80s heartthrob plans home gym at Wiltshire mansion

Plans lodged with Wiltshire Council would see outbuildings at South Wraxall Manor, near Bradford on Avon – home to Duran Duran bassist John Taylor – converted into a home gymnasium suite.

The proposals include turning a workshop into a Pilates studio with a washroom and installing a self-contained sauna in an adjoining pavilion.

Taylor and his wife Gela Nash-Taylor purchased the early 15th-century manor with Medieval, Elizabethan and Jacobean fabric in 2005.

The accompanying heritage statement describes the house and grounds as being of “national historic significance”.

The proposed fitness facilities would be contained within existing outbuildings rather than the main manor.

The workshop would be re-roofed in natural stone slate, with its existing rooflight removed and a glazed dormer installed.

Its floor would also be lowered to increase headroom, while the pavilion would house the freestanding sauna.

Architects say the workshop dates from the 1970s and has low historic significance, while the pavilion is considerably older.

Their assessment concludes that the glazed dormer could cause “less than substantial harm” but says this would be justified and mitigated through sympathetic materials.

The project has, however, encountered an ecological hitch after bats were found using buildings on the estate.

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Surveys recorded three species and found four common pipistrelle bats emerging from the stable block during a June survey.

The ecological report said works affecting areas used by bats would require a low-impact licence from Natural England.

Wiltshire Council’s ecologist has subsequently objected pending further information, asking for clarification over exactly where bats are roosting and whether the proposed work could affect them.

Historic England, meanwhile, decided not to offer advice on the application, while stressing that this should not be interpreted as a view on its merits.

Duran Duran were one of the defining British pop bands of the 1980s, emerging from Birmingham and becoming international pop stars with hits including Hungry Like the Wolf, Rio, and The Reflex.

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Their stylish music videos made them a major force in the MTV era, with bassist John Taylor in particular becoming a teen heartthrob and pin-up during the band’s 1980s heyday.

The band remains active more than four decades later, with John Taylor still part of the line-up alongside Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor.

Their current UK and European arena tour includes dates in Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Brussels, Paris and London, where they are due to play The O2 on Saturday (October 31).