RICKY Gervais has been forced to halt plans to build a new riverside mansion over fresh flooding fears.
The Office star was in discussions with the local authority to resubmit a proposal for a new four bed £5million neo-classical home to replace a three-bedroom property in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
But new objections from the Environment Agency, with concerns on further flooding and an alleged failure to mitigate risks, has now put these talks "on hold," Gervais' representatives have confirmed.
The current home, which sits on the banks of the River Thames, has been hit by flooding at least five times since 1947.
The After Life comedian saw a previous application - that included a detached car port and other "associated works" - turned down in September last year.
Planners at Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council said at the time it represented "inappropriate more vulnerable development in a high flood risk zone" and added it "fails to demonstrate that the development would not have an adverse impact on flood risk".
Concern was also raised over its failure to assess the potential impact of climate change.
But in fresh objections submitted after the refusal, the EA have now raised further concerns over potential flooding from the River Thames.
And in an update from Gervais' team, it has now been revealed all plans that were about to be re-submitted have had to be put on hold.
In an email that has been uploaded to planning portal, the planning agent on behalf of Gervais wrote: "Our client would like to submit a new planning application for his house, and he was about to start a pre-application consultation with the local authority before discovering that the EA have submitted a delayed response for the determined planning application.
"All actions for the project have now been put on hold until the EA provide further clarification on their position."
Oliver Murray, planning advisor for the Environment Agency wrote in its objection: "Unfortunately we were unable to respond before your decision was reached, however we have decided to send our comments for reference and information.
"In the absence of an acceptable flood risk assessment (FRA) we object to this application."
He said the flood risk assessment "does not comply with the requirements for site-specific flood risk assessments and argued the proposal was "contrary" to the council's local plan on mitigating flood risk and waterways.
He added: "The FRA does not therefore adequately assess the flood risks posed by the development."
He said the assessment "fails to take the impacts of climate change into account" or to "demonstrate the development will not increase flood risk elsewhere."
He added: "To overcome our objection, the applicant should submit a revised FRA.
"If this cannot be achieved, we are likely to maintain our objection."
Mr Murray said the assessment would need to "calculate an appropriate allowance for climate change" and would need to "demonstrate that any loss of floodplain storage plus an appropriate allowance for climate change can be directly compensated for to prevent an increase in flood risk elsewhere."
The objection also stated that even if Gervais was eventually granted planning permission, he would still need a permit to begin works.
Mr Murray added: "The applicant will require a Flood Risk Activity Permit (FRAP) to undertake the proposed works as the main river, the River Thames, runs adjacent to the site. As submitted, it is unlikely that a permit would be granted.
"The applicant should not assume that a permit will automatically be forthcoming once planning permission has been granted, and we advise them to consult with us at the earliest opportunity.
"The applicant would need to demonstrate that the proposed works will not adversely impact on flood risk or the watercourse."
In its section on advising Gervais and his team, the EA wrote: "We strongly recommend the use of flood resistance and resilience measures.
"Physical barriers, raised electrical fittings and special construction materials are just some of the ways you can help reduce flood damage."
Mr Murray said to overcome its objection, Gervais and his team would also need to submit an ecological survey to ensure measures were "realistic, achievable and would provide the level of biodiversity Net Gain required."
In response to the claims, Gervais planning agent outlined what it claimed were several "errors" in the EA response.
They added: "Our report states that the proposed development will not result in flood water displacement as the proposals will not increase the building's footprint."
In previous planning documents submitted for the rebuild, Gervais' agent outlined the benefits of replacing the current home.
They added: "The existing dwelling is of poor design quality, performs poorly in sustainability terms and has a disjointed internal layout.
"Any new dwelling should therefore be of high design quality internally and externally with substantially enhanced sustainability credentials.
"The proposed scheme seeks to create a high-quality, sustainable dwelling that will be flood resilient and significantly enhances its build and natural surroundings, while also providing an enhanced standard of living accommodation.
"The proposal aims to take advantage of its riverside location by maximising views to the River Thames and providing open and spacious living spaces as opposed to the smaller segregated spaces currently provided with the existing dwelling."
Gervais, who lives with partner Jane Fallon, had submitted a flood assessment risk as part of the failed application.
Referring to the flood risk, his agent added: "'This is a considerable increase in the ground floor level.
"Combined with the increased flood storage beneath the building footprint, decreased building footprint on site and the improvement in flood resilient measures, there will be a marked improvement in the flood risk level attributed to and from thus dwelling.
"Though the improvements do not remove this dwelling completely from flood risk, they provide a marked improvement to the safety of the occupiers, providing a significant increase in floor levels which in turn delivers more time to respond to a flooding event."
Gervais bought the property, which is part of a wide portfolio of homes, in 2014 for £2.75m.
It's current valuation is said to be worth more than £4m.
