A holiday let owner has blasted Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett and her husband for the disruptive housebuilding work ongoing at their plot in Cornwall. The actress and her husband have been renovating their eco-home in the picturesque spot dubbed ‘Hollywood-on-sea’ due to the number of stars who live in the area.
Mawgan Porth, near Newquay, is rumoured to be the spot which draws A-list celebrities away from the glamour of LA. Stars such as Aquaman Jason Mamoa, Fifty Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Hollywood actor Stanley Tucci are all said to have luxury homes there.
Now local holiday home owner Karen Burgess has accused the star of “total disregard” for their soon-to-be neighbours. Karen, who runs a holiday let just next door to the star's plot of land claims that the noise from the building site almost "destroyed" her guests' holidays last year.
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The architect for the property claims that it is not actually their site causing the problematic noise. However, Karen claims she's lost around £60,000 from the noisy works affecting the quiet rental of her property, reports CornwallLive.
Even now she's having to mention that there will be some building noise when advertising her own feel-good hideaway, which is only a few steps away from the building site. The celebrity pair started constructing their four-bedroom home back in 2020, after buying an old cottage and knocking it down to make their eco-friendly home.
With an additional house outside too, it has been cleverly designed to blend in nicely with the surroundings, and people seem happy with how it looks but not with the disruption that building it has supposedly caused. They are not alone, with other new buildings also popping up recently in the local area.
In September 2022, Situ8, on behalf of their clients, got the green light to build their dream home. But in November 2023, they submitted another application for changes to an extra plot of land they bought in 2021 which also stirred up some local anger.
The celebrity couple now want to use a small part of that land to create a new entrance to their home with car parking. If approved, this will mean more groundworks in the area and the potential for more disruption.
On January 27, 2024, holiday home owner Karen voiced her concerns on Cornwall Council's planning portal: "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 at [Ms Burgess' property] throughout 2023.
"We lost more than £60,000 last year and we still have to advertise as a property affected by building noise. We thought the work at [Blanchett's property] was finally over and now there is a new application for ground works. This work should NOT be allowed during the holiday season.
"Never before in the bay have we ever experienced such a blatant disregard for the people who come here for their holidays and residents' enjoyment of the area during the holiday season. We pay business rates.
"[Ms Burgess' 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," she added.
A spokesperson for Watershedd, the architect firm working on Australian star Blanchett's house, said the complaints about noise are not about their site. They explained that there are two other new homes near Ms Burgess' place, but they're not as close as Blanchett's house. These homes were almost finished by May 2023, while Blanchett's was just starting.
The spokesperson for Cate stated: "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."
This is even though Ms Burgess mentioned her bookings were affected all year, not just in the summer or the "peak holiday period" that Watershedd talked about.
Watershedd also said: "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."
Ms Burgess voiced her agreement with other objections, worried over the potential loss of green space if the application is approved. She noted that the plot of land "creates the vista for all in Mawgan Porth".
Meanwhile, Situ8, acting on behalf of their client, reassured everyone that any loss of greenery would be minimal, mostly affecting a small southern portion of the plot.
In response to the concerns raised by the parish council, they assured that the majority of the meadow, roughly 86 per cent, would remain untouched green space. They even promise to improve and maintain it better than its current condition.
They justified the need for new access to the now-demolished building, citing the old access way as "steep and dangerous". They added: "The proposal is at the lowest point of the site, screened by trees and vegetation, and directly adjacent to existing built development."
They ensured that their planned parking area wouldn't intrude into the meadow's open area. They said that: "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."
Helen John, a local resident, accuses the famous couple of a "blatant" land grab in respect to their additional land purchase. Mrs John expressed her objections saying: "This current application is a blatant attempt to erode an environmentally important piece of land by stealth and incorporate it into [the neighbouring but separate property]."
She further noted: "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."
Meanwhile, other residents of Mawgan Porth have been expressing concerns about the rapid rate of modern development in the area. They have noticed an increase in modern homes transforming the scenery and they worry the area is "developing at an alarming rate".
