By Lianne Kolirin, CNN
Anderson Cooper interviewed Adele at her 10-bedroom mansion in West Sussex in 2012. Photo: CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
The owner of a mansion previously lived in by Adele has said that the singer's suggestion that the property was haunted has made it unsellable.
It was back in 2012 that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper interviewed the British megastar in the 10-bedroom property in West Sussex, southern England for his CBS show 60 Minutes.
She had signed a six-month rental contract and was showing Cooper around the house, which she admitted she had rented to give herself some privacy, away from the glare of the world's media.
Taking Cooper on a tour of the mostly empty property, Adele, who was then just 23, said: "This house is a bit of a cliche, really." She revealed that it had been a "convent for a little while", and said: "This bit's all quite scary, really."
Although the 'Rolling in the Deep' singer did not actually say the word "haunted", there were subsequent reports in other media - including Hello! magazine, which featured the star in a 2020 piece headlined "Celebrity haunted houses: Jennifer Aniston, Adele, Miley Cyrus & more'.
Now Nicholas Sutton, who owns the property, has applied for planning permission to convert it into apartments, claiming the singer's comments have deterred prospective buyers.
CNN has reached out to Adele's representatives for comment.
Documents submitted as part of the planning application to Horsham District Council show that Sutton bought Lock House in Partridge Green, West Sussex, from a property trader in 2003. He then carried out considerable renovations to the house, which was built around 1909 and was previously a convent, and also bought "much of the surrounding land to enhance the privacy of the property".
He moved out at the end of 2011 and put the house on the market for an asking price of £5.75 million (around NZ$12.7 million). The property, which is listed on numerous real estate sites including Rightmove, features a gym, swimming pool, tennis courts and helicopter hangar.
When it failed to sell, Sutton chose to rent the house to Adele for six months - and it was during this time that Cooper visited.
One of the documents attached to the planning application, which is publicly viewable on the council's website, states: "Unfortunately, during an interview on CBS, Adele remarked that she believed the house to be haunted. This comment negatively impacted future marketing efforts and continues to affect the property's reputation to this day."
The document goes on to outline how the property was let for other short-term rentals, while several real estate agents also tried to sell it but without success.
The document states that Sutton "actively tried to sell the property for about 14 years".
"Full marketing efforts were made, including brochures, professional photography, advertising in Country Life, national PR campaigns, and exposure on all major property portals," the document elaborates. "The only offer received over the years was in August 2020, but the prospective buyer withdrew after learning about the property's supposed haunted status, which was publicly mentioned by Adele during her tenancy."
Now Sutton is requesting permission to convert the sprawling mansion into three separate residential units. He also hopes to turn an existing garage at the site into a separate cottage.
Horsham Borough Council will decide the property's fate at an unspecified future date. CNN has attempted to contact Sutton for comment.
- CNN
