James Corden's abandoned UK house gets go-ahead to be demolished
James Corden has finally been given the green light to knock down his deserted mansion. The Gavin and Stacey star moved back to the UK last year after quitting the US chat show The Late Late Show.
Last summer he was spotted house hunting in posh Hampstead, however James also owns a whopping £8million Berkshire mansion that's been gathering dust for years.
He had grand plans to bulldoze the massive property and rebuild it into a more traditional home, complete with an outdoor pool, a sauna and a steam room. His security team recorded 70 incidents at the property last year, all potential break-ins to the vacant house.
This followed a YouTube video from an urban explorer who filmed inside the property, showcasing what was left in the house, reports the Mirror. James ramped up security for the house to 24/7 and even let the local police force use the plot to train their Alsatian dogs.
Last January, James found himself in a planning dispute when Wokingham District Council put the brakes on some of his plans for the property. A planning meeting resulted in James only being given the go-ahead if he scrapped the leisure facilities from the proposal.
The meeting occurred after English Heritage raised concerns about the proposed swimming pool, due to its proximity to a collection of 45 impressive granite megalithic stones. Locals have tried pushing James to shift these stonehenge-esque hefty rocks from his lush garden, but snappers have still caught them on camera at the stunning site.
The comedian has previously opened up about his decision to ditch his booming career in America in order to move back to his native UK. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show, he explained: "Look it's not easy in any way to walk away from something that is so... I mean I'll never work in a better environment than the one I work in now. Nothing about leaving the show was to do with not enjoying it."
Confessing his frank feelings about his career, the father-of-three said: "I love it, but the truth is it became a very easy decision because I always knew it was an adventure and I never ever considered it to be the final destination."
Sharing an anecdote about one of his kid's reactions to his work commitments, he continued: "I was filming on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about 6am and my son, who was 10 at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, 'Are you working today?'
"And I said, 'I am,' and he said, 'I thought, well it's Sunday,' and I said, 'I know buddy but this schedule's just all over the place. We just got to get it done because we only have a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show,' and his face just kind of dropped. So, really the choice was to go, 'Well if I really want to do this other work, that cannot be at the expense of our children, our family,' and that is really all it comes down to."
