Latest news with #CharlesAllsopp
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
TV presenter's £3.5m family home at centre of major planning row over 170 new homes creating traffic ‘madness'
KIRSTIE Allsopp's £3.5million childhood manor home is at the centre of a major planning row. The 11-bedroom manor was previously owned by Charles Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip - the Channel 4 presenter's late dad. 5 Vern Leaze is a Grade II* building of "national significance", located in Calne, Wiltshire. The expensive property has now been drawn into a planning row as it neighbours a site earmarked for 170 homes and a medical centre at Wenhill. Mr Allsopp, who wielded the gavel in the record-breaking £24.75 million auction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in 1987, is reported to have sold the property in the early 80s. Developer CG Fry & Son has submitted detailed plans explaining how it will reduce the impact of a large housing estate on the setting of the historic house. This has included setting the new homes back from the property and creating a "substantial green buffer." A design and access statement said: " Grade II* listed buildings are considered to be of national significance and we have taken care to design the proposed development in such a way that it protects the building and its setting. "A key part of this is the retention of a large area in the southern part of the development as a parkland-style open space. "This was formerly an area of parkland around the historic house; however, it has lost many of the historic trees that were once part of it." The plans have already caused a heated row in Calne with a petition against the development launched before a formal planning application was even submitted. At the time, residents voiced concerns about the impact on traffic and the loss of green space. Location, Location, Location's Kirstie Allsopp gives fans a rare glimpse inside her stunning Bahamas holiday home Becky Amor said: "The town is already gridlocked most of the time due to the volume of traffic and Silver Street is particularly bad, so to have another 170 cars is complete madness." Mellissa Freeman added: "This is far too many houses for this area… Calne is already bursting at the seams." CG Fry & Son insists the site is "an ideal urban expansion to the west of Calne" that has been allocated in the Local Plan. The firm added: "Our aim is to provide an individually designed scheme with a sense of place, which will cherish local distinctiveness, and provide an attractive, comfortable, and safe place to live for its occupants." This comes after Kirstie secretly married Ben Andersen after the pair had dated for 20 years. The Mail on Sunday reports that Kirstie and Ben kept their wedding a secret right up until the last minute. Most of their guests didn't even know until it happened, with Kirstie keen to keep the ceremony as private as she could. The location where she and Ben tied the knot was where a memorial service for her late father was held. The couple tied the knot in January 2025. The pair, who have homes in both Devon and London, first met in 2004 while attending a party for a prospective Conservative MP. At the time, Ben and his ex-wife Theresa had only been separated for five months, with Kirstie forced to shut down rumours that she had "stolen" Ben from his ex. 5 5 "I did not [steal him]. I met Ben at a party for a prospective Tory MP friend of mine, Orlando Fraser. "Ben's wife, whom I knew at school and whom he was already separated from, introduced us," she told the Evening Standard in 2012. Kirstie and Ben have two sons, Bay, who was born in 2006, and Oscar, who was born in 2008. 5 5
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Kirstie Allsopp's 11-bedroom £3.5million former childhood manor house at centre of row over plans to build 170 homes on the site
Kirstie Allsopp 's childhood manor home is at the centre of a major planning row. The property named Vern Leaze is an 11-bedroom, Grade II* listed building of 'national significance' in Calne, Wiltshire, that was last valued at £3.5million in 2021. The mansion was once owned by Charles Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip, the later father of Channel 4 's Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie, 53. The expensive property has now been drawn into a planning row as it neighbours a site earmarked for 170 homes and a medical centre at Wenhill. Mr Allsopp, who wielded the gavel in the record breaking £24.75million auction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers in 1987, is reported to have sold the property in the early 1980s. Developer CG Fry & Son has now submitted detailed plans, explaining how it will reduce the impact of a large housing estate in the area. This has included setting the new homes back from the property and creating a 'substantial green buffer'. A design and access statement said: 'Grade II* listed buildings are considered to be of national significance and we have taken care to design the proposed development in such a way that it protects the building and its setting. 'A key part of this is the retention of a large area in the southern part of the development as a parkland style open space. 