The Prince of Wales has formed an unlikely alliance with a Love Island star in a fight against plans to build seven £1m luxury villas on a cliff top in Cornwall.
William, the Duke of Cornwall, and Lucie Donlan both stepped in to help local residents fighting plans to build seven second-homes on a cliff face overlooking Whipsiderry beach in Newquay. Campaigners say construction work deemed necessary to stop the “exceptionally high-spec” properties from sliding into the sea would destroy a vital haven for wildlife.
And they also claim the work could endanger beach-goers. Protesters alleged that the initial excavation work has already caused 1,000 tons of rocks to fall onto the beach below.
Model and surfer Lucie Donlan, who starred on Love Island in 2019, is part of a community group set up to fight the development. She was among protesters who linked arms to stop diggers from excavating.
The construction work was eventually stopped when the Duchy of Cornwall – which owns part of the beach – responded to pleas from the group to use its “power and position of authority”. The Duchy – inherited by William when his father Charles became King – suspended the licence which permitted construction workers access to the beach.
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The licence was suspended until developers proved the plans were safe and bird-nesting restrictions were being met. Campaign spokesman Andrew Robey, 38, a teacher and lifeguard, said the Duchy’s intervention was crucial.
He said: “The plans would ruin the beach, destroy the wildlife, and put people on the beach in danger. They’re building second homes that’ll just be left empty most of the year while there’s a housing crisis here. Locals feel betrayed.”
Campaigners say Whipsiderry is “the last wild beach in the area” and that its cliffs are an important habitat for bats, the Cornish chough and kestrels. Cornwall Council has declined to comment on the situation, reported the Mail Online.