.
The pop star, 28, purchased the property for £6.75m in London in January 2020 – but it’s thought that she’s never set foot in the place.
In October 2021, Dua applied to the local council for a ground floor extension and basement with a music studio, pool, gym, cinema and chill-out area.
In March this year, the council finally gave the green light – but imposed strict conditions under a Section 106 agreement as the construction would have such a significant impact on local residents.
This is after complaints from a local conservation group which ground the application to a halt after it complained about the “loss of green space”, “loss of trees”, and “drainage issues”.
So Dua’s design team agreed to build a discreet biodiverse roof garden on top of the basement to make it blend into the garden, which will provide food and habitat for the local wildlife.
The council have also insisted that noise be kept to a minimum and “shall be lower than the typical existing background noise level by at least 10dB”, stating all machinery and equipment must be mounted with “anti-vibration isolators”.
She had to have a noise report for the pool, which says that if her application is successful then the noise from the pool engine room can’t be any higher than 28 decibels, which is roughly the sound of someone softly whispering (25db).
Dua has been used to setbacks with the application, as she had to produce three in-depth investigations reports to assess the damage a basement could do to neighbours’ properties, such as subsidence, and a flood risk assessment, as basements are classed as “highly vulnerable”.
It comes Dua’s epic Glastonbury performance, where she rocked over £300,000 worth of Tiffany & Co diamonds during her weekend.
She kicked off her Pyramid Stage headline set last Friday, including three necklaces costing £79,000 each, before partying in gems worth £42,000 as she hit the VIP areas at the festival.
She was spotted all over the festival site with her boyfriend Callum Turner yet her presence went mostly unnoticed by revellers.
Elsewhere, Dua reacted to accusations she mimed some of her lyrics during her stunning dance set – retoring with a three word response.
Following her Glastonbury headline slot, Dua announced her next big move.
The Sun revealed she will play her biggest ever show headline show at Wembley Stadium next June, following in the footsteps of pop greats Taylor Swift and Madonna.
She’ll perform new album Radical Optimism, with early access tickets available for O2 and Virgin Media users.
A source said: “This really is a ‘pinch me’ moment for Dua.
“Her last tour was as good as sold out, but it was an arena tour. To make the jump to stadiums is amazing, especially when she’s only on her third album.
“It’s looking like she will play one date at Wembley in June and a full-scale tour across America.
“It’s going to be quite an emotional moment, especially as Dua has been working towards something like this since she moved to London (from her native Kosovo) aged just 15.
“She now only lives a few miles from the stadium, so it will really be a coming home moment for her.”
