James Corden's blow to plans to move back to abandoned UK £8million home

24 January 2023 , 17:20

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James Corden's blow to plans to move back to abandoned UK £8million home

James Corden 's big return to the United Kingdom isn't going swimmingly for the star and his family.

The Late Late Show presenter, 44, had planned to build a pool at his £8million Berkshire mansion, but the star's dreams of his home boasting an outdoor pool, a sauna and a steam room have been dashed thanks to a planning row.

Ahead of James bidding farewell to America in the summer of this year, the TV star's huge mansion is set to be knocked down and rebuilt - with the Gavin & Stacey co-creator previously hoping to add a few new lavish additions to his English property.

But Wokingham District Council put a stop to some plans earlier this month, when a planning meeting resulted in James only being given permission to go ahead with his plans if he removed the leisure facilities from the proposal.

James Corden and his family are rebuilding their English mansion ahead of returning home later this year (AFP via Getty Images)

James, his wife Julia Carey and their three children will return to the UK later this year, when the actor's stint at the host of The Late, Late Show comes to an end in a few months time.

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The couple's original application to their local council to develop their property reportedly included plans to build a new indoor 11.5m long swimming pool, yoga studio, gym, and bathroom - which would have opened onto a terrace and outdoor 20m long swimming pool.

But English Heritage opposed the planned pool house - arguing it would be too close to the historic collection of 45 vertical granite megalithic stones on the grounds.

A view of the huge property set to be knocked down and rebuilt (GC Images)

Planning official Simon Taylor is now believed to have recommended a revisited application from James.

"Following discussions with the applicant's agent, it has been agreed that these aspects of the scheme be deleted from the current application to allow the application to proceed to Planning Committee for determination," he said in his report, according to The Sun.

"It is possible that the pool house and outdoor swimming pool will come forward in a future planning application to be considered at that time."

He went on to state how the planned pool house in the Corden family home was first reduced in size before being taken out of the proposals all together.

James will host his final edition of The Late Late Show this summer (CBS via Getty Images)

The Mirror has approached representatives for James for comment on this story.

Earlier this month, James discussed why he made the decision to walk away from his high-profile job in America ahead of his big return to England.

"Look it’s not easy in any way to walk away from something that is so... I mean I’ll never work in a better environment than the one I work in now. Nothing about leaving the show was to do with not enjoying it," he told Drew Barrymore when appearing on her show.

"I love it, but the truth is it became a very easy decision because I always knew it was an adventure and I never ever considered it to be the final destination."

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James is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and their three young children (AFP via Getty Images)

The dad-of-three added: "I was filming on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about 6am and my son, who was 10 at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, 'Are you working today?'

"And I said, 'I am,' and he said, 'I thought, well it’s Sunday,' and I said, 'I know buddy but this schedule’s just all over the place. We just got to get it done because we only have a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show,' and his face just kind of dropped."

"So, really the choice was to go, 'Well if I really want to do this other work, that cannot be at the expense of our children, our family,' and that is really all it comes down to."

James was announced as The Late, Late Show's new host on September 8, 2014, succeeding Craig Ferguson. He fronted his first show in March the following year and announced his plans to step down from the role in April 2022.

Zoe Delaney