Ant McPartlin has quietly traded one very public headache for a calmer home life, stepping away from a long running neighbour dispute and, in the process, putting more physical distance between himself and best friend Declan Donnelly. After years of living just doors apart in West London, the double act are now navigating a new reality where their legendary closeness has to work around fresh postcodes, young families and a lot less shared fence line. The move has eased the pressure around his former property, but it has also reshaped one of television’s most famous friendships.
The story behind that shift is part classic celebrity property saga, part very normal neighbour row about trees, noise and privacy. It starts with a £6 million “dream home” in Wimbledon, runs through planning battles and complaints about gardens, and ends with Ant and his wife Anne-Marie Corbett settling into a new place that is deliberately out of the firing line. Along the way, Declan Donnelly has been buying up houses on his own street, joking that his old partner in crime is now “further away than he has ever been”, even as their careers stay tightly locked together.
From dream home to daily drama
When Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett bought their £6 million house in Wimbledon, South West London, it was meant to be a fresh start, complete with a big garden and room for a blended family. Reports describe the couple pouring significant money into turning the property into a long term base, with extensive work on the home and grounds that was supposed to deliver exactly the kind of privacy a prime time presenter craves. Instead, the investment set the stage for a slow burning clash with neighbours that would eventually push them to walk away from the address altogether.
The tension centred on the garden, where Ant and Anne-Marie wanted to reshape the outside space and remove several mature trees that had become a flashpoint on the street. Planning documents show that they sank large sums into the Wimbledon project, only to find themselves facing objections from local residents who were unhappy about losing greenery and parts of the shared outlook, a dispute detailed in coverage of the couple’s Wimbledon build. What began as a high end renovation quickly morphed into a running argument about what one household could reasonably do with its land in a tightly packed corner of London.
The tree row that would not go away
The flashpoint was a cluster of trees that Ant and Anne-Marie argued were unsafe and unsuitable for the garden they were trying to create. Planning papers show that, in February 2024, the couple were granted permission to cut down four cypress trees, a Weymouth pine and a yew, after raising concerns about the condition and impact of the planting on their property. That decision, which allowed them to remove six established trees, did not land well with some neighbours, who accused the pair of prioritising their own preferences over the character of the area and the shared environment.
Objectors complained that the felling request was essentially “the personal whim of the applicants”, arguing that the trees were healthy and should not be removed unless they were clearly dangerous or diseased, a criticism set out in the planning battle over the six trees. The row fed into a wider unease about the scale of the works at the property, including plans for a games room and studio, and it left Ant in the awkward position of being a familiar face on television while facing pointed objections from the people living just over the fence.
Why Ant decided to sell up
By late 2025, the mood around the Wimbledon house had shifted from hopeful to weary, with the tree dispute and planning wrangles clearly taking a toll. Coverage of the sale makes it clear that Ant McPartlin was moving out of the £6 million “dream home” after a row with London neighbours, a blunt summary of how sour the situation had become. The property, which had been marketed as a three storey mansion with seven bedrooms and extensive entertaining space, was no longer the sanctuary he and Anne-Marie had imagined when they first signed the paperwork.
Reports on the sale describe Ant putting the South West London house on the market and ultimately agreeing a deal with a Scottish millionaire businessman, drawing a line under a chapter that had been dominated by planning disputes and complaints about the garden. One account notes that the presenter and his wife made the decision to move out of the Wimbledon home after the continuing arguments over what critics described as “healthy” trees in their garden, a detail highlighted in coverage of the sale. For a couple used to working under studio lights, the constant scrutiny from next door had become the bigger problem.
Cash, contracts and a clean break
Financially, the move looks far less painful than the emotional energy poured into the Wimbledon project. Ant is reported to have sold the seven bedroom mansion for around the same £6 million figure that defined it in earlier coverage, with some reports suggesting he “raked in” a healthy sum from the deal despite the backdrop of neighbour complaints. The three storey property, complete with high end finishes and a large garden, remained a trophy home in South West London even with the planning history attached, which helped soften the blow of walking away.
The sale also landed at a time when Ant and Declan Donnelly were securing their own long term future at work, with the pair signing a new £30 million contract with ITV that underpins their status as the network’s go to double act. That deal, which Declan has been described as “toasting” while buying more property of his own, gave Ant the freedom to prioritise peace of mind over squeezing every last pound out of the Wimbledon house. The combination of a lucrative television agreement and a clean exit from the neighbour row meant he could focus on finding a new home that suited his family without the baggage of the planning row.
