ninme

BBC - Clooney objects to $15m town plan

Mr Clooney bought the 15-bedroom Villa Oleandra for $10m (£5m) in 2002. The houses close by have almost tripled in value.

But since he arrived in Laglio, things have begun to change. The star of Ocean’s 13 says the town, which has a population of 900, is being reshaped in concrete.

The mayor’s current plans include a car park, lifts and a floating walkway, which would lead from the centre of town to a platform right in front of Mr Clooney’s villa.

That’s very American. If there’s one thing we do really well, it’s killing the thing we love.

The small public beach next to his villa - which he tried without success to buy two years ago to ensure his privacy - would be paved over to form a piazza, under the plans.

Mr Clooney took the unusual step of attending a meeting of the Laglio protest committee this week to add his voice to the chorus of neighbourhood objection.

But he denied that it was simply a nimby (not-in-my-backyard) protest.

“It’s got to stop,” said the actor-turned-civic protester. “I don’t want my presence here affecting the local population. The building work is only being done because I live here. And unless it stops I’m going to have to move.”

How ironic.