Kit Harington and Rose Leslie win battle to save collapsing moat at their £1.75m Suffolk home 


WINNER is coming! Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie celebrate victory in battle to save collapsing moat at their £1.75m Suffolk home

  • Kit Harington and Rose Leslie granted permission to construct a new moat wall
  • They feared their garden would slide into the water at their Suffolk farmhouse
  • Historic England feared ancient remains and artefacts would be lost in the works
  • Babergh District Council have now given the go-ahead for repairs to be done

Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have won a battle to save the moat at their £1.75million country home.

The celebrity couple feared the garden would slide into the water at their farmhouse in Suffolk after part of a 6ft moat wall collapsed.

They said the collapse was putting structural pressure on a small footbridge across the moat and other parts of the wall were suffering ‘significant lean’.

The actors, both 34, asked for permission to carry out urgent repairs including building a new wall with a concrete core ‘to ensure the long-term stability and safeguard against future problems.’

Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have won a battle to save the moat at their £1.75million country home (pictured) after applying for permission to carry out urgent repairs including building a new wall with a concrete core

Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have won a battle to save the moat at their £1.75million country home (pictured) after applying for permission to carry out urgent repairs including building a new wall with a concrete core

However, conservation body Historic England raised concerns that work to replace the wall could lead to the loss of ancient remains and artefacts.

The heritage organisation cited a 2019 study that said the 15th century house and its grounds have ‘a high potential for medieval and post-medieval archaeology’.

Babergh District Council has now given the go-ahead for the repair work after their local archaeological team said there would be ‘no significant impact on known archaeological sites or areas with archaeological potential.’

In a report, planning officials said: ‘The site is located in a large plot with no immediate neighbouring properties. The replacement wall is to go round an existing moat that has fallen into disrepair.

‘It is noted the concern raised by Historic England however following a response from Suffolk County Council’s Archaeological team detailing that no further archaeological works are required then it is considered that it would be unreasonable to request further information.

Conservation body Historic England raised concerns that the works proposed by Karington and Leslie to replace the wall could lead to the loss of ancient remains and artefacts

Conservation body Historic England raised concerns that the works proposed by Karington and Leslie to replace the wall could lead to the loss of ancient remains and artefacts

‘The proposed development is not considered to result in any significant adverse impact on highways safety, residential amenity, heritage assets, the environment or biodiversity interests to warrant refusal.’

In a design statement submitted to the council, the couple’s planning agents said: ‘The moat wall has collapsed into the moat along the southern most end and is failing elsewhere with a significant lean.

‘The bridge structure offers some localised propping to the wall that currently prevents further failure. This will be exerting additional forces to the timber structure and the main property.

‘Part of the earth bank now exposed has started to fall into the moat.

‘A replacement robust wall structure is required given the retained height and influence of the water feature to ensure the long term stability and safeguard against future problems.’

Babergh District Council has now given the go-ahead for the repair work after their local archaeological team said there would be 'no significant impact on known archaeological sites or areas with archaeological potential'

Babergh District Council has now given the go-ahead for the repair work after their local archaeological team said there would be ‘no significant impact on known archaeological sites or areas with archaeological potential’

Mr Harington and Miss Leslie met in 2012 on the set of the hit HBO series, in which they played on-screen couple Jon Snow and Ygritte.

They married in 2018 and Miss Leslie, from Aberdeenshire, gave birth to their first child, a baby boy, earlier this year.

Last month, they were given permission to build new gates at their home to stop people peering in.

The celebrity couple said their privacy and security has been ‘continuously breached’ since moving into the farmhouse in 2017.

They were also given the go-ahead last year for a string of improvements including the installation of a new kitchen.

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