Cate Blanchett accused of ‘destroying holidays’ with Cornwall eco-home

Cate Blanchett has been accused of “total disregard” during construction of her eco-home in Cornwall - which has ‘destroyed holidays’ and cost a neighbour £60k.

The Lord of the Rings star, 54, and her playwright husband Andrew Upton, 57, bought the £1.6 million cottage in Mawgan Porth four years ago and has since demolished the original structure to replace it with a five-bedroom eco-home.

But the ongoing renovations have angered her neighbours with the noise reportedly making the residents lives hell - and turning visitors away from the popular tourism beauty spot.

And in the latest series of complaints after a fresh application for ‘ground works’ to allow car parking on an existing green meadow - was submitted, one neighbour accused the Hollywood star of ‘destroying’ holidays of those visting - and costing them £60k in lost revenue.

Local resident Sophie told The Independent that it was “really noisy” due to the building works and said that pedestrian access to a lane leading down to the beach had been blocked.

“It’s really noisy with lots of drilling and banging,” she said. Referring to more building works taking place at developments next door, she added: “It’s a building site for the rich and famous.”

Hollywood stars Jason Statham and Jason Momoa are among the many celebrities said to be snapping up land and property in the area.

Holiday let owner Karen Burgess also accused the celebrity couple of having a “total disregard” for their neighbours during the lengthy build process.

Ms Burgess said: “I am deeply concerned that there has already been a total disregard for the noise that has destroyed the family holidays of all my guests throughout 2023.

“The losses are more than £60,000 last year and still we are having to advertise as a property effected by building noise. We thought [Blanchett’s property] work was finally over and now there is a new application for ground works. This work should NOT be permitted during the holiday season.

“Never before in the bay, have we ever experienced such a blatant disregard for the people who flock here for their holidays and residents’ enjoyment of the area during the holiday season. We pay business rates.

“My property is one of many holiday properties and hotels in the bay. I expect the council to severely restrict the days in which this work can take place, if indeed it is ever approved.”

Planning permission to build the home was granted by Cornwall Council in September 2022, but an additional application from Situ8, acting on behalf of the owners was submitted in November last year.

They have now applied to make changes to an additional plot of land purchased by the couple in 2021, which sparked another angry reaction.

The couple want to develop a small part of that land to provide a new entrance to their new home with car parking.

Hitting back at the neighbour’s latest objections, Watershedd, the architect behind the build, claimed it was a case of mistaken identity and the noise was coming from another property - despite the Blanchett home being the closest to them.

They said: “She cannot be referring to our clients’ property where there were no noisy works during the peak holiday period last year. Once again, our clients’ property has been mistaken for other works going on in Mawgan Porth.

“Throughout the whole process of the build on our clients’ property, we have been in regular communication with friendly and accommodating neighbours to ensure that they are aware of works starting, and to alleviate any concerns regarding usual or anticipated construction noise or disturbances.

“Our contractor is always on hand to speak to people in the local community where they might have questions about the building process.”

Another neighbour, Helen John Helen, also accused the celebrity couple of a “blatant” land grab with regards to the additional land purchase.

She wrote: “This current application is a blatant attempt to erode an environmentally important piece of land by stealth and incorporate it.

“It is one thing to allow temporary access and quite another to allow this to become a permanent scar on the landscape. This application should be rejected, the importance of green spaces emphasised and the land restored to its original condition once building is complete.”

Situ8 responded and described the loss of green space as “minimal” and said its client intends to maintain the rest of the meadow - around 86 per cent of it.

It said the new access was also “vital for the property.”

They said: “The proposed parking area would be tucked into the edge of the site and would not encroach into the open area of the meadow.

“The rising ground of the meadow is not affected in any way by the proposals, and it is only the higher areas of the meadow that are seen from other properties and public roads - not the level area of the proposals.”

Blanchett was also recently given the go-ahead to build 90 solar panels to power her £5m mansion in East Sussex.

The couple wanted to install a solar panel array and extend the plant room in the 13-acre grounds of ‘haunted’ Highwell House.

Blanchett bought the home in 2015 after it had been abandoned for more than a decade after once being home to Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Doctor Who actor Tom Baker.

It has since undergone major refurbishment. Her plans to build an outdoor pool were approved in March last year while in 2021 she was also given the go-ahead to build a home office/studio and gallery in the garden.

The latest application will be ruled on by Cornwall Council at a later date.