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Hollywood star Cate Blanchett has applied to build more green energy devices on her £5million ‘haunted’ Sussex estate – less than a year after she scored victory against the council to build a first set of the solar panels.
The Oscar-winning Australian actress faced a head-to-head with planners in January 2023 when she applied to build 90 solar panels in a field in the grounds of her remote and secluded 13-acre estate.
Eco-wombles seriously hampered her energy plan – delaying a decision until October as they complained the idea could have a potential ‘adverse’ effect on the local population of great crested newts.
In October last year, she also applied to build a Victorian-style walled garden to help her grow her own flowers and vegetables – in the wake of launching her own podcast to help ordinary people find solutions to climate change.
And now the Lord of the Rings performer, 55, who was last night pictured wearing a shirt made of spoons, is set to fork out on a new set of energy-creating panels in a step that would accelerate her green scheme.
In an application to Wealden District Council, she states she wants to: ‘Install a photovoltaic system. Install one or more new circuits.’
Blanchett, 55, who was last night pictured wearing a shirt made of spoons, is set to fork out on a new set of energy-creating panels in a step that would accelerate her green scheme
The Oscar-winning Australian actress faced a head-to-head with planners in January 2023 when she applied to build 90 solar panels in a field in the grounds of her remote and secluded 13-acre estate
Eco-wombles previously seriously hampered her energy plans – delaying a decision until October as they complained the idea could have a potential ‘adverse’ effect on the local population of great crested newts. Pictured: Stock image
Photovoltaic panels convert the thermal energy of the sun into electricity, while solar panels convert solar radiation into heat.
Blanchett and her Australian playwright husband Andrew Upton, 58, have previously applied to extend an existing plant room to become a 23ft by 18ft building with five new air source heat pumps and an array of Tesla wall-mounted batteries to store excess power from her solar panels.
But there were fears that the green energy plan could have a potential ‘adverse’ effect on wildlife due to the digging of two trenches to connect cables from the panels to a plant room.
In a design statement for the previous project, Blanchett’s planning agent said: ‘The panels will generate sustainable energy supply to the main house and outbuildings on the site.
‘Overall, the proposal represents a small-scale renewable energy system that would contribute to the UK’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions.’
A study by consultants Ecosupport stated that the couple’s seven bedroom villa is in an ‘amber impact zone’ for great crested newts with a ‘high potential’ for the protected species.
A pond in the couple’s grounds next to the proposed site of the panels is said to offer an ‘excellent’ habitat for the rare newts while six other ponds in the area offer a ‘good’ or ‘average’ habitat.
The report also revealed that the area has a potential for badgers and nesting birds, meaning any works that take place have to be sympathetic to them.
But she was given the green light in October last year after no neighbours raised any objections.
Blanchett and her Australian playwright husband Andrew Upton, 58, have previously applied to extend an existing plant room. Pictured: The couple in March
In 2015, The Sun named the manor Britain’s 13th creepiest abandoned house, due to its then ramshackled appearance
It is an offence under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act to intentionally or recklessly disturb, harm or kill great crested newts, or damage, destroy or obstruct their breeding and resting places.
In 2022 Blanchett was also given consent for an outdoor swimming pool and in 2021 she was granted permission to build garden office complete with meditation room.
And just last year she applied to create a walled garden to help her fulfil her sustainability dream and grow her own veg.
Here too Blanchett – who also pigs, chickens and grows her own herbs and vegetables – faces hurdles as rare animals once again threaten her applications.
Adverse impact for greater crested newts was deemed to be ‘certain’ – while roosting bats could also be affected if they were present.
It was approved in January this year after the actress amended the garden layout.
Before the Oscar-winner and her four children moved into the Sussex home it was owned by Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Doctor Who star Tom Baker.
In 2015, The Sun named the manor Britain’s 13th creepiest abandoned house, due to its then ramshackled appearance.
Blanchett has become known as an advocate for renewable energy, since being inspired by former US vice president Al Gore
In 2022 Blanchett paid close to £1.5million for a farmhouse in almost 100 acres near the home she has occupied for more than five years
Blanchett has become known as an advocate for renewable energy, since being inspired by former US vice president Al Gore.
She is known to drive an electric car and is an ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation as well as a campaigner for the Climate Institute and SolarAid, which installs panels to help rural African communities.
Blanchett launched her podcast Climate of Change with energy entrepreneur Danny Kennedy in 2022, highlighting fears of global warming as they try to help ordinary people find ways to help the planet.
Blanchett also helped in 2010 to launch an installation of 1,906 solar panels on the roof of the Sydney Theatre Company’s HQ at The Wharf in Sydney Harbour.
The rooftop solar power system providing 70 per cent of the building’s power was the second largest in Australia and produced enough energy for 46 average homes.
Blanchett is the latest in a series of celebrities to boost their eco credentials with solar panels at their homes.
Fashion designer Stella McCartney applied for consent to place 380 panels at her Worcestershire farm in 2023. In 2016 TV cook Delia Smith also applied to add another 20 panels to her bank of 24 at her 18th Century Suffolk cottage.
In 2022 Blanchett paid close to £1.5million for a farmhouse in almost 100 acres near the home she has occupied for more than five years.
She also secured planning permission to demolish a run-down oast house and stable in the grounds of her mansion and create an art gallery and studio, complete with a circular meditation room.
Her seven-bedroom Victorian house is a short stroll from the modern farmhouse which was built in the historic style of a Wealden hall house.
It is not clear what the actress’s long-term plans are for the surrounding farmland but it has long been used commercially for a pedigree herd of beef shorthorn cattle, which moved on before the purchase was completed. Outbuildings include bull pens, stables, a tack room, and barns.
There are a number of ponds and hedges for diverting walks – and even a pair of Second World War pillboxes.
Cate Blanchett has been contacted for comment.
