Entertainment · Celebrity · 3 hrs ago
John Taylor seeks approval for Pilates studio and sauna at Wiltshire manor
Duran Duran bassist John Taylor has moved back to the UK after 30 years in California.
He and his wife, Gela Nash-Taylor, want to create a Pilates studio and sauna at their Wiltshire manor.
Their plans would convert a workshop into a studio and reuse a nearby pavilion for the sauna.
The manor is a Grade I-listed property of national historic significance, and Taylor’s agents say the changes would not harm its heritage.
Surveys found three bat species on the estate, and the council’s ecologist has objected pending more information about where they roost.
Wiltshire Council has not decided the application, and work affecting bat roosts would require a licence from Natural England.
John Taylor has applied for approval to build a Pilates studio and sauna at his manor house in Wiltshire.
The plans would convert a workshop into a Pilates studio and repurpose a nearby pavilion as a sauna.
Taylor’s agents say the changes would reuse buildings with limited or existing heritage value and would not harm the property’s heritage.
Wiltshire Council’s ecologist has objected pending more information about bat roosts on the estate.
The council has not yet decided on the application.
- Who
- Duran Duran bass player John Taylor and his wife, Gela Nash-Taylor, are seeking approval.
- What
- They want to convert a workshop into a Pilates studio and turn a nearby pavilion into a sauna.
- When
- The application is awaiting a decision. The article was published on 3 November 2026.
- Where
- At Taylor’s manor house in Wiltshire, on a 260-acre estate.
- Why
- The plans would create a home gymnasium suite, including a Pilates studio and sauna.
Taylor's agents
Wiltshire Council's ecologist
Heritage impact
Taylor's agents
The agents say the proposals repurpose buildings of low or existing heritage significance and will not harm the property’s heritage.
Wiltshire Council's ecologist
The ecologist has objected pending further information; the sources do not state the ecologist’s view on the heritage impact.
Bats
Taylor's agents
The agents’ design statement describes plans to repurpose the buildings.
Wiltshire Council's ecologist
The ecologist has asked for clarification about where bats are roosting.
The workshop that Taylor wants to convert dates from the 1970s, according to the article.
A survey recorded four common pipistrelles emerging from the stable block.
Wiltshire Council had yet to decide on the application, and its ecologist had objected pending further information.
- Applicant
- John Taylor
- Location
- Wiltshire manor house
- Estate size
- 260 acres
- Main building
- 15th-century manor house
- Proposed facilities
- Pilates studio and standalone sauna
- Bat survey
- Three species recorded; four common pipistrelles seen emerging from the stable block in June
What people are saying
These proposals seek to make alterations to repurpose a relatively modest modern building of low heritage significance and a pavilion building of heritage significance which is currently unused and in need of urgent repair and re-purposing.