The Oscar-winning actress had submitted plans for landscaping and lighting at her Mawgan Porth – known as Hollywood-on-Sea for its popularity with celebs – clifftop property
Cate Blanchett has withdrawn her garden upgrade plans for her home at Mawgan Porth
Actress Cate Blanchett has abandoned plans to develop a magnificent garden at her home in Cornwall after experts warned it could pose a threat to bats.
The Oscar-winning actress, 56, had submitted ambitious plans for the grounds surrounding her cliff-top property in Mawgan Porth, which included local plants, trees, boulders and a grass drive.
In 2022, the star was granted permission to demolish a £1.6 million cottage she purchased with her playwright husband Andrew Upton, and replace it with a five-bedroom eco-home in what’s been dubbed ‘Hollywood on Sea’. She was said to have spent almost £3 million on it and a neighbouring plot.
Recently, the couple sought to discharge several conditions attached to the planning permission, including those related to lighting, landscaping and shutters.
In the latest application, four different types of lighting are featured in the design plan, including eight pole mount path lights, three spike lights under trees, three low level step lights and four wall lights.
However, an ecologist who was formally consulted on the plans wrote to state that three of the four lighting options do “not comply with the guidance note referenced in the condition wording”.
The original application approved in 2022 stipulated: “Prior to the use of the dwelling hereby approved, a lighting plan as set out in the submitted ecological report to comply with Bat Conservation trust Guidance Note shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority.”
The previous report advised that outdoor lighting should be “minimised where possible”.
The guidance continued: “Where lighting is required for safety or security reasons, it is recommended these are low level, capped to direct light downwards and placed on short timers.
“Metal halide, fluorescent sources must not be used. LED luminaires to be used where possible due to their sharp cut-off, lower intensity, good colour rendition and dimming capability.
“A warm white spectrum will be adopted to reduce blue light component. These would conform with Bat Conservation Trust recommendations for lighting.”
According to Cornwall Council’s planning portal, the application has now been withdrawn.
It confirms: ”Confirmation of Withdrawn Application.
”Submission of details to discharge Condition numbers 3 (Landscaping), 6(Lighting) and 7 (Shutters) in respect of Decision Notice PA21/12699.
”CORNWALL COUNCIL, hereby confirms that the above mentioned application has been Withdrawn.”
An initial assessment of the structure in November 2020 had identified the building as having some potential suitability for crevice roosting bats.
A subsequent survey conducted in May 2021, during peak bat activity season, found no evidence of bat emergence from the building or any signs of bats within the attic space. There were also deemed to be “no active bat roosts” in the building that would be affected by demolition.
However, the report noted: “As bats were found to forage across the whole area, recommendations are made for a low lighting regime as well as proposals for ecological enhancement of the development.”
The revised plans were lodged with Cornwall Council by the couple on January 20.
The proposals also featured extensive planting of olearia bushes, sea thrift, ornamental grasses such as Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, and the “scattering of Cornish boulders”.
Additional elements of the scheme included installing hardwood decking adjacent to the property, a grass driveway with concrete stabilisation from Greenstones pavers, and corten and Cornish granite steps leading up to the substantial residence.
The couple envisaged using trailing Muehlenbeckia, a deciduous shrub which can be cultivated as a climber or ground cover, to create ‘an evergreen curtain draping along the bank’, alongside positioning ornamental trees (Phillyrea latifolia) near the vehicle entrance.
They have also put forward plans for a boundary hedge of new Olearia Traversii, climbers to grow over balustrading (Lonicera alseuosmoides) and Olearia Traversii to be planted along their front room roof.
Their presence has attracted an influx of celebrities to the coastal village, said to include Jason Statham, Stanley Tucci and Jamie Dornan.
Read more
Cate Blanchett’s plans for £1.6m home ‘could harm bats’
Cate Blanchett spent nearly £3 million on building a Cornish home
Star reignites row over holiday home in Cornish ‘Hollywood hills’
Celeb’s noisy build ‘destroyed holidays and cost neighbour £60K’
Locals fear being priced out of Cornwall’s ‘Hollywood on Sea’
Star buys £1.6m cottage in Cornwall’s ‘Hollywood-on-sea’
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