Cate Blanchett has been given the go-ahead to build dozens of solar panels to power her £5m Sussex mansion.

The Lord of the Rings star, 54, and her playwright husband Andrew Upton, 57, want to install a solar panel array and extend the plant room in the 13-acre grounds of “haunted” Highwell House in Crowborough.

The couple have now been granted planning permission after satisfying multiple conditions to build 90 panels on agricultural land to the south of the main Victorian mansion.

An ecological survey had identified “mitigation” that was required to protect great-crested newts and other species who would be affected by the digging of “trenches” to house the connecting cables.

And they were told they must also obtain an additional district licence to avoid being in breach of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.

This law makes it an offence for anyone to "intentionally or recklessly disturb, harm or kill great crested newts, or damage, destroy or obstruct their breeding and resting places”.

Blanchett bought the home in 2015 for an estimated £5m. It had been abandoned for more than a decade after once being home to Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Doctor Who actor Tom Baker.

It has since undergone major refurbishment and her plans to build an outdoor pool were approved in March last year while in 2021 she was also given the go-ahead to build a home office/studio and gallery in the garden.

Planners at Wealden District Council said the proposed solar panel array, as amended, would be "discreetly located" and said the "replacement plant room would be an enhancement on the existing one”.

"The proposed development would not be intrusive in the wider landscape,” they said.

MOST READ:

​To have access to all of our best stories subscribe to The Argus here

“There would be no material impact on the residential amenities of dwellings in the vicinity.

"No objections to the amended proposals have been made.”

Blanchett and her husband agreed to apply for the district licence to allow work to be carried out. Under the licence habitat compensation will also provided by the Newt Conservation Partnership.

The couple's agent Whaleback Planning and Design said in a statement to support the application.

"Overall, the proposal represents a small-scale renewable energy system that would contribute to the UK’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions,” they said.

"The proposal complies with the national planning policy in supporting the transition to a low-carbon future. It would provide a sustainable and low-carbon supply of renewable energy to the main dwelling and associated outbuildings on the site.

"The visual impact of the proposed solar installation has been fully considered through a landscape visual assessment and the proposed layout has been carefully designed and positioned so as to conserve the landscape character of the area, and views from local vantage points along with additional screening planting via nature hedgerow improvements and scrub.

"The proposal would enhance biodiversity and landscape value through the establishment of this additional planting as well as maintaining its existing use as grazed grassland around and within the solar array."

The couple are also doing renovations at their Cornwall home in Mawgan Porth.