Local residents from the small village of Llithfaen in Wales are protesting outside the home of local rock star Ian Brown claiming he is pushing up local house prices in the sale of his five bedroom house there. Twelve protesters dressed as monkeys (making reference to Brown’s album ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’) have picketed outside the former Stone Roses frontman’s property. "We feel that this is a case where hugely-inflated property prices are squeezing local people out of the local housing market," picket organiser Dafydd Rhys told the BBC. Protestors claim that by asking £150,000 for the property he is outpricing any local bidders.
But local estate agent Stephen Tudor denies Brown is being unreasonable. "The amount of interest, both local and from elsewhere, indicates £150,000 is a fair price for the house. It is a very nicely-situated with spectacular views and nice architectural features.”
Brown himself is in France and hasn’t commented, but a spokesperson for the star, said the issue here was about local people in rural Wales not being able to afford local property, and that: "this issue is not really about Ian Brown. It's a much wider issue that would be better dealt with by the Welsh Assembly."