1 week Ago By Ethan Singh
FUMING residents who live in a "heavenly seaside paradise" fear the picturesque home will be wiped out by "huge glass blobs". Locals living in Studland, Dorset, are worried that their community will be destroyed by sweeping changes. 8 A millionaire has upset his new neighbours with plans to demolish his £2.
2m home and replace it with a ‘Sandbanks-style eyesore’ Credit: BNPS 8 Residents on the exclusive road have been left disgruntled Credit: BNPS 8 The picturesque Studland Bay Credit: BNPS 8 Huge glass-style houses on the Glebe Estate have raised concerns Credit: BNPS One homeowner, Tony Edmonds says that Studland is "one of the most beautiful places to be". But like many, the former reverend now fears its beauty could soon be obliterated by “huge glass blobs" many have likened to those seen on Grand Designs. Mr Edmonds lives in the road where wealthy businessman Justin Priestley plans to demolish a £2.
2 million home, to build an ultra-modern ‘Sandbanks style’ home. The former vicar’s home is a 1920s Arts and Crafts house, once owned by the daughter of Lady Elphinstone, a lady in waiting to Queen Victoria . Read More in Money SHOP SHUT Popular jewellery chain launches huge closing down sale as it prepares to shut SWEET DEAL Shoppers race to a major discount store as 100 lollies are slashed to just 10p Mr Edmonds exclusively told The Sun: “These big modern monstrosities are a trend at the moment and builders like them because they are basically just great big blocks that you slot into place, like the ones on Grand Designs.
“I don’t know why anyone wants to live in them. All that glass means you have no privacy; anyone can see you scratching your backside.” The Studland of today is already a far cry from what it was hailed at the turn of the century.
It was described as having a “few thatch-roofed cottages dotted about in a wild garden of brambles, ferns, and gorse". Most read in Money SHAKE UP Sainsbury's to make major change in all Scottish stores SELL OUT Ebay makes ANOTHER change to postage policy following seller backlash CASH IN The exact detail to spot on a rare coin that could be worth a million HOUSING HORROR We only have £250 a month left after bills due to a shared-ownership hell Mr Edmonds continued: “Many Studland homes have incredible history but how many of them will go the same way as the one in this road? “I have no idea why Dorset Council are allowing these places to be built apart from the fact money talks. We are all mystified and you always have the feeling there are dark secrets.
“Friends up the road were doing a modest change to the back of their house and they had a terrible time getting permission." North Berwick: A Town in Tourism Turmoil Snapping his fingers he adds: “Then this one goes through just like that!” “People have said it will open the floodgates for more, but I fear we have lost the war already; you only have to take a drive round Studland to see that.” The Glebe estate less than five minutes away was once a pretty hillside enclave of cottages and bungalows that boasted panoramic views.
Those views have now largely been destroyed by the erection of huge contemporary homes. One is even being advertised as a holiday let costing £3,000 a week in July. Mr Edmonds says he fears for its future if the ‘Sandbanks trend” continued: “Homes like mine have survived for nearly a hundred years but the sea air corrodes metal.
“What are these metal and glass boxes going to look like in ten years?” “What angers me is most are second homes. People spend maybe six weeks of the year in a house that has such a massive impact on everything around them. “Planners say they are eco-efficient etc but what about the impact on the wildlife with the light pollution at night thanks to all that glass.
8 Residents have bemoaned the proposed design and changes to the neighbourhood Credit: BNPS 8 A village shop in Studland Credit: BNPS 8 Studland village is known for its quaint nature Credit: BNPS 8 Homeowner Tony Edmonds is one of a group of unhappy residents Credit: BNPS “And the roads are another concern. The one here and at The Glebe are just tracks really which are destroyed by heavy construction vehicles.” In Sandbanks a coastal home easily fetches £15 million, in Studland a similar home with sea views is available for between £2 and £4 million.
