Princes' cousin among objectors to Stella McCartney's Highland home

Times

2 days ago

The fashion designer Stella McCartney's plan to build a £5 million modernist mansion in the Highlands has not endeared her to many of her new neighbours in Scotland.
The concrete building has, so far, been described as a 'monstrous carbuncle' and a 'blot on the landscape' — and she also has an adversary in Celia Woodhouse, who is Princess Diana's niece.
In a letter to Highland council in 2023, Woodhouse described the proposals as 'monstrous' and 'an eyesore in a stunning and untouched area' and lamented the use of concrete rather than Scottish stone in construction.
She added: 'Finally, we must protect the natural habitats in the area. There is an otter holt in the proposed area, which would be demolished in the bridling of this monstrous house. I firmly object to this planning application.' An otter holt is the name for a den that the protected species uses for resting and sleeping.
Woodhouse, whose mother is Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, has a connection to isolated areas on the west coast of Scotland. Her late grandmother Frances Shand Kydd spent her latter years largely in seclusion on the Isle of Seil, near Oban, in Argyll and Bute.
When Woodhouse got married in 2018 in Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, she wore the Spencer tiara, which Diana also wore on her wedding day in 1981. Prince Harry and Meghan attended the Woodhouse wedding, a month after their own.
Last month, McCartney, 53, who runs her eponymous fashion brand, and her husband, Alasdhair Willis, 55, chief creative officer at Adidas, condemned misinformation about their planned home.
The couple, who have four children, said: 'The constant mistruths that have been associated with this application are deeply disappointing and, in a number of cases, intentionally inaccurate. Unlike many of the homes in the area, this is not a holiday home. It is a house we will live in and contribute to the local community.'
They claimed that planning permission had existed on the site for 25 years through a previous owner for a property that was never built.
Willis earlier told the Press and Journal newspaper they considered the four or five-bedroom house, to be sited on a plot known as Commando Rock, to be part of their 'life plan'.
The property would boast large glazed walls and a cantilevered section for the principal bedroom, offering expansive views of Loch Ailort. It is claimed the green roof, seeded with grasses and heather, and ochre-coloured steel would help it blend with the landscape.
Brown & Brown Architects confirmed that all trees would be kept but the Woodland Trust maintained its objection to the plans, citing the 'potential for adverse ecological impacts on ancient woodland'.
Andrew Brown, of the Highland-based architects, previously wrote to the planning department saying there was no evidence of an otter holt.
However, a survey by the environmental consultants EnviroCentre found 'potential holt sites for otters present' and many objectors claim a breeding site is in the vicinity.
Eoghan Carmichael, who has lived in nearby Glenuig for 48 years, said many locals have concerns about the 'huge' homes built by some of the objectors to McCartney's plan.
He said: 'Not everybody here objects, but they do object to some of the houses that some of the objectors have built and are quite happy for Stella's development to go ahead.'
Asked when the application is likely to be debated or decided, Highland council said: 'As the Highland council is the planning authority, it is not appropriate for the local authority to provide comment on a planning application.'
A representative for the couple said they had no further comment.
Asked about her views on the plans, Woodhouse, 36, a school secretary in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, said she had 'no more comment' to make.