Billie Faiers’ £1.4m Essex mansion is almost finished as new pictures show incredible transformation of grounds
BILLIE Faiers’ £1.4m dream home is inching closer to completion as the transformation is filmed for her TV show.
Two lorries delivered a whopping 70 tons of top soil today, and Billie’s husband Greg Shepherd got stuck in spreading the huge delivery around the garden.
The dad-of-two used a digger to move the soil around before getting hands on with a rake.
Billie, dressed in tight-fitting sportswear, inspected the site alongside him.
Cameras are capturing all of the action for ITV’s Billie And Gregg The Family Diaries as the couple worked towards completing the project.
It’s been a stressful endeavour for the pair, and Greg said he’s not sure he would have taken it on if he was able to go back in time.
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In a joint interview with the Mail, Billie said: “It’s stressful because we’re juggling, like time is not on our side at the moment. We we’re working all the time, we’ve got two young children.
“With filming and obviously renovating a house, It’s like a it’s a lot and sometimes does feel like there’s not enough hours in the day.”
The couple have been at war with neighbours throughout the process.
Relations are so bad that the former Towie star, 31, and Greg, 35, are no longer on speaking terms with them – and recently spent a whopping £20k on trees to keep prying eyes away.
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The Laurel trees, which cost £240 a pop, can grow between 15 and 35 feet tall, so are perfect for extra privacy – particularly from neighbours.
Billie and Greg bought the four-bedroom 1920s property in Brentwood, Essex, for £1.4 million in January 2020.
The couple had planned to transform the run-down space into their dream five bed home with an eye-watering renovation that included a two-storey extension, gym, games room and huge walk-in wardrobe.
But they were refused planning permission amid uproar from the neighbours who claimed the works were “excessive” and not in keeping with other properties on the street.
A neighbour told the council: “I give my response to the amended drawings for the above property which, whilst I would have liked to have had similar window treatment to bedroom 4 as that of bedroom 2, I find to be acceptable in principle.”
The comments said that if Billie and Greg’s house ‘fits the character of the area’ … “it would have my support.”
Originally, the council officer’s report stated it would be the biggest house on the street and the increase in size from the original home would not be acceptable.
They also thought the house would “erode local character and spatial qualities.”
Billie and Greg went away and modified the plans, which were then approved but the experience has meant they longer speak to their new neighbours.
Asked if they had built bridges, Billie said recently: “No, actually.
“We don’t go there much, to be honest, so we’ve not seen anyone. But it’s just not a great start, is it?”
She continued: “The house is so old, whoever was going to buy it was going to have to renovate.
“There’s only one neighbour to the side of us and he had a lot of reasons as to why he didn’t want us to go ahead, but it was getting a bit silly in the end.”
Despite the negative feeling, Billie and Greg have continued with their plans and are hoping to move in by the spring.