DEN DESTROYED
Dragons’ Den star Rachel Elnaugh’s bizarre £1million commune is torn down after furious neighbours complained
The mum-of-five claimed she was running a “safe haven” with the group Phoenix Rose
A DRAGONS' Den star has had her bizarre £1million commune torn down after she clashed with furious locals.
Rachel Elnaugh used investors' money to buy land in Cressbrook Dale, Derbyshire to build a hideaway for conspiracy nuts without any planning permission.
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The mum-of-five claimed she was running a “safe haven” with the group Phoenix Rose using a plot of ancient woodland in the Peak District to host “shamanic rituals”.
The group began by building a car park and erecting a teepee without permission from the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA).
They were served with an enforcement notice last month and after refusing to tear down the structures park officials carried out the works last week.
The authority then slapped Phoenix Rose with the £5,300 demolition charge.
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The enforcement notice said the development “failed to respect or enhance the character of their surroundings and have a significant harmful effect on the character and appearance of the landscape”.
Furious residents had been complaining to the authority - with Cressbrook resident John Butler leading the group.
He said: “All we ask is that they respect the protections on this special part of the Peak District and adhere to the law,” he said.
“These protections were fought for by ordinary people and because those people fought for them we now have National Parks which are for everyone.”
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Another local, Annie Sanderson, 66, described the project as a "disaster".
She told last year: "We were given no consultation, we just started seeing videos being posted by this group about a food apocalypse."
Elnaugh is famous for founding the UK gift company Red Letter Days.
She was one of the investors participating in the first two series of BBC Two's TV show Dragons' Den but she sold the company in August 2005 after it went into administration.
In 2020 she was labeled a Covid zealot when she posted a tweet saying Chris Whitty "will hang" for recommending Covid jabs for children.
Over the weekend she slammed PDNPA chief executive Phil Mulligan as a “fascist and totalitarian” - saying she would not rest “until his head is on a platter”.
The Sun has contacted Elnaugh for comment.
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