Life in the new place, minus the aggro
The contrast between the old house and the new one is not just about architecture, it is about atmosphere. Ant’s latest home has been described as a calmer base where he and Anne-Marie can enjoy their space without the constant backdrop of objections and planning notices. Instead of battling over tree preservation orders and garden layouts, the couple are now able to focus on settling into a property that already fits their needs, with no immediate need for the kind of heavy duty works that caused so much friction in Wimbledon.
Coverage of the move notes that Ant has effectively escaped the neighbour drama that dogged his previous address, swapping a high profile dispute in London for a quieter life that still keeps him within reach of studios and work commitments. The new house is presented as a place where he can enjoy family time and home comforts without worrying that every change to the garden will trigger another complaint, a shift captured in reports on his escape from the previous battle. For a presenter whose day job involves live television and unpredictable jungle challenges, having a drama free front door is no small upgrade.
From next door neighbours to different postcodes
The move has, however, changed one of the quirkiest details about Ant and Dec’s off screen lives. For years, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were not just colleagues but literal neighbours, living just three doors apart in West London and treating the street as an extension of their shared dressing room. That arrangement began when Ant lived with former wife Lisa Armstrong in Chiswick, next door to Declan Donnelly, and it continued as the pair built families and careers side by side, a set up fondly recalled in profiles of Ant and Dec.
Those days of popping round in slippers are now over, with Ant’s decision to leave his London base meaning the duo no longer share a postcode in quite the same way. Declan has stayed rooted on his own street, where he has been steadily buying up property, while Ant has prioritised a fresh start away from the scene of the neighbour rows. The shift has not dented their professional partnership, but it has turned what used to be a quick stroll between front doors into a more deliberate trip, a change that both men have acknowledged as part of growing older and building separate home lives away from the cameras.
Dec doubles down on home turf
While Ant has been stepping away from one neighbourhood, Declan Donnelly has been quietly doing the opposite, consolidating his position on his own street. Reports describe DECLAN Donnelly celebrating that £30 million ITV contract by buying his third house on the same road, effectively turning the area into his personal stronghold. The presenter is said to have picked up another property near his existing family home, adding to a portfolio that already included a house he bought in 2006 for £1.9 million, a detail set out in coverage of his THIRD house.
The result is that Dec’s new next door neighbour is, effectively, Dec, with the presenter owning multiple adjoining or nearby properties that give him flexibility for family, guests and long term investment. It is a very different approach to Ant’s decision to cut ties with a problematic address, but it underlines how both men are using their shared success to shape their private lives in ways that suit their personalities. Where Ant has opted for a clean slate away from the site of a planning row, Declan has doubled down on a street that clearly works for him, even if it now means his best friend is no longer just over the hedge.
“Further away than he has ever been”
Declan Donnelly has been candid about how the new geography has changed the rhythm of his friendship with Ant, even if the bond itself remains intact. In a recent interview, he joked that Ant is now “further away than he has ever been”, a line that neatly captures the mix of affection and mild frustration that comes with no longer living a few doors apart. He explained that both men are now dads to very small children, with the little ones taking up a lot of time, effort and energy, which makes spontaneous drop ins harder than they used to be, a reality he set out while talking about how We’re now dads.
Another account of the same conversation notes that Declan Donnelly framed Ant’s new distance as a simple fact of life rather than a source of tension, stressing that work still brings them together constantly even if their home routines have shifted. He pointed out that the pair continue to front their flagship shows and share a production company, so the partnership remains as busy as ever, even if the school run and bedtime stories now take priority once the cameras stop rolling. The line about Ant being “further away than he has ever been” was delivered with a smile, a reminder that the friendship has survived far bigger tests than a change of address, as reflected in coverage that highlighted how Ant McPartlin is now based further away.
Why the neighbour saga matters for Ant and Dec’s future
Strip away the celebrity gloss and Ant’s neighbour saga is a familiar story about wanting a home that feels like a refuge rather than another workplace. The difference is that every planning application and complaint around his Wimbledon house played out against the backdrop of his status as one half of Britain’s most recognisable presenting duo, with the words “row with London neighbours” attached to a property that was supposed to be a sanctuary. Moving on from that address has allowed him to reset his home life, even if it means accepting that he can no longer lean on the comfort of having Declan Donnelly living just a few doors away in West London, a set up that once saw them sharing everything from school runs to holidays in sunny Portugal, as noted in profiles of how Not only do they work together.
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