It is easy to see why Mr Edmonds fears more Sandbanks homes being built saying: “This is a wonderfully wild place with space, which Sandbanks isn’t and it’s much cheaper to buy land here.” Studland includes Studland Bay where Coldplay filmed the video for their single ‘Yellow.’ Dorset Council recently announced a 100 per cent council tax on second homes and developments of two to nine houses cannot be sold as one.
But many residents say they fear Studland is already a mini-Sandbanks with worse to come. COMMUNITY 'DESTROYED' On The Glebe estate, one man told how his mother had left her tiny cottage heartbroken by what had become of the once peaceful hamlet. Sweeping his hand towards a wooden clad modern house across the road he said: “From here it looks like a gigantic shed.
In front it is all glass and balconies – but mum’s view was what looked like the back of a warehouse. “It used to be all pretty cottages and bungalows here and everyone knew each other. But homes started getting brought up, demolished and these monstrosities built.
“The worst thing is that most are holiday homes, so empty most of the time. “Mum felt the community had been destroyed here. She was so sad.
” Another resident of The Glebe said: “Studland is definitely turning into Sandbanks. You only have to look round here to see that.” Studland parish council has done its best to stop the beauty of the area being destroyed.
It objected strongly to Mr Priestley’s application but was overruled by Dorset Council. Chairman of the parish council Nick Boulter believes “well over 50 per cent” of Studland’s houses are now second homes. A survey by environmental campaigning group Planet Purbeck found most residents were angry about second homes with one saying: “Purbeck is home to many who have lived, respected and worked here, not just a second homeowners’ Nature Park.
” Read more on the Scottish Sun TRAGIC LOSS Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre dies by suicide after troubling posts SHOTS FIRED Snooker star hits back at Stephen Hendry's legacy claims ahead of world champs The group recently appointed Oscar winning actor Mike Rylance, a “dedicated environmentalist “who lives on the Isle of Purbeck, as its patron. Studland was gifted to the National Trust by the Bankes estate in 1981 and residents believe that the Sandbanks house invasion has now changed everything for the worse. My life was 'completely ruined' by Grand Designs-style super home By Antonella Lazzeri A distraught pensioner says her retirement dream has been “completely shattered” by a millionaire’s plans to build a Grand Designs-style “glass monstrosity” next door.
She lives in a tiny country road in Studland, Dorset, which boasts stunning views of heathland and Studland Bay where most of the houses date back 100 years. The woman said: “It is just the most beautiful peaceful place on earth. "Absolute heaven, we were so looking forward to spending the end of our days there.
It has been our dream for 30 years.” But she now fears her retirement will turn into “complete hell” after the owner won approval to tear down his £2.2 million detached house nearby and turn it into a modern glass fronted home similar to ones in millionaire’s paradise Sandbanks across the water.
The woman said: “It is absolutely heartbreaking. We bought the house three decades ago and always planned to retire there. "We used it as a holiday home and my daughter has lived there for the last eight years but has just moved out so we could relocate to it permanently.
“We were so looking forward to retiring there but now that plan has been completely shattered. “We will be living..
.[near] to a building site for years. It just won’t be the same place it is now.
” Other neighbours are also concerned it will bring “Sandbanks to Studland”. One neighbour says they fear others will follow in the homeowner's footsteps, saying: “It is very hard to buy a home in Sandbanks now and Studland is just a five-minute ferry ride away. “Homes here are quite traditional in character but now the planners have let his home be built it might open the floodgates to more Sandbanks style homes being put up in Studland which will be just awful.
” Other people living in the road say they fear the new home could impact the environment. One woman said: “At the moment we see all sorts of wildlife because there is a heath right in front of us. “But with huge trucks trundling up and down and noisy building work going on, I fear it will drive creatures away.
“I realise things have to change but I think what he is planning to create is awful, homes here are traditional, cottage style. “He must have realised that when he viewed the house he brought, so why then decided to build something so out of character? “A huge glass palace that will just look completely wrong here.”.
