Multimillionaire instructed he can’t raze his £8.8million waterfront mansion to the bottom and rebuild it to have the tallest home on the road after planning objections
A multimillionaire has been brought down to size – after learning his mansion must remain the second tallest on his waterfront street.
John Yeoman, 70, had applied to raze to the ground the luxury £8.8million three-storey home he shares with his wife Deborah, despite it being only 20 years old, and replace it with a five-storey giant.
Doing so would have meant it reached higher than the four-storey house immediately next door that has recently been built by company director Jeremy Gardner, despite objections from the Yeomans.
But according to the big new plans of the Yeomans, having their house the tallest would have ‘reasserted the hierarchy’ of the properties on a seaside ‘millionaire’s row’ overlooking Poole Harbour, Dorset, and next to famously pricey Sandbanks.
When Mr Gardner took against the scheme, the Yeomans’ agent accused their neighbour of trying to torpedo their lofty plans by ‘orchestrating an unashamed campaign of misinformation’, something he denies.
Local residents submitted 46 letters of objection to their planning application.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has now sided with the nay-sayers by refusing the scheme permission.
The authority says the new house – said to be 16 times the size of the average British home – would be significantly taller than its neighbour and have an ‘unacceptable and harmful effect on the road’s appearance.
John Yeoman has lost a battle to demolish his £8.8million waterfront mansion and replace it wit a five-storey mansion
Pictured: The new plans for the Yeomans’ home (left), which would have stood taller than neighbour Jeremy Gardner’s house (right)
In his report, planning officer Babatunde Aregbesola noted that most houses nearby were two or three storeys high and that the proposed property would look ‘noticeably out of character in the street scene’.
The property would also present a ‘greater bulk of built form’ and erode the ‘sense of spaciousness the site currently offers’.
Mr Aregbesola said: ‘[The Yeomans’ house] currently appears subordinate in height and massing in comparison with its neighbours. As such, it fits in well amongst the row of broadly similarly proportioned properties.
‘The proposal would cover a sizable footprint, and comprise of a five-storey building.
‘It would no longer appear subordinate to its neighbours but rather would appear significantly taller.
‘Rather than simply reasserting the hierarchy of built form, it would be at odds with the prevailing character of the area.’
The Yeomans declined to comment on the refusal or say whether they intended to appeal the decision.
They bought their property in 2001 for £1.7million.
The couple, whose two children went to the private £30,000 a year Clayesmore School, promptly demolished that traditional house on the plot and replaced it with a home boasting a swimming pool.
But in 2015 company director and consultant Jeremy Gardner bought a modest detached house next door for £2.8million – and got permission to tear it down and replace it with an ultra-modern four-storey mansion. He did so two years ago.
That upset the Yeomans, who despite having demolished and replaced their own home, had objected to the plans saying the new home would dwarf theirs and ‘ruin the skyline’ of the street.
They subsequently initially tried to get approval for a six-storey home, which was refused by the council, with the decision upheld by a planning inspector when the Yeomans appealed.
The Yeomans (pictured) bought their property in 2001 for £1.7million, before they demolished it and built their current home
Mr Gardener secured planning permission to knock the property down and replace it with an ultra-modern, four-storey mansion. Mr Gardner’s new, bigger home was completed two years ago
The couple then submitted revised plans for the five-storey house which have now been rejected.
Their new dream house would have featured a new indoor pool, a sauna and steam room, a classic car garage, a home cinema, a boat storage room and a bar, in addition to five family bedrooms, two guest rooms, sea-view balconies on every floor, and a lift.
Mr Gardner had complained saying the new house should have been just four storeys. Making it shorter than his.
The waterfront has views of Brownsea Island, where the first scout camp was staged by Lord Baden Powell. Exclusive peninsula Sandbanks is a few minutes away, with local residents including football manager Harry Redknapp, currently building a £12million Italianate villa.
