Omaze West Country house has controversial history

Locals have expressed their ire at a £3 million property, up for grabs for £10 with Omaze, which sits on a UNESCO heritage site

A Cornwall mansion worth £3 million which is up for grabs in the latest Omaze prize draw has drawn the ire of local residents because it was built on a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). The newly built house in Cornwall’s mining heartland comes with five bedrooms, a hot tub and stunning views of the countryside and can be won for just £10.

It sits next to the Gooninnis Engine House in St Agnes, a 19th-century tin and copper mining site. The designation means the World Heritage Site is as significant as international treasures like the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Great Wall of China.

The MailOnline reports officials from the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site tried to prevent the house from being built, warning “the harm caused… cannot be mitigated by design, as it is the principle of development of the smallholding to a residential use that causes the harm”.

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Locals were even more vocal and critical. One compared the modern structure in the historical village to “a Lidl or an Aldi” and called it “an arrogant design”.

Jamie Donachie, a local resident, said: “People definitely care about what is built here. With regards to the history of the area, it should be protected.”

A local who has lived in the village for three decades, but wished to remain anonymous, expressed their disappointment with Cornwall Council’s decision to approve planning permission: “The WHS’s objection was sensible and it’s a shame the council ignored it. People have been talking about that house non-stop since it was built. We’re all screaming about it but nobody’s listening everybody’s concerns were just ignored.”

Despite objections, Cornwall Council granted permission for the development, stating: “The development will result in less than substantial harm to the designated heritage asset.”

Records reveal that previous owners David and Sandra Whitworth secured planning permission in 2018 to construct a house in their garden. The plot was later sold for £450,000 to local property developers by the Whitworths. The buyers redesigned it and constructed the modern five-bedroom home which was sold to Omaze for around £3 million.

Speaking to the MailOnline, Mrs Whitworth said: “The planning application we did went through smoothly, we weren’t aware of any issues. We just sold the land. You’ll have to ask Omaze, it’s their property.”

Adding to the controversy, locals also claimed that the winner of the prize won’t be able to rent it out as a holiday home due to a clause in the contract for the sale of the land stating it is only for residential use. The official page for the draw states: “Our Grand Prize Winner will be free to ‘move in, rent out or sell-up’.” However, a neighbour revealed: “They (the Whitworths) believed the person who developed it was going to live there so weren’t best pleased when it appeared in the draw.

“They didn’t want it to be an Airbnb so when they sold the land they put in a clause that it has to be a residential dwelling, hopefully that will be enforced.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works to protect and preserve places of cultural and natural heritage – like the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape – which are seen as incredibly valuable to all.

This is the latest prize from Omaze, whose properties seem to have a bit of a ‘curse’, with most prizes being sold less than 12 months after being won. Out of the 15 properties given away so far – including two others in Cornwall – only three are still lived in by the winners while another is rented out as an Airbnb.

Entries to the latest draw cost just £10 and comes with £100,000 in cash with the latest giveaway raising money for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The house comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.

Omaze claims the lucky winner can choose to live in the house, rent it out for some extra money or sell it to become a cash multi-millionaire. If the new owner chooses to rent out the property, local estate agents reckon it could fetch between £3,000 and £4,000 each month, Omaze said.

Actor, impressionist and WWF fellow Alistair McGowan supports the sale, saying: “WWF work incredibly hard – conducting research and carrying out projects in the UK and around the world – to protect nature and wildlife, and to restore it too.

“The money raised through this partnership with Omaze will make a real difference and help WWF to continue to protect so many incredible species and bring our world back to life.”

James Oakes, the chief international officer at Omaze, expressed his excitement about their latest partnership with WWF. He said: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with WWF for our latest house draw. By offering this gorgeous house in Cornwall, along with £100,000 in cash, we’re giving people the chance to live mortgage and rent free for the rest of their life – as well as raising money for charities whilst introducing them to brand new audiences that they otherwise wouldn’t reach. We’re tremendously proud that the Omaze community has already raised over £31 million for good causes across the UK.”

Omaze is promising WWF a minimum donation of at least £1 million and hopes to raise even more. Besides the Grand Prize, those who enter by midnight on Sunday 10th March could also win an electric Porsche Taycan. There are also gift cards up for grabs throughout the draw.

For Omaze subscribers, there’s an extra £50,000 cash prize in the Monthly Subscriber Cash Draw. An Omaze spokesperson reassured: “The Omaze Cornwall III house complies with all relevant planning and building regulations as well as being of the highest design and build standard. The winner will have the choice to either live in the property, sell it or rent it out for an estimated long-term monthly rental value of £3,000 – £4,000. Omaze is looking forward to raising significant funds for its charity partner from this latest draw.”