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Kate Bush and the war of Wuthering Heights
Last updated at 21:37pm on 05.05.07
Private: After years at the top, Kate now stays out of the limelight
She is renowned for her almost obsessive desire for privacy. But the latest attempts by Kate Bush to deter curious fans from peering at her seaside retreat have landed her in hot water.
High-security fencing, electronic entry systems, warning signs and blinding spotlights around the mansion on a remote Devon clifftop have all been described as intrusive and unnecessary by local residents.
But now the local council has received formal complaints about the singer's installation of CCTV cameras that spy on people using a secluded beach below her £2.5million property in the picturesque South Hams peninsula.
Chairman David Hampden-Smith confirmed that the matter was already on the agenda for discussion at the parish council's next meeting on Tuesday.
Local people are also concerned that Ms Bush plans to divert two public footpaths that provide views of her 17-acre property.
They insist that the singer must have known when she bought it in 2004 that the coastal footpath ran alongside the house and that there was another public right of way across her land to one of the most beautiful beaches in the region.
The beach is guarded by two tiny islands that are part of the estate.
It has a boathouse with a large sign telling members of the public it is private and they should respect its beauty and tranquillity.
On top of the boathouse are the security cameras, which constantly scour the foreshore for intruders.
The Devon hideaway, which The Mail on Sunday has decided not to name, is believed to have provided the inspiration for much of Kate's most recent album Aerial - released in November 2005 - which has endless coastal references to sunsets, sunrises, boats and birds.
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Remote: Kate Bush's Devon home with the boathouse
But many local people and regular visitors believe her modern security apparatus detracts from the stunning natural land and seascapes.
One neighbour said: "I just don't think there's any need for it out here. It makes us feel like we're all some sort of threat ."
Parish clerk Roger Tucker refused to comment but another council source revealed that Kate had received unwanted visitors.
The source said: "She's had people going right into the grounds to try to see her and at one stage there was a helicopter circling overhead for quite a while."
However, another local said: "She's gone over the top with all the security. Apparently the cameras are all connected up to her main home so she can still watch what's happening down here."
Land surrounding the property has been cleared and there are persistent rumours about Kate's desire to have the coast path moved, although there has been no official application.
The neighbour explained: "The path to the beach used to run down the side of her house but there was a landslip and it was diverted via the next headland.
"She's since had the original path re-cut for her own use and we've heard she might be trying to get it closed to the public now because four solid fence posts have been driven into the side of the hill across the bottom of the path as it reaches the beach.
"But she can't do that. It's a right of way and she knew that when she bought the place."
One councillor said: "I'm afraid the coast path and the beach were there long before Kate Bush and I'm fairly confident they'll still be in the same place with the same unhindered access long after she's gone."
Other celebrities with homes in the area include former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward, ex-BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond and fellow pop singer Damon Albarn, Blur frontman.
Kate, 48, is married to guitarist Danny McIntosh and the couple have an eight-year-old son, Bertie.
Their other home is a mansion on an island in the middle of the River Thames near Reading, Berkshire. It, too, is screened by iron gates, high walls and cameras.
Kate burst on to the music scene as a 19-year-old in 1978 with a unique presentational style and wailing voice on Wuthering Heights which spent four weeks at No1.
But the ensuing fame took its toll and she has increasingly withdrawn from the spotlight.
A spokesman for Kate Bush refused to comment about the cameras.
Reader views (10)
Over the top?
"If I only could be running down that hill with no problems"
Thank You for showing me where to find that hill.
I'm the man with the ladder, I might be welcome.
- Michael Hubertz, Berlin, Germany
respect her privacy,leave the woman be.
- Bramm, lancs
Having met kate many years ago when in a thames side pub with david gilmour (yes the same) and sensed a young virile songstress ready to burst onto the scene, i didn't respond hence still single lots of could have been and know rendering my comments to confirm that everyone has a right to do what is required to make them happy, Love is a metaphor, never forget that..............
- Stephen J Arnold, St Mawes
My family & I have been Kate followers since she began, and although to meet her would be incredible, I also totally relate to her wish for privacy, I too moved to Devon to begin a new life 5 years ago and I now understand why she chose this incredible county too, the coastline in particular feeds the soul and helps a person make important decisions away from peer & other pressures, lets just hope she remains happy in Glorious Devon and produces more incomparable works for years to come. My first home in Yorkshire was a moorland cottage I named "The Dreaming" my second became "The Dreaming Two" and now my Devon home is simply "Lionheart" named after my daughters amazing courage and love she has blessed me with. I have always used lines & verses from Kates lyrics in my cards to family & friends, besides them being thought provoking and often powerful, they can be healing at times, certainly unique, and hopefully a gentle nudge for folk to listen to her work.
- Martin Duce, Ilfracombe Devon UK
Well, since beginning she has showed us she didn't want to be like Madonna but Garbo, so let's respect her privacy. She paid millions for the house, leave the woman alone. Love u Kate!
- Thander Easton, Sao Paulo, Brazil
That´s why she never wanted to be famous or to be an object of public interest. She always wanted the press and media to be focussed on her work, not on her as a human being. But that doesn´t really work.
I as a Kate Bush fan (since 82) must confess, I´m also curious about her private live (Shame on me! ), but I never would step on her ground or something else. That´s pathological, not Kates reaction to those negative spin-offs!
- Olli, Kiel, Germany
A sign of a true artist, the obsessive desire for privacy is just a healthy in touch intention with the deeper wells of ones being. Like Herman Hesse stated the only thing left to listen to in one's life is one's blood, when all the illusions of life finally set in. If one wanted to keep contact with what's real in ones creative psyche.
I just discovered the real breadth of her music just four months ago and gradually. I had to do a double take on some of the pieces, I couldn't believe they were that good. Especially from these commercial areas. The double takes have turned into ten takes, twenty takes, fifty takes and onwards, so far.
- Harry Horton, Pittsboro N.C. U.S.A.
I completely understand her obsessive desire for privacy, they try to make her sound like a criminal in this article! I think removing the path would be going to far, but I think there is no problem if someone famous wants to protect herself and her son - people are just trying to make a fuss.
- Alice, Winchester, UK
I agree with you there Dave. I think Kate has the right to protect her family, especially now she has a little boy.
- Michelle, Scotland
Good for her! Tony Martin's experience shows the police are unwilling or unable to protect remote homes.
- Dave, Cornwall
