Richard Curtis has become embroiled in a row over plans to build a campsite in his upmarket seaside village.
The Love Actually director, 69, has objected to the proposals to install 30 pitches in Walberswick, Suffolk, claiming they would ‘wreck’ the ‘remarkable’ area.
The village is popular with celebrities, including actress Keira Knightley, Walking Dead star David Morrissey and radio DJ Simon Mayo.
In a letter to East Suffolk Council, rom-com king Richard and his partner Emma Freud said they were opposed to the campsite in the ‘strongest terms’.
They said that it would ‘destroy the ecosystem and balance’ of the village, adding that ‘we find this plan so worrying’.
The celeb couple fear that if the campsite is built, it would ‘change the nature of the village in the summer months.
‘It would put pressure on services, increase traffic, and upset the natural balance that makes Walberswick function as it does.’
Richard and Emma added: ‘Walberswick works because it’s quiet, natural, and low-key – and because people respect its limits.
Rom-com king Richard Curtis and his partner Emma Freud said they were opposed to the campsite in the ‘strongest terms’
Walberswick in Suffolk is popular with celebrities, including actress Keira Knightley, Walking Dead star David Morrissey and radio DJ Simon Mayo (file photo)
‘This plan risks throwing all of that out. Even if it’s temporary, the impact could be lasting.’
The proposals have been submitted by landowner Sir Charles Blois, who insists that they are only a ‘modest venture’.
The application was lodged with East Suffolk Council in March and was given the go-ahead in November – despite more than 100 objections from villagers.
The local authority said in its approval document: ‘As local planning authority hereby give notice that prior approval is required and hereby granted for the above development proposed in your application and plan(s) attached thereto.
‘This means that the proposal is permitted development and does not require planning permission.’
Walberswick has been a sanctuary for Emma’s family for the past 90 years – with the Freuds owning a house in the village since they fled the Nazis in the 1930s.
They have said, however, that the village is already under siege.
In 2023, Walberswick became a battleground over ‘green energy’ plans to connect offshore power to the national grid via a 50ft-high substation on a 35-acre site.
Emma’s cousin, novelist Esther Freud, whose books include Hideous Kinky, took the charge against the proposals.
Walberswick has been a sanctuary for Emma’s family for the past 90 years – with the Freuds owning a house in the village since they fled the Nazis in the 1930s (file photo)
Emma’s cousin, novelist Esther Freud, whose books include Hideous Kinky, took the charge against the green energy proposals in 2023
She told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden: ‘They will build a haulage access road the width of the M6,’ adding that, by doing so, the power companies will turn Walberswick into an ‘industrial wasteland, destroying the beach, wildlife and ancient ecosystem’.
At Esther’s urging, locals packed into the village hall for a meeting with the power companies.
‘It galvanized the village,’ she said. ‘They were pretty overwhelmed by the sheer power of the village’s outrage.’
Meanwhile, in 2022 Richard and Emma suffered another setback when a devastating blaze ripped through their 18-century home in Walberswick.
The fire took hold of the first and second floors as well as the roof space, requiring 14 fire crews to bring it under control.
The semi-detached house is believed to be where Richard wrote some of his best known films.
The writer is famed for his romantic comedies including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Love Actually.
He is also known for co-creating with Sir Lenny Henry the British charity Comic Relief, and for his TV credits on Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Mr Bean and the Vicar of Dibley.
Richard revealed in December 2020 that he felt ‘amazingly lucky’ to have a home in Walberswick, and spent the first Covid lockdowns there.
He was also believed to own a former fisherman’s shack overlooking the beach and windswept marshland on the outskirts of the village.
The Daily Mail has contacted Richard and Emma’s representatives for comment.