The winner of a £6 million Omaze home is finally about to move in after more than a year’s delay due to planning problems at the property.
Ex-Miss Wales finalist Vicky Curtis-Cresswell scooped the three-bedroom mansion in Blakeney, Norfolk, in March last year.
She was due to be unveiled as the winner of the prize draw – promoted in conjunction with Comic Relief and with backing from stars including Davina McCall and Rylan Clark – during live BBC coverage.
But the plan was pulled after a complaint was made that a swimming pool, tennis court, four-bay garage and summer house had been built without consent.
Omaze had to apply for retrospective planning permission, which was granted on a technicality in October after officers at North Norfolk District Council told members the disputed areas would have been allowed under current planning rules.
But Ms Curtis-Cresswell has had to wait another six months while the ‘conveyancing process’ was completed.
Sources close to her told the BBC she had suffered an ‘extremely stressful time’ while waiting for the legal wrangle to be fixed.
She had also had to deal with ‘constant questioning for updates from friends, family and strangers’.
The £6 million mansion on the North Norfolk coast was raffled off in a prize draw by Omaze – in a high-profile tie-in with the BBC’s Red Nose Day
An Omaze spokesman said: ‘We are pleased to confirm that all remaining works at the Blakeney property have been completed and the home is ready for handover.
‘Omaze appreciates that the process has taken time given the initial planning-related matters initiated by third parties that have been fully resolved and looks forward to completing the handover shortly.’
The mansion, called Larkfields, is designed in the style of the exclusive homes found in The Hamptons area of Long Island.
The council launched a probe in February – a month before Red Nose Day – after an eagle-eyed member of the public spotted potential issues with the property, which was built in 2020.
Ms Curtis-Cresswell, 39, who won the property with one of the £10 tickets, previously revealed she wants to sell the mansion – although the planning breaches delayed her plans and had threatened to affect its value.
When she won, she was looking for a rental home while living with her husband Dale, 42, and young daughter at her in-laws’ three-bedroom house in Wales.
Speaking at the time, the 2008 Miss Wales entrant said: ‘It’s crazy. One week, we’re worrying about our old car breaking down, the next thing we’ve got a £6 million house.’
A £250,000 cash prize came with the 5,000 sq ft house, which has access to a secluded pontoon and has £165,000 worth of furnishings.
Ex-Miss Wales finalist Vicky Curtis-Cresswell, seen with husband Dale, scooped the three-bedroom mansion in Blakeney, Norfolk, in March last year
Sources close to Ms Curtis-Cresswell said she had experienced an ‘extremely stressful time’ while waiting for the legal wrangle to be fixed
Letting agents estimates it could be rented out for £5,500 per month.
The district council concluded earlier last year that the property had ‘not been completed in accordance with the approved plans’ after an investigation which included a visit from officers.
The unapproved features faced being torn down but ten district councillors voted in favour of allowing the retrospective planning application following the advice from officers, with two opposed and one abstaining.
Cllr Rory Macdonald, who voted against the application, told the Mail at the time: ‘I think it sets a precedent that others will use later on.
‘It was passed as retrospective permission but it was more than that – it was actually denied previously… They [the previous owners] did it contrary to what they were told.’
Referring to the technicality that eased the application’s approval, he added: ‘There’s an adopted plan and there’s an emerging plan just waiting to come out which would have allowed it.
‘Time has moved on and things have changed. The new plan is “more houses, more everything”.’
The seaside village is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which added to the strict controls on development.
The swimming pool at the luxury property, which was offered to the public through £10 raffle tickets
The tennis court was another feature that had been built without planning permission
The property’s spacious living room, which looks out onto the grounds
Blakeney Parish Council had previously objected to the disputed parts of the property as they breached planning policies intended to ‘safeguard the character of the countryside’.
And a neighbour submitted a formal objection, arguing ‘too many developers take a very cavalier attitude to planning permissions and systematically rely on retrospectives to get their own way’.
During the planning meeting, Cllr Victoria Holliday, who abstained, complained: ‘This all adds to a greater adverse impact on the landscape that is permitted.’
And Cllr Andrew Brown, who supported the application, commented: ‘We sometimes have to hold our noses in committee to approve retrospective applications.’
Omaze, a for-profit company which was founded in the US, buys luxury properties for prize draws and gives at least 17 per cent of proceeds to charities. Larkfields raised more than £4.1 million for Comic Relief.
The Omaze spokesman added: ‘Ms Curtis-Cresswell has already received her £250,000 cash prize and has been regularly updated and supported throughout the process.
‘Once she is ready to take possession, she will become the owner of a multi-million-pound property that she won for £10.’
