Tate visitors looking into your apartment? Put up nets, says gallery's boss

Tate chief Nicholas Serota has a suggestion for Tate Modern's neighbours after they complained about being overlooked by visitors to its new viewing platform - put up nets.

Visitors have flocked to the London gallery's extension since it opened in June - with views of the London skyline from high above the River Thames - a big draw.

But people living in luxury apartments next to Tate Modern have been irked that the 10th-floor rooftop terrace allows visitors to see straight into their glass-fronted living rooms.

Tate Modern erected signs asking visitors to respect the privacy of its neighbours to prevent people waving and pointing to residents in their homes and taking pictures of the apartments.

But while views of St Paul's Cathedral, Canary Wharf and Wembley Stadium are part of the attraction, visitors have remained curious about the interiors of the properties, which are reported to have cost up to £19m.

These signs in Tate Modern are really helpful for adding context when taking photos of the posh flats opposite. pic.twitter.com/oKOyCiHU7O

— M@ (@mattfromlondon) September 12, 2016

Outgoing director Mr Serota, speaking at Tate's annual press conference, said that residents of the Neo Bankside apartment complex knew what they were buying into.

"We, as anyone who's visited Tate Modern will be aware, put up some signs encouraging our visitors not to gesticulate, to recognise that people who live nearby have a right to some privacy," he said.

Mr Serota, who transformed the public's perception of modern art during his 28 years at the Tate, added: "Obviously that privacy will be enhanced if those people decided that they might put up a blind or net curtain or whatever, as is common in many places.

"Clearly, people purchasing those flats were in no doubt that Tate Modern was going to build its Switch House building and the character and uses of that building were widely known ... People purchased with their eyes wide open."

View from the Tate Modern extension! #Tate #London #view #beautiful #landmark https://t.co/oeCiSjaTgs

— Martyn White (@MartynWhiteLDN) September 11, 2016