Locals are unhappy after it emerged celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has added a £2 million former bank to his Cornish property empire – but will not be turning it into a restaurant.
Ramsay has expanded his portfolio with the purchase of a former Lloyds bank in the exclusive Cornish town of Fowey.
He already owns two other properties in the county, bought for £4.4 million and £4 million respectively, meaning he is now the proud owner of more than £10 million of real estate in the area.
But fans have been left disappointed after it turned out Ramsay, 50, who is regularly spotted enjoying Cornwall alongside wife Tana, 42, was planning on turning the building into a personal residential property, and not one of his famous restaurants.
Gordon Ramsay has shelled out £2 million on a former Lloyds bank in Fowey, Cornwall. Locals have been left disappointed after it emerged Ramsay would not be turning it into a restaurant
The Grade II listed former bank, which closed in 2015, will be used as a private residential property and not an eatery
Land Registry records show Ramsay has just paid £1.96 million for the building, which has planning permission to be converted into a commercial property with two-storey maisonette
Ann Higham said: ‘Sad to hear Gordon Ramsay may have taken away a retail site from Fowey town . Not the best way to arrive in Fowey.’
Louise Hawkworth commented: ‘He’s buying the bank but as a holiday home for friends according to people.’
Lloyds closed the bank in 2015 and sold the Grade II listed property last year for £785,000 and Land Registry records show Ramsay has just paid £1.96 million for the building, which has planning permission to be converted into a commercial property with two-storey maisonette.
The property backs onto the Cornish town’s stunning estuary, a picturesque expanse littered with fishing and sailing boats.
This is not the first time Ramsay has angered the Cornwall locals.
In 2015 he sparked fury when he splashed out £4.4 million on a five-bedroom cottage in the Cornish village of Rock – dubbed Kensington-on-Sea due to its sky-high property prices – only to then apply for permission to flatten it.
Ramsay, 50, and wife Tana (pictured), 42, were spotted outside the former bank earlier this year
In 2015, Ramsay paid £4.4 million for this home in the village of Rock, dubbed Kensington-on-Sea due to its staggering house prices
His neighbors opposed the plans but Cornwall County Council gave them the go-ahead and the 1930s home was bulldozed this year.
The planned new property, a holiday hideaway with two kitchens, a wine cellar, swimming pool and guest annexe, is yet to be built.
When Ramsay lodged an application to tear down the historic property, a tycoon who lives next door was among those to oppose the plans.
Andrew Nisbet, who as boss of kitchen equipment firm Nisbets is worth £430 million, claimed the proposed new house would compromise his privacy.
Shortly after buying the first house, Ramsay then splashed out £4 million on this stunning stopgap house in a nearby village
Land Registry records show Ramsay has just paid £1.96 million for the former bank in Fowey
He described the proposed redevelopment plans as ‘inappropriate, unsympathetic and unneighbourly’.
The Nisbets were among 16 Rock residents who called for the application to be refused.
Resident Pippa Burrows argued the house should have been saved from the bulldozers because of its historical value.
She wrote: ‘Another beautiful house is yet again being knocked down to build an eyesore that is not in fitting with this area of great beauty, and bears no common resemblance to other properties.’
On top of his three Cornwall properties, Ramsay owns a grand townhouse in south-west London and a beachfront home in Malibu.