George Clooney in dispute with English neighbors over 18-camera CCTV system

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George Clooney and Amal Clooney Trying for a Baby
George Clooney and Amal Clooney Trying for a Baby


George Clooney is finding that his star power and legendary charm aren't working so well with the residents of the sleepy English village of Sonning Eye.

The Tomorrowland star is in dispute with his neighbors over plans to install 18 CCTV cameras at his property reports local newspaper the Henley Standard.

Clooney and his wife Amal are seeking permission to install eight cameras on wooden poles in the grounds of Mill House, the historic property he purchased for $15.57 million in October 2014, as well as a further 10 cameras on the property itself.

Local residents complained that the cameras and their positioning would potentially infringe the privacy of neighboring properties and the poles themselves would be an eyesore and go against the village's conservation area.

"A more appropriate security system could be achieved by a greater number of inward-facing, low-level cameras," said the complaint from Eye and Dunsden Parish Council.

The Henley Standard reports that the final decision lies with South Oxfordshire district council, whose conservation officer has recommended approval of the planning permission as long as the cameras can easily be removed from the building.

This isn't the first dispute the Clooneys have had with their neighbors. The Guardian reports that two months ago, the district council also approved the power couple's plans for a new swimming pool, pool house, home cinema and annex, a replacement river house and new boundary fencing, despite opposition from the parish council.

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