Boohoo owners in battle for mansion gates

THE billionaire owners of Boohoo, the online fashion retailer, have been accused of putting up “visually obtrusive” gates at their £2.8 million mansion without planning permission.

Cheshire East Council granted permission in 2016 for Mahmud and Aisha Kamani to replace the entrance to the Grade II listed Georgian manor. Original designs show a modest entrance with two pillars, timber gates and a simple stone wall.

But authorities have said that the gates installed bear little resemblance to that, featuring an extra two pillars, iron railings and an even higher wall.

The Kamani family has had to submit a fresh application for planning permission in a bid to get the design of the gates retrospectively approved.

The gates’ ostentatious appearance has provoked rancour among their neighbours.

Officials from the Mottram St Andrew Parish Council said: “The proposed development, by reason of its size, siting and design, would form a visually obtrusive feature which would detract from the rural character and appearance of the area within which it is located.”

Mr and Mrs Kamani bought Mill Hall from Ashley Ward, a former footballer, and his wife Dawn in 2014.

The 18th-century farmhouse, which was renovated by the Wards to include a leisure wing with gym and swimming pool, lies near the River Bollin in the “Golden Triangle” formed by Wilmslow, Prestbury and Alderley Edge, 15 miles away from Boohoo’s main office in Manchester.