Cate Blanchett has been accused of "total disregard" during the construction of her eco-home in Cornwall - which has 'ruined holidays' and cost a neighbor £60,000.
The Lord of the Rings star, 54, and her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, 57, bought the £1.6million cottage in Mawgan Porth four years ago and have since demolished the original building to replace it with an eco-friendly five bedroom house.
But the ongoing renovations have angered her neighbors as the noise would make residents' lives hell and drive visitors away from the popular tourist beauty spot.
And in the latest set of complaints after a new application was made for 'groundworks' to park cars on an existing green paddock, a neighbor accused the Hollywood star of 'destroying' visitors' holidays - and costing them £60,000 in income to have cost. lost income.
Local resident Sophie told us The independent that it was "very noisy" due to the construction work and said pedestrian access to a lane leading to the beach was blocked.
"It's really noisy with a lot of drilling and banging," she said. Referring to more construction work taking place in the adjacent housing estates, she added: "It's a building site for the rich and famous."
Hollywood stars Jason Statham and Jason Momoa are among the many celebrities reportedly buying up land and properties in the area.
Holiday rental owner Karen Burgess also accused the celebrity couple of having a "total disregard" for their neighbors during the lengthy construction process.
Ms Burgess said: "I am deeply concerned that there is already a total disregard for the noise that has devastated the family holidays of all my guests in 2023.
"Losses amounted to more than £60,000 last year and we still have to advertise as a property affected by noise pollution. We thought [Blanchett's property] the work was finally over and now there is a new application for earthworks. This work should NOT be allowed during the holiday period.
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"Never before have we in the Bay experienced such blatant disregard for the people who come here for their holidays and for the fun that residents of the area enjoy during the holiday season. We pay business rates.
"My property is one of many vacation rentals and hotels in the bay. I expect the council will severely limit the days this work can take place if it is ever approved."
Planning permission to build the house was granted by Cornwall Council in September 2022, but a supplementary application was submitted in November last year by Situ8, acting on behalf of the owners.
They have now applied to make changes to an additional plot of land the couple bought in 2021, sparking another angry response.
The couple wants to develop a small part of that land to create a new entrance to their new home with parking.
Returning to the neighbour's latest objections, Watershedd, the architect behind the building, claimed there was a case of mistaken identity and that the noise was coming from another property - despite Blanchett's house being the closest to them.
They said: "She cannot point to our clients' properties where no noisy works took place during the peak holiday period last year. Once again our clients' property is being mistaken for other work in Mawgan Porth.
"Throughout the construction process on our clients' sites we have been in regular contact with friendly and accommodating neighbors to ensure they were aware of the start of work and to address any concerns about usual or expected construction noise or disruption to take.
"Our contractor is always ready to talk to people from the local community if they have any questions about the construction process."
Another neighbor, Helen John Helen, also accused the celebrity couple of a "blatant" land grab over the additional land purchase.
She wrote: "This current application is a blatant attempt to surreptitiously erode and absorb an environmentally important piece of land.
"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 emphasized and the land restored to its original state once construction is complete."
Situ8 responded, describing the loss of green space as "minimal" and saying the client plans to keep the rest of the meadow - about 86 percent of it.
It was said that the new access was also 'vital to the property'.
They said: "The proposed car park would be tucked into the edge of the site and would not encroach on the open area of the paddock.
"The rising ground of the meadow is not affected in any way by the proposals, and it is only the higher parts of the meadow that are visible from other properties and public roads - not the flat area of the proposals."
Blanchett was also recently given the green light to build 90 solar panels on her £5million mansion in East Sussex.
The couple wanted to install a series of solar panels and expand the technical room on the 13-hectare grounds of the 'haunted' Highwell House.
Blanchett bought the house in 2015 after it had been abandoned for more than a decade having once been home to Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Doctor Who actor Tom Baker.
Since then it has undergone a major renovation. Her plans to build an outdoor swimming pool were approved in March last year while she was also given the green light in 2021 to build a home office/studio and gallery in the garden.
The latest application will be decided by Cornwall Council at a later date.
