- EXCLUSIVE: Foundry worker Glen Elmy, from Walsall, won the property in Combe Martin Bay
- Three days after moving in he handed back the keys due to the coastal erosion
The winner of a luxurious £3million mansion overlooking a sweeping bay left his new home just three days when he discovered the clifftop on which his property had been built was at risk of collapsing into the sea below, MailOnline can reveal.
Foundry worker Glen Elmy, from Walsall, moved into the James Bond-style property in October 2021 and marvelled at the views across Combe Martin Bay on the north Devon coast.
But three days later, after learning of the coastal erosion threatening his property, he handed the keys to Stealth House back to Omaze and is understood to have asked for money equal to the property’s £3million value.
Mr Elmy has never returned to the five-bed property.
According to title deeds held by the Land Registry, Omaze Properties LLC bought Stealth House for £3.8million in June 2021 – four months before Mr Elmy moved in – which suggests Omaze had not transferred legal ownership to the West Midlander.
As a result, Stealth House has stood empty for almost two years and neighbours predict it will have been swallowed up by coastal erosion within five to ten years.
A source told Mailonline said: ‘I met the Mr Elmy when he was here for the publicity. He was apparently planning to stay for a week but left after three days and that was the last we saw of him.
‘The corner of the house goes almost to the cliff edge, it’s about two metres away from the edge.’
It is not clear if Mr Elmy was given a different prize but Omaze’s terms and conditions state they can offer the winner a cash alternative or other prize.
When MailOnline visited earlier this month, imposing metal gates stood at the entrance to the house, where an intercom went unanswered. There was no sign the house was lived in.
A neighbour, who didn’t want to be named, said: ‘I never see anybody going in or out since the win.
‘There is all sorts of speculation that it can’t be insured because of how close it’s been built to the sea and on the cliff edge.
‘There is a problem with coastal erosion all along the coast here. There are signs around the beach warning about falling rocks.
‘It could just be local rumours but the person who originally built the building was told it was too close to the edge and mortgage and insurance might be a problem.
‘When I moved in five years ago it was on the market for £2.5 million but nobody wanted it.
‘When the competition was running we saw cars coming and going, but soon after the winner was announced that stopped and there’s been nothing since.’
In June 2021, as the competition was running, locals voiced similar concerns that the house was built too close to the cliff edge which could be worn away over time, resulting in it potentially being an unsafe structure.
One person wrote on Devon Live’s Facebook page: ‘Very nice sea views but 5 to 10 years it will be in the sea, a lot of money to lose.’
Another wrote: ‘I’m sure it’ll look a lot more interesting in about 20 years when half of it has fallen off the edge of the cliff due to erosion.’
The property, near Ilfracombe, was designed by award-winning architect Guy Greenfield and boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, two living areas and 0.9 acres of land.
It first came onto the market with estate agents Knight Frank in 2018 with a guide price of £2.5million.
It features a modern infinity pool with stunning panoramic views of the ocean and is only 11 miles from the stunning market town, Barnstaple.
Combe Martin Beach is just half a mile away and the popular surfing beaches of Croyde, Putsborough and Woolacombe are close by.
Mr Elmy was visiting his parents’ house when he found out he scooped the main prize in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.
He had spent the last 33 years working at the same foundry in Walsall.
MailOnline has contacted Omaze for coment.
- The property offers sprawling views of the Norfolk coast line and salt marshes
A stunning £4.5 million five-bed house with a four-bed guest cabin nestled in an idyllic spot boasting of coastal views is up for grabs – with the lucky person able to win the property for just £10.
The beautifully designed home, complete with a swimming pool and yoga space, boasts of views of the Blakeney salt marsh and the harbour in Norfolk.
It is the latest property to be listed as part of the Omaze Million Pound House Draw. The property comes mortgage free – with all stamp duty and legal fees covered, with the lucky winner also being handed £100,000 in cash.
