A south London homeowner has become embroiled in a dispute with neighbours after erecting a substantial segment of the Berlin Wall in his back garden. Steven Thorpe, 65, of Herne Hill, installed the 3.1-metre-high, 2.8-tonne concrete structure in February without prior planning permission, prompting complaints to Southwark Council.
Owner Defends Installation as Artwork
Mr Thorpe, a property developer, stated he was unaware that permission was required for the monument and hopes the council will grant retrospective approval. “Most of my neighbours seem to be very supportive of it,” he told The Sun. “Just as we were finished installing it, we worked all day, at about 9 o’clock at night, it was pouring down with rain, we’d just got in position and [a neighbour] came down and said ‘what’s that?’ I said ‘it’s a piece of the Berlin Wall’ and he said ‘did you ask permission?’ I said ‘I didn’t think I needed to, it’s a piece of artwork’.”
Mixed Reactions from Neighbours
While Mr Thorpe says local children frequently visit to view the wall and he has produced an information pamphlet detailing its history, not all neighbours are impressed. Felix Lord, 19, who lives with his grandmother, described the structure as “ugly” and said it “ruins the character and the view of the gardens”. Another neighbour, Olly, 18, called it “bloody ugly” and “just a slab”, but added: “From a historical point of view, I think it’s bloody sick – I really like it.”
Historical Significance and Journey
Mr Thorpe, who used to visit Berlin regularly in the late 1980s and early 1990s for rugby matches with Clifton Rugby Club against the British Army, arrived in the city just days after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He later purchased the chunk from an East German farmer and spent two years arranging its transport to the UK, citing red tape and extensive paperwork as obstacles. The structure is illuminated at night, and Mr Thorpe plans to restore it to its Cold War appearance.
Council Response
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “We have received a planning complaint about a section of wall installed in Dulwich. We will investigate the complaint and take any appropriate action in line with the national planning process.”
