Sprawling £7.5m countryside mansion that caught the eye of Johnny Depp and John Terry is engulfed in bitter planning row over proposal to create 57 homes
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A sprawling £7.5million countryside mansion said to have caught the eye of Johnny Depp and John Terry has become engulfed in a bitter planning row over a proposal to build 57 homes in its place.
Golden Hill mansion in Belbins, Hampshire, nearly tempted the Hollywood and Premier League stars as a potential countryside residence.
Featuring its very own nuclear bunker, secret escape tunnel and 10-car underground garage, the property – built in 2004 – was never completed and has since fallen into disrepair.
Now the derelict 22,000 square foot mansion is at the forefront of a bitter planning row after it was earmarked for demolition.
Developer A&B Homes has proposed to build 57 homes on the 11-acre grounds causing backlash amongst local councillors.
Romsey Town councillor Russell Theron said he was 'really disappointed' by the plans and voiced his concern about its impact on the 'already overcrowded local infrastructure'.
He said: 'Not only due to the unnecessary carbon emissions in demolishing a property that has never even been occupied, but also the vast overdevelopment of the site, which will damage the habitat of local wildlife.'
The 12-bed, 17-bathroom mansion went on the market for £7.5million in 2009 catching the eye of former England and Chelsea captain John Terry who turned it down due to the distance from his club's training ground.
The £7.5million Golden Hill mansion in Belbins, Hampshire, was once eyed up by Johnny Depp and John Terry
An aerial picture of the 22,000 foot mansion on its 11-acre grounds earmarked for demolition
Hollywood star Johnny Depp and former England and Chelsea footballer John Terry were said to have contemplated buying the property
Hollywood star Johnny Depp was also rumoured to have considered buying the property which comes with a two-bedroom staff home, an underground aquarium and a man-made lake.
After failing to find a buyer, A&B Homes was granted permission to convert the existing mansion into ten luxury flats with the plans later being changed to build 57 homes on the site.
Mr Theron said the proposals were yet another example of planners looking to 'gain full advantage of Test Valley’s shortfall on their housing land supply numbers'.
While he welcomes something being done on the derelict site he said: '57 properties in its place are definitely not welcome and not the solution'.
Test Valley Borough councillor Rohit Kohli echoed Mr Theron's concerns that the area is already under development pressure.
'It is another development application at the top of Romsey where there have already been applications in the past,' he said.
'It is already overdeveloped as it is. I’m not happy with it. It is another one of those speculative applications as we don’t have a neighbourhood plan in place.'
Mr Kohli added that planning rule changes made by the Labour Government have put local authorities 'at a real disadvantage to challenge developers'.
The sprawling property features a nuclear bunker, secret escape tunnel and a 10-car underground garage
A Test Vallery Borough Council planning application notice sellotaped to the mansion's gates
He continued: 'I am absolutely not against development, but some of these applications are speculative.'
In their plans, A&B Homes said the 57-home proposal would 'maximise' the development's potential making 'effective' use of the land.
They said: 'The existing dwelling is now over 20 years old, is showing signs of degradation, and has been subject to vandalism in recent years.
'For these reasons, the previous conversion scheme is no longer being pursued. The earlier permission nevertheless confirms that the redevelopment of the existing building into 10 new units was acceptable in principle, albeit using only the floorspace of the existing building.'
The site falls outside of Romsey's settlement boundary but the developer argued that the plans could help meet Test Valley's housing needs.
Test Valley Borough Council is considering the application, with a determination deadline of January 22, 2027.
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