If the victor decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate the property could achieve a long term annual rental value of around £60,000.
The dream property has a main house with five-bedrooms, an additional guest cabin with another four-bedrooms and a standalone office. The sprawling home provides plenty of room for entertaining spaces.
The house showcases striking modern architecture that has been meticulously designed to celebrate the nearby coastline, through its use of floor to ceiling feature windows that perfectly frame the coastal views, which can also be admired from several balconies and terraces throughout the property.
The front of the home has a large landscaped decking area that links directly to the heart of the house – the open plan kitchen, living and dining area, complete with sliding glazed doors on each side.
When opened the doors create a seamless continuation of space from the swimming pool courtyard, through the house and onto an outside terrace and dining area that overlooks the North Norfolk coastline.
The lounge, set between the ground and first floor has a large framed view out to the North Sea, while the principal bedroom has twin dressing areas and bathrooms.
The first floor also has three further double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and a balcony.
A wellbeing area provides a steam room, yoga space and gym with ‘Technogym’ equipment including a Treadmill and Weights System accompanied by a Peloton exercise bike – while the cinema room has been built in the ‘Everyman’ mould with acoustic walls, doors and ceiling
The guest cabin – which is attached to the main house – gives friends and family their own private quarters with a further four double bedrooms with en-suite shower rooms and the principal bedroom providing fine views over to the village and prominent village church.
All rooms have direct access to the private and enclosed gardens, with a terraced entertaining area complete with kiln fireplace.
A heated swimming pool, with the south to south-west aspect providing the ideal setting for outside enjoyment.
There is also a raised decking and an outside kitchen area with steps down to paved areas that surround the house.
The property also has a stand-alone studio building – dubbed The Hub – at its southernmost point. This can be accessed through landscaped gardens of nepeta and tall grasses, with a wildlife pond, which leads to glazed doors into an open plan area, perfect for use as an office space.
With a sitting area, meeting area and desk space, this is the ideal work from home setup, complete with a kitchen, shower room and a further room that can be used for storage.
An expanse of lawn sweeps away from the house, with wildflower areas, tall grasses and clipped hedging providing horticultural form all year round. Within the grounds is a kitchen garden, ornamental pond and easily maintained private gardens.
The house is situated close to Blakeney – a quintessential coastal village, with pretty flint cottages lining narrow streets leading down to the charming quay.
The village has excellent pubs including The White Horse and Kings Arms, a thriving delicatessen, art galleries, The Moorings fish restaurant, the renowned Blakeney Hotel and the convenience of a village store.
The picturesque market town of Holt, just over four miles away, is renowned for its boutique shopping, Byford’s delicatessen, good restaurants, pubs and further specialist and everyday shopping.
There are also banking and transport facilities within the town and a host of schools nearby.
As well as making its Grand Prize winner a multi-millionaire – the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Norfolk – will support the RNLI – raising crucial funds to help the charity continue its lifesaving work.
The RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews provide a 24-hour rescue service in the UK and Ireland, and their seasonal lifeguards look after people on busy beaches.
All of the training, kit and equipment RNLI’s lifesavers need is funded by generous donations. It’s with the support of the public that the charity continues to save lives at sea.
Omaze has guaranteed a minimum donation of £100,000 and has a target of at least £1,000,000.
The draw has been launched by BAFTA winning actress, wild swimmer and RNLI Ambassador, Joanna Scanlan, whose sister-in-law is a volunteer Deputy Launch Authority at RNLI Beaumaris on Anglesey, which means she is responsible for requesting the launch of their lifeboat.
Joanna said: ‘This fabulous house in Norfolk is a truly life changing prize for one lucky winner – but more importantly, the money and awareness raised through this innovative partnership with Omaze will help the RNLI continue its lifesaving work.
‘The RNLI has saved over 142,700 lives at sea since 1824 – and everyone who enters will be contributing towards the crucial training and equipment their lifesavers need to help people who find themselves in trouble in the water – and of course one lucky person is guaranteed to win this dream home too.’
