Harry Redknapp’s new next door neighbours have sparked controversy with their plans to demolish the £6million harbourside house they have just bought.
David and Heidi Nash are planning to tear down the 115-year-old house in the millionaire playground of Sandbanks and build a five-bedroom mansion with a swimming pool.
The Arts and Crafts-style property previously belonged to the family of the late camping tycoon Oswald Bailey.
Council bureaucrats, however, could stand in the way of the development, warning that the house is part of a conservation area.
They warned that knocking down the house, called Cama, would cause ‘substantial harm to the significance of the area’.
A neighbourhood group also raised concerns that the new building would be too close to the water’s edge.
The property, which overlooks Poole Harbour, had been in the Bailey family since 1945 when the businessman paid just £7,000 for it.
David and Heidi Nash plan to replace the Arts and Crafts style property that is in a conservation area in exclusive Sandbanks with a five bedroom mansion and swimming pool
The couple purchased the home (right) next door to Harry and Sandra Redknapp
The millionaire playground of Sandbanks near Poole in Dorset (pictured)
Mr Bailey left it to his son, Frank, in 1949, who lived in the house alongside his wife Lalage until his death in 2005.
The couple fended off repeated offers from property developers for the house, which shot up in value over the years.
Lalage passed away in 2018, leaving the property in the hands of the couple’s four children.
They sold the property to Mr and Mrs Nash earlier this year.
At about the same time, former Premier League manager Mr Redknapp moved into his stunning new Italianate villa next door.
The house, called Cama, is in the Sandbanks Conservation Area and it is believed the local planning authority would be reluctant to lose it.
Margo Teasdale, the conservation officer at BCP Council, described Cama as a ‘very good example of a substantial Arts and Crafts house’ that contributes to the conservation area.
The Sandbanks Neighbourhood Forum has also objected to the Nash’s proposals for a ‘high quality’ mansion.
They said the replacement dwelling looked like a ‘poor pastiche’ of an Arts and Craft style.
They added that the new property would be too big for the plot, too close to the water’s edge and would harm the harbourside views.
They said: ‘If the building is to be lost then this Conservation Area site deserves an exceptional and sensitively designed replacement that respects its surrounding and will enhance the location.’
An artist’s impression of what the couple’s new home could look like (pictured)
Council bureaucrats are keen to keep the existing building as it is a good example of a substantial Arts and Crafts house that contributes to the conservation area
Mrs Nash, 45, is the managing director of Selling Sandbanks, a niche company that helps people find houses to buy in the area through ‘connections and relationships’.
According to LinkedIn, Mr Nash is the CEO of law firm Canford Law.
Their proposals have proved incredibly popular with their new neighbours.
There have been 33 letters written in support of the scheme.
One of those is Tom Glanfield, an entrepreneur who spent over a year battling the council for permission to demolish a 117-year-old bungalow he paid £13million for on a nearby plot.
He said: ‘Living only a couple of doors away from this property, it’s definitely in need of replacing and updating.
‘It’s great to have some neighbours who have the time, resources and energy to do this as this whole side of Sandbanks needs investment like this put into it.’
Another supporter is Paul Pressland, a commercial property developer who sold the former house the Redknapps bought and demolished.
He said: ‘This site, along with a few others, forms part of the gateway to Poole Harbour and… is key to the view from the water.
‘The existing house is compromised and in a poor state of repair. This proposal is not only attractive but sustainable adding to the important aesthetics of the area and bringing back into use a family home.’
The neighbour to the other side of Cama is Ian Penfold, an insurance tycoon.
He has recently bought a large detached older-style house that had been in the same family for years.
Mr Penfold said: ‘As our next-door neighbour and with us being the most likely to be affected by this proposed build, having studied the plans thoroughly, I consider this to be an excellent proposal, sensitive and in keeping with the area.
‘I would strongly urge the planning department to approve this application and further enhance the Sandbanks Peninsula.’
The original estate agent’s information pack for the house from 1948 (pictured)
BCP Council is yet to decide on the planning application.
Mr Redknapp and his wife Sandra are no strangers to development battles themselves.
Earlier this year, BCP Council rejected an application to demolish his £1.5million home and replace it with a five-bedroom mansion.
The plans asked for permission for the Redknapps to build a five-bedroom property, each with their own en suite, a detached garage, a sauna, steam room and a hot tub.
