Omaze home worth £6m facing fresh difficulties

The luxury home was offered as a prize for Comic Relief in March

A £6m mansion raffled off by Omaze is facing fresh difficulties after the parish council objected to the company's attempt to resolve an ongoing planning row.

The firm is attempting to gain retrospective permission for a number of discrepancies at the property in Blakeney, Norfolk, which was offered as part of a prize draw for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day.

Parts of the home have faced demolition since a number of planning breaches were discovered.

Omaze has applied to retain an extension to the east of the mansion, called Larkfields, as well as a four-bay garage, outbuildings, swimming pool and tennis court - all built without the correct permission.

Vicky Curtis-Cresswell, who lives in South Wales, won the prize in March this year and Omaze has maintained it will cover any costs.

The application has led to objections from the parish council, as well as the village's Conservative district councillor for the village, Victoria Holliday.

Vicky Curtis-Cresswell and her husband Dale, from South Wales, won the Blakeney home in the Omaze prize draw

Dr Holliday said she worried a "distinctive group of pine trees" may have been felled to make way for the swimming pool and a wildflower meadow may have been lost to the tennis court.

She added that the changes were "out of keeping with the wild and unspoilt nature" of the coastal property, which is in a protected area.

Blakeney Parish Council also objected due to the building breaching planning policies that "aim to safeguard the character of the countryside", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In another written objection, a neighbour said "too many developers take a very cavalier attitude to planning permissions and systematically rely on retrospectives to get their own way".

Omaze did not build the property but later discovered it was in breach of planning rules after an anonymous member of the public tipped off North Norfolk District Council, which began an investigation that discovered numerous breaches.

However, the company remains the official owner of Larkfields – a property built to resemble mansions in the Hamptons area of New York.

It has said it will not hand over the keys until it has resolved the planning breaches, promising to pay for any costs.

Omaze has been asked if it has any comment on the latest objections to its plans.

The council is due to decide on its planning application at a later date.