'This was formerly an area of parkland around the historic house; however, it has lost many of the historic trees that were once part of it.' A petition opposing the development was launched before a formal planning application had been submitted. Residents voiced concerns about the impact on traffic and the loss of green space. Becky Amor said: 'The town is already gridlocked most of the time due to the volume of traffic and Silver Street is particularly bad, so to have another 170 cars is complete madness.' Mellissa Freeman added: 'This is far too many houses for this area - Calne is already bursting at the seams.' CG Fry & Son has described the site as 'an ideal urban expansion to the west of Calne' that has been allocated in Wiltshire County Council's Local Plan. The firm added: 'Our aim is to provide an individually designed scheme with a sense of place, which will cherish local distinctiveness, and provide an attractive, comfortable, and safe place to live for its occupants.' Estate agency Rightmove previously described Kirstie's former childhood home, where her family lived for 30 years until the early 1980s, as 'a very appealing Georgian family house'. It is said to feature a cinema room, a butler's pantry and expansive wine cellars, with a listing adding: 'The property is situated to the south of Calne and overlooks beautiful countryside. 'The neighbouring picturesque villages provide both Gastro and village public houses and local amenities.' Kirstie's auctioneer father Lord Charles Hindlip died aged 83 at his home in Dorset in June last year. The TV presenter, the eldest of four children, grew up in Wiltshire before the family moved away from the property in Calne in the 1980s. Her father bequeathed an inheritance valued at £6.113million to be shared between Kirstie and siblings Henry, Sophie and Natasha Allsopp, whose mother Fiona died in 2014 aged 66. Charles was a renowned auctioneer who was previously the chairman of the iconic Christie's auction house between 1996 and 2002. In 1997, he acted as auctioneer for 79 of Princess Diana's dresses, which raised £2.8million for cancer and Aids charities, just two months before her death. Charles was also a hereditary peer and businessmen, inheriting the title of the 6th Baron Hindlip and was a member of the House of Lords from 1993 until his seat was abolished in 1999. Kirstie shared tributes and family photos online when revealing he had died in June last year, saying: 'This is my Dad, Charlie Hindlip. 'He was a great auctioneer, the best of his generation, an artist, a gardener, a father of four, and grandfather of eight, a loving husband to a wife he lost too soon. 'He was a real star, he worked hard, played hard and went further than anyone ever expected. 'He died at home yesterday, surrounded by love, flowers & photographs, in a house he built, looking out over a stunning garden he created from scratch.'
Daily Mirror
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Kirstie Allsopp's family home at centre of row over huge new building development
The new estate in Wiltshire, developed by CG Fry & Son, will be built on land bordering the Grade-II* listed building Vern Leaze, located in Calne, which was once owned by Charles Allsopp Kirstie Allsopp, the well-known presenter of Channel 4's Location, Location, Location, finds her family's former abode at the heart of a contentious planning dispute that could see a vast new housing estate erected in Wiltshire. The proposed development by CG Fry & Son is set to encroach upon the boundaries of the Grade-II* listed Vern Leaze in Calne, a historic property previously owned by Kirstie's father, the 6th Baron Hindlip. Charles Allsopp, Kirstie's father and an auctioneer renowned for hammering down Van Gogh's Sunflowers for a staggering £24.75million in 1987, once presided over the grand manor, which boasts 11 bedrooms and was valued at a whopping £3.5million in 2021. Despite selling the estate in the early 1980s, the planned housing estate threatens to overshadow the magnificent property, complete with its stables, coach house, walled garden, and lodge. It comes after Channel 4 breaks silence after Gogglebox couple suddenly dumped from show. The project envisions 180 new homes and a medical centre, sparking a wave of objections from hundreds of local residents earlier this year. CG Fry & Son have defended their plans, stating: "This proposal will contribute towards Wiltshire Council's annual housing requirement, and will provide high quality open market and affordable homes.", reports the Express. A design and access statement assured: "Grade II* listed buildings are considered to be of national significance and we have taken care to design the proposed development in such a way that it protects the building and its setting. "A key part of this is the retention of a large area in the southern part of the development as a parkland style open space. "This was formerly an area of parkland around the historic house; however, it has lost many of the historic trees that were once part of it." Kirsty and Location, Location, Location co-host Phil Spencer recently discussed the popularity of their show. In a recent documentary, Kirstie reminisced over her years on the show and said their long-running role on the series, and on Channel 4, had been an 'absolute privilege'. They agreed that while they had helped to change people's lives by sorting them out with the right place to live, the many couples and families they have met along the way have also had a huge impact on them. 'They've changed our lives too,' she said. They also said that, over the years, they've 'been through a lot together'.
