Fans have been left in the dark by the six-month internet disappearance of YouTube royalty Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes – but it appears the couple has been keeping plenty busy
Fans have been left in the dark by the six-month internet disappearance of YouTube royalty Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes – but it appears the couple has been keeping plenty busy in the real world. As speculation swirls over their digital absence, Alfie has found himself at the centre of a local planning dispute in a quiet West Sussex village over a donkey sanctuary and retrospective construction works.
Zoe, known to millions online as Zoella, and her fiancé Alfie, also known as PointlessBlog, haven’t posted a vlog since Christmas Eve 2025. Zoe’s last Instagram post was a New Year’s Day update, leading to a vacuum of speculation.
But local planning documents reveal that Alfie recently acquired a five-acre plot of land just north of their West Sussex home. He has submitted a planning application to the local council seeking permission to build a tractor parking area, a donkey enclosure and stable, a wildlife pond, and three shepherd huts.
However, the application has ruffled feathers locally because parts of the development – including 2.1-metre-high boundary fencing and new access gates – were installed before planning permission was officially sought.
Residents of the adjacent lane have lodged formal objections, citing major safety hazards over the newly created access point onto their private lane, which is also heavily used as a public bridleway. Locals have expressed concerns that the heavy vehicles needed to care for the donkeys will cause disruption and damage the root systems of mature trees.
The Hurstpierpoint Society also weighed in, criticising the retrospective nature of the work and mourning the clearance of scrub and woodland that previously served as a wildlife corridor. They further branded the three shepherd huts “incongruous” in the rural setting, while other neighbours fear the huts could cause light pollution so close to the South Downs International Dark Sky Reserve.
In correspondence with the council, Alfie’s planning agent clarified that the shepherd huts are strictly not for residential or Airbnb use; instead, they will be used to store beekeeping equipment, land maintenance tools, donkey feed, and to serve as a daytime rest room by the wildlife pond.
Despite the backlash from some, the project has received robust support from several immediate neighbours. Supporters argue the development is a low-impact, sustainable return to the land’s historical agricultural roots – which had recently become overgrown and unsightly—and praise the new wildlife pond as a genuine ecological asset.
Officially, West Sussex County Council’s Highways and Public Rights of Way departments have raised no objections to the plans, noting that the private access does not severely impact the public highway network. Meanwhile, archaeological consultants have requested that a monitoring condition be attached to any approval, as the site sits near a confluence of former Roman roads and has a high potential for significant ancient remains.
While their subscribers eagerly await their return to the screen, it is clear that off-camera, the YouTube stars are fully occupied with their new rural ventures.
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