James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze, said: ‘We’re delighted to be partnering with the RNLI for our latest house draw in Norfolk. By offering this stunning property, along with £100,000 in cash, we’re giving people the chance to live mortgage and rent free for the rest of their life – as well as raising money for charities whilst introducing them to brand new audiences.
‘We’re incredibly proud that the Omaze community has already raised £15,400,000 for good causes across the UK.’
In addition to winning the Grand Prize house – people who enter by midnight on Sunday August 13 will be in with the chance to win an additional life changing £250,000 in cash.
Draw entries for the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Norfolk are available now at www.omaze.co.uk. The draw closes on Bank Holiday Monday August 28 for online entries and Wednesday August 30 for postal entries.
For full terms and conditions, see www.omaze.co.uk. No purchase necessary to enter. Over 18s and UK residents only.
CARY, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina state government will develop a rule requiring van, bus and commercial truck manufacturers to sell more zero-emission vehicles in the state over the next decade, Gov. Roy Cooper said on Tuesday.
Signing an executive order at the North American headquarters of electrical equipment company ABB, Cooper said the proposed rule and other activities he directed would help cut pollution from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and promote charging and fueling infrastructure needed.
“North Carolina is already a national hub for truck and bus manufacturing and supply chain development, and we should not miss the opportunity to lead the market-driven transition already underway to cleaner and increasingly cheaper zero-emission technologies that benefit our economy and our communities,” Cooper said in a news release.
The anchor of Tuesday’s order tells the Department of Environmental Quality to propose the Advanced Clean Trucks Program to the Environmental Management Commission by next May. The commission then would have to sign off on any proposal to make it enforceable.
Six other states have adopted such a program including California, New York and Massachusetts, Cooper’s office said.
Cooper’s office said the program would apply to what’s called medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, whose gross vehicle weight rating is at least 8,500 pounds (3,856 kilograms), such as delivery vans, garbage trucks, school buses and semi-tractors. It said zero-emission vehicles can include hybrid plug-in vehicles that do have internal combustion engines.
The required sales shares of zero-emission vehicles by manufacturers under the program would increase over time from 10-13% in 2026 to 40-75% in 2035, depending on vehicle sizes, the governor’s office said.
The vehicles targeted for replacement in the program compose just over 3% of registered vehicles in North Carolina, but they emit 26% of smog-forming nitrous oxide emissions. according to Cooper’s office.
The order comes several months after the Democratic governor unveiled another series of clean-vehicle initiatives, such as directing his Department of Transportation to create a “Clean Transportation Plan” to reduce carbon emissions.
There are now more than 125 medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission models available in North America, Cooper’s office said. Federal laws in 2021 and 2022 include grants and loan programs to support manufacturing as well as some tax credits to replace commercial gas or diesel vehicles that offer up to $40,000 per vehicle.
Environmental groups praised Cooper’s action, which also tells his Cabinet agencies to develop strategies to improve health outcomes for communities disproportionately affected by air pollution caused by vehicles.
Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are more likely to be near transportation corridors and freight hubs, according to Cooper’s office.
“Implementing this executive order will protect our children’s health as well as the climate,” North Carolina Conservation Network Executive Director Brian Buzby said in a separate release. “Replacing diesel with electric trucks over time will massively reduce air pollution exposures for both urban and rural North Carolinians living near roads.” Several other groups wrote Cooper in August urging the clean trucks program be adopted.
Any final Environmental Management Commission rule would be subject to additional scrutiny by a state rules panel. It’s also possible that the General Assembly could formally vote to block any rule.
In a tweet, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said that while the executive action was being reviewed, “I can’t help but think that now is not the time for expansive, burdensome new mandates for our trucking industry while inflation and supply chain issues continue to crush NC families.”
Cooper joined a multistate memorandum of understanding in 2020 that would seek to increase sales shares of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.