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The couple, who bought the property for £4.9 million in 2015, were asked to halt demolition of the shed and cottage until a European Protected Species licence is obtained from Natural England.
The shed was deemed to have high suitability for roosting and the cottage a low suitability , meaning both will require a licence to knock down.
Documents lodged with the local council state: Emergence and return-to-roost surveys, alongside DNA analysis of droppings, have confirmed the presence of a common pipistrelle bat summer roost and a potential occasional brown long-eared bat feeding roost.
Plans for the Oscar winner s state of the art studio and office, which will have three levels and a walled lavender garden, were also forced to adapt following news of the property s animal residents - with bat boxes or a bat loft to be incorporated into the design.
Bats halt Cate Blanchett s renovation plan for £5m home
Bat droppings were found in a building she hoped to demolish and rebuild
23 December 2020 • 2:45pm
Hollywood star Cate Blanchett s Sussex property was found to be home also to the rare brown long-eared bat
Credit: Ian West/PA Wire
Cate Blanchett has been forced to halt plans to renovate her £5 million mansion as the building she hoped to demolish has been found to be the favourite roost of a rare bat.
The actress, 51, and her husband Andrew Upton, 54, applied to Wealden council, asking if they could knock down a shed and a cottage in order to build an office and studio.
05/09/18 PA File Photo of Cate Blanchett arriving at the world premiere of The House with a Clock in Its Walls at Westfield in White City, London. See PA Feature Film Blanchett Black. Picture credit should read: Lauren Hurley/PA Photos. WARNING: This pict A DOUBLE Oscar-winning actress has changed her multimillion-pound renovation plans after discovering a colony of bats in her mansion. Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton have altered plans to renovate their £4.9 million manor in Crowborough after finding out that she shared her home with the animals. The 51-year-old has lodged a proposal to demolish a cottage and shed on the grounds of their home and replace them with a contemporary office and studio.
Celebrity by Stephen Drill
Premium Content  Exclusive: Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has been forced to make room for bats as part of a renovation at her luxury haunted house in England. The 51-year-old wants to knock down two buildings on the grounds of her sprawling country estate to put up a home office and studio, but the bats have stood in the way. Blanchett has lodged plans to transform the dilapidated buildings on the property that she shares with her playwright husband Andrew Upton and their four children Dashiell, 18, Roman, 16, Ignatius, 12, and Edith, five. The stylish new designs have been registered with Wealden District Council in Crowborough, 90 minutes drive south of London.
Celebrity by Stephen Drill
Premium Content  Exclusive: Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has been forced to make room for bats as part of a renovation at her luxury haunted house in England. The 51-year-old wants to knock down two buildings on the grounds of her sprawling country estate to put up a home office and studio, but the bats have stood in the way. Blanchett has lodged plans to transform the dilapidated buildings on the property that she shares with her playwright husband Andrew Upton and their four children Dashiell, 18, Roman, 16, Ignatius, 12, and Edith, five. The stylish new designs have been registered with Wealden District Council in Crowborough, 90 minutes drive south of London.