Rishi Sunak applies for permission to build swimming pool and tennis court at Yorkshire home

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is planning to build a swimming pool and a tennis court at his manor house in North Yorkshire.
Chancellor Rishi SunakChancellor Rishi Sunak
Chancellor Rishi Sunak

The 41-year-old Conservative MP, who represents Richmond, is looking to upgrade the Grade II listed Kirby Sigston Manor in the village of Kirby Sigston near Northallerton.

A planning application has been submitted for an L-shaped building (20.8m x 20.1m), on a grassed paddock, which contains a swimming pool, changing room and plant room.

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According to the plans, the pool house will “replicate the style of a former agricultural building” as it will have stone walls, timber and aluminium doors and windows, and a slate roof with conservation roof lights.

There are also plans for a private tennis court (16m x 27m), with a green rubberised surface and 2.4m tall mesh green fence.

The pool house and tennis court would be “discreetly located” and “would not erode localised visual amenity”, according to a planning and design statement.

It adds: “The proposals are sustainable, accessible and capable of being accommodated without significant risk to highway safety and without flood risk or significant adverse drainage effects.

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“The location of the proposed building would not serve to introduce the harmful erosion of the character and appearance of the rural landscape.”

An Ecological Impact Assessment found “amphibians may be affected by proposed development” but “mitigation measures have been designed to safeguard amphibians”.

The planning application has been submitted to Hambleton District Council and the Chancellor is now awaiting a decision.

Mr Sunak’s office did not comment on the plans.

Mr Sunak, who grew up in Southampton, was first elected as the MP for Richmond in 2015 and appointed as Chancellor in February 2020. He lives with his wife Akshata and two daughters Krishna and Anoushka.