Designer Stella McCartney (London, 52 years old) is known for her commitment to the environment and her constant search for a sustainable way of making fashion. The company has never used animal skins in its designs and relies on innovative fabrics such as recyclable polyester, mushroom-derived skins and wool with a low environmental impact. The daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney is an example of respect for the environment in her industry, but there are now people who question whether that respect extends to the personal sphere. The question comes after plans by McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis, Adidas creative director, to build a five million pound (more than 5.7 million euros) mansion in the Highlands, Scotland, were shelved due to environmental concerns.
British media such as The Times and Chron claim that Karen White, the former owner of the property at Commando Rock (in the Scottish town of Glenuig), has officially spoken out against the designs of the modernist house that the couple is proposing to the locals and visitors The area will receive more than 50 complaints about it to the city council. The woman, who now lives in Taunton, England, submitted a letter to the Highland Council arguing that the designers’ proposal would have “unnecessary impacts on the sensitive ecology and landscape” of the area. Additionally, White added that she was “shocked” by the couple’s designs after McCartney’s lawyers assured her that the home they wanted to build would be “modest” and have a “small footprint.”
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White obtained planning permission for a permanent family home on the site in 1999, which was “extremely sensitive given the nature of the site and great care was taken to design the home discreetly and in keeping with the stunning surroundings,” he explains in his written letter: to which several British media had access to. In this sense, the former owner believes that the mansion proposed by McCartney and Willis does not fit the area. “Firstly, the location is very beautiful and ecologically sensitive. There is a forest of ancient oaks as well as significant landscape trees. “The original 1999 proposal was carefully considered to ensure that the building had minimal impact on flora and fauna and in particular on the ancient woodland and important pine trees in the landscape,” it said. “This is not the case with the current proposal. The building’s footprint has been moved further towards the sea with the addition of two new wings, one of which projects into the ancient oak forest and the other projects into the cliff edge and therefore requires the removal of old pine trees,” adds.
🔺 NEW: Stella McCartney’s plans for the home game in the Highlands are met with opposition
The fashion designer’s £5m project would have an “unnecessary impact on the delicate ecology and landscape”, claims the site’s previous owner
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— The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland (@timesscotland) November 23, 2023
Fears have also been raised that the couple’s proposed plans could have a negative impact on the welfare of otters in the area, but Brown & Brown architects in charge of the project say there is “no evidence” of this. Type of animals on the site. “Otters don’t appear on demand. The fact that the architect visited the area and did not meet them does not mean that they are not there. “Over the last 50 years I have seen individual otters, pairs of otters and families on the rocks on numerous occasions and there is no doubt that they would be disturbed if this building were allowed to be built,” explains White, who insists on the argument The move of the house as specified by the architect was “nonsensical” and the construction would have a significant impact on the “precious flora and fauna”. Brown & Brown, in turn, has written to the Tierras Altas City Council, calling some of the locals’ comments in their formal complaints “inaccurate.”
McCartney and Willis, who have been married since 2003 and have three children, bought the property for around £450,000 (just over €517,900). Plans for the proposed site, which were submitted last February according to The Times, still have to go through the city council’s planning committee. This proposal includes a design statement from the architects, which states that a “simple material palette will be used with a modern and complementary mix of raw Scottish natural stone” as well as concrete and weathering steel.
Architect Alan Dunlop, one of Scotland’s best-known architects, had previously spoken out in favor of the plan, describing it as “an extraordinary project”. “It will improve the area, not detract from it. “If the plans are seen in context and people understand how they will affect the country and look at them objectively, I think they will agree that they have been carefully thought out,” he said in an interview with The on Sunday Scottish Mail. In his opinion, “the comments opposing the project have a nationalist tone” and “they contain an anti-celebrity element.”