Ed Sheeran buys neighbouring properties to create hometown estate

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Ed Sheeran has bought up the properties neighbouring his mansion in Suffolk, England to create a country estate in his hometown.

The Castle on the Hill singer, 26, bought his first home in a sleepy village near Framlingham in Suffolk, the town where he grew up, for $1.26 million (£895,000) in 2012.

Land registry records obtained by Britain's Daily Mail newspaper show that at the same time Ed, who recently announced his engagement to childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn, snapped up a 16th Century farmhouse for $634,000 (£450,000). He has since bought two more adjacent properties, one for $1.3 million (£925,000) in 2016, and a neighbouring bungalow for $740,000 (£525,000) in October last year (17).

According to the Mail, the musician's property spree has led to locals dubbing the mini-estate 'Sheeranville', but there is little resentment towards the star.

"Ed is a super guy and really friendly," an unnamed neighbour said. "He is just a down to earth Suffolk boy at heart - so who can blame him for wanting to settle down here? It is a lovely part of the world. He has bought all the properties next door. I guess it means that there is nobody to complain if he plays his music too loudly."

Planning documents show Ed is undertaking extensive renovations on his properties, and plans to build two luxury underground entertainment rooms, a cinema and a music room, connected to his main house and a barn he has converted into his own private pub.

Ed's previous home improvement ideas initially fell foul of local planning officials, who blocked his scheme to build a one-and-a-half-storey "cart lodge" to store vehicles. However, he later won an appeal lodged with Britain's Planning Inspectorate and was granted planning permission.

In documents submitted to the Inspectorate, the star's agent Laurie McGee explained the new building was to replace an old cart lodge which had been demolished to make way for an indoor swimming pool. Ed also has a treehouse in the grounds of his properties.

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