Owner of home with 25ft shark is banned from renting it out on Airbnb
- The fibreglass nice white determine was in-built 1986 by then proprietor Bill Heine
- Oxford council chiefs say it will possibly now not be rented out attributable to a planning concern
- The iconic home had been out there to hire on Airbnb for £1,000 an evening
The proprietor of a home with a 25ft shark protruding of the roof has been banned from renting it out on Airbnb as a result of he does not have planning permission from his native council.
Council chiefs in Oxford have ordered Magnus Hanson-Heine to cease renting out the property – identified worldwide because the ‘Headington Shark House’ – as a short-term vacation let.
They have stated he failed to use for planning permission to alter using the terraced dwelling from a everlasting to a short lived residence.
The iconic home – which has protected heritage standing – has been out there to hire on Airbnb for a number of years. A single nights keep can value over £1,000 throughout peak durations.
It grew to become some of the well-known and photographed properties in Oxford after Magnus’s father Bill had the ‘Jaws’ like shark crashing into the roof erected as a protest towards warfare and bombing.
Council chiefs in Oxford have ordered Magnus Hanson-Heine to cease renting out the property – identified worldwide because the ‘Headington Shark House’ – as a short-term vacation let
The shark constructed from fibre glass and metal was constructed by sculptor John Buckley and erected in 1986
Made from fibre glass and metal and constructed by sculptor John Buckley, it was erected in 1986 on the anniversary of the atom bomb being dropped on the Japanese metropolis of Nagasaki.
A six-year planning battle adopted which solely ended when the then Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine made a private go to to the home and gave permission for the construction to remain.
Last yr it was added to the Oxford Heritage Asset Register as a website of curiosity – regardless of Magnus’ objection attributable to his father initially putting in the shark in protest of planning legal guidelines.
The Shark House has been rented out for the final 5 years however in Oxford City Council started an investigation for breach of planning legal guidelines.
He was advised to take the property of Airbnb this month however has since appealed to the National Planning Inspectorate and plans to remain open till his enchantment is heard in six months.
Magnus stated: ‘I plan to struggle this, and it appears so arbitrary that they’ve chosen me. There are others in Oxford who’re utilizing their properties at weekends as an Airbnb. The home has been concerned in a planning dispute earlier than with the council and this may very well be a vendetta.
‘The home has been used as an Airbnb and marketed on different platforms for 5 years. Why now do they need to shut it down?
‘The Shark House permits guests to the realm to step inside a novel piece of Oxford’s historical past and closure as an Airbnb would symbolize a big loss to Oxford’s distinctive tourism choices.’
The Headington Shark has develop into a minor vacationer attraction in Oxford over time
He added that the legal guidelines over owners utilizing their properties as quick time period lets have to be clarified and up to date as they got here into power earlier than the existence of Airbnb.
Magnus, who inherited the home after his father died in 2019 aged 74, stated it’s rented out most weekends.
On Airbnb it has attracted rave evaluations from friends with a 4.86 score. The home can sleep as much as 10 folks and in April a two-night keep would value over £2,000. The common value is £300 an evening.
The most up-to-date overview from a visitor referred to as Rick from London gave the home a 5-star score.
He wrote: ‘I’d extremely advocate this place for a bunch of associates or a household visiting Oxford. Not solely is that this place a landmark, however a really snug and personal home. It is spacious and had plenty of native facilities, transport, and issues advocate issues to do round Oxford.’
Councillor Linda Smith, Oxford City Council’s cupboard member for housing stated :’Where properties have modified from being residential properties to turning into quick let companies with out planning approval, we do take enforcement motion.
‘We reside in a single the least inexpensive locations for housing within the UK. There are almost 800 properties let loose totally as quick allows Oxford and we’d like these for folks to reside in and never as vacation lodging.’
The councillor made the remark after the council started its investigation into the shark home.
Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing, Oxford City Council, stated:
‘Oxford is one the least inexpensive locations for housing within the UK. There are almost 800 properties let loose totally as quick allows Oxford and we’d like these for folks to reside in and never as vacation lodging. The uncontrolled rise within the variety of quick lets deprives our metropolis of much-needed properties and might trigger distress in quiet neighbourhoods.
‘The shark home will not be in a location we contemplate appropriate for brief lets, which is why we’ve beforehand refused an software for change of use, and why we are actually taking planning enforcement motion towards the property.
‘We look to take enforcement motion towards quick lets we’re made conscious of with out the required planning permission, together with after we obtain studies of delinquent behaviour and nuisance from a brief let property. We urge all short-let landlords to return ahead and apply for planning permission for change of use to regularise using their property.’
