GALLERY: Infamous ‘Cobo Alice’ house goes up for sale for millions

Friday 26 November 2021

A stunning but controversial house on the Cobo Coast Road - which includes the iconic 'Cobo Alice' field - is for sale for £5.95million.

In 2018, owners Paul Annegarn and Simona Casella defeated multiple objections to secure planners' permission to demolish a much smaller house and build 'Oceano' with panoramic views over Cobo Bay.

The then President of the Development & Planning Authority, Deputy John Gollop, later said it was a mistake to leave the planning application to officials and that it should have gone to an open planning meeting.

The house is on the market with Savills. In addition to the views over the Cobo coastline, it has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a stainless steel swimming pool, quadruple garage and health suite with gym and sauna.

It is up for sale after the owners relocated to The Bahamas.

Pictured: HERE you can find details of the £5.95m. property on Savills' website.

You can see photos of the inside and outside of the property by clicking on the arrows next to the picture under this article.

The owners sparked controversy when they put a wall around an iconic field on the coastal side of the property and denied public access to it. It was known as the 'Cobo Alice' field after the name of a decorative boat which sat in the field. Cobo Alice is the name of a doll traditionally linked with the area.

In 2016, Castel deputies, led by Richard Graham and Chris Green, attempted to protect the 'Cobo Alice' field against development. Initially, they thought they had been successful when they persuaded the States to amend the Island Development Plan. But officials at the Development & Planning Authority did not agree and allowed the field to be changed as part of the development of 'Oceano'. 

The development was then criticised for its size, including by some deputies. In 2019, under a photograph of the house in development, Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen commented that "the Island Development Plan seems to work better for some than others" and then Deputy Chris Green wrote that he was "very disappointed - I thought we'd protected the 'Cobo Alice' field from the threat of development".

Wow.. seriously!? How? This is massive. I understand now why the Cobo Alice field was needed .. such a large dwelling needs a very large garden! IDP seems to works better for some than others pic.twitter.com/Mf2TwoX27f

— Andrea D-O (@PourchetRouge) April 11, 2019

Pictured: The development of 'Oceano' attracted considerable public interest and the attention of some deputies. 

Picture credit: Savills Guernsey.