The Argus reported in July 2024 that Lock House, near Horsham, formerly home to Adele, could be turned into 13 new homes – based on a planning application which claimed the singer’s comments about the property had made it impossible to sell.
That application was refused on January 17, 2025, but a subsequent application to transform the property into four residential units has now been approved by Horsham District Council.
The award-winning singer rented the Grade II-listed Lock House from owner Nicholas Sutton for six months during 2012.
The latest planning application once again claimed that comments made by Adele about the 10-bedroom house during an interview had hindered the selling process.
It said: “The first tenant, Adele, stayed for six months and blighted the property by saying it is haunted.
“This comment negatively impacted future marketing efforts and continues to affect the property’s reputation to this day.”
Adele lived there during 2012 (Image: house.) Adele gave a tour of Lock House to American TV channel CBS in 2012, saying: “I’m not rattling around here on my own. It gives me the creeps”.
According to the application, the owner has tried without success to sell the property for 14 years.
An offer was received in 2020, but the buyer apparently pulled out after hearing Adele’s comments.
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Now, permission has been granted to divide the listed building into four dwellings.
The planning application said: “The use as a single dwelling has been proved through 14 years of marketing as non-viable.
“The least harm to the listed building and the most viable use is a vertical split of the existing listed building into three dwellings.”
The pool will become a communal area (Image: house.) The proposed residential sub-division creates four residential units.
House one is drawn from the 1970s extension to create a 2,750-square-foot three-bedroom house.
House two is comprised of the original mansion house, 12,250 square feet with eight bedrooms.
The 1940s extension and 2007 swimming pool will become house three, a seven-bedroom 5,000-square-foot dwelling.
The final house is the conversion of the detached garage block and existing flat.
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The tennis court and orchard will become a communal garden, and the existing heated outdoor swimming pool will be shared by all occupants.
Despite the approval, the plans have not been without controversy.
The plans received 10 letters objecting to the application on several grounds including visual intrusion, increased traffic, noise impacts, overdevelopment, reliance on motor vehicles, and impact on wildlife.
The property is apparently no longer viable as a single dwelling (Image: house.) However, the council’s planning report stated: “If it is accepted that the building can no longer be realistically occupied as a single dwelling house, then there would be a public benefit in ensuring a viable future for the building.
“The conversion into three dwellings would offer the opportunity of a viable future to the building whilst balancing the significance of the building.”
The proposed development is considered to be of a design and appearance that would relate sympathetically to the characteristics and form of the host building.
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The units will all be sold on a long leasehold basis, preventing future structural alterations by leaseholders and changes to the facades.
Furthermore, unacceptable residential paraphernalia such as garden fences, trampolines, washing lines, etc are all prohibited.
The plans can be viewed using reference DC/25/0037.
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