Neighbour blocks conversion on grounds it would look ‘too suburban’ next to his manor
A MILLIONAIRE designer has blocked his neighbours’ property conversion plans after he told a court it was “too suburban” to be next to his mansion.
Glenn Kinnersley, an interior designer who has worked for Fortnum & Mason, and his wife Donna fell out with Paul and Angela Dixon over plans to convert a barn into two buildings.
Mr and Mrs Kinnersley argued that the work would spoil the stately image of their Georgian £3million country home in the North Downs of Kent.
Mr Kinnersley, 60, has now won a fight to block the development after taking the case to the Court of Appeal.
The couple expressed their “disappointment with the suburban design, the extensive glazing and the non-traditional flat roof ” to councillors.
However, Maidstone borough council granted permission and the High Court agreed with the decision.
But Mr Kinnersley’s ruling this week overturned the council’s decision in January 2021 after he claimed the authority ignored the impact that their neighbours’ new house would have on the prized “heritage asset” of their home. Mr Kinnersley runs an international interior design business and has done work for Fortnum & Mason.
He and his wife bought 18th century Hollingbourne House for £1.6million in 2005, transforming it into a sprawling family home, dominating a crest of the North Downs.
The mansion, which came with eight acres of land and “vast cellars,” was the seat of a family of prominent landowners, the Duppas, and was designed by the architect Charles Beazley as a “grand neo-classical residence”.
But the couple’s contentment was shattered when they learnt of their neighbours’ “suburban” plans.
Complaining during the planning process, Mr and Mrs Kinnersley said they had a “fundamental concern about the design of the scheme” – which involved demolishing part of the barn to erect a “replacement structure”.
The Dixons also wanted to demolish a garden wall that their neighbours say is historic.
“These features are out of keeping with the prevailing character of the site and will detract from the agricultural character of the building and from the overall aesthetic of the estate,” the letter of objection added.
The Dixons said they did their utmost to accord their design with both the environment and the historical profile.
Lord Justice Lewis said the core issue came down to whether the build could be allowed to go ahead if the whole of the site genuinely has a high “environmental value”.
He ruled that the council failed to properly consider this question. The case will go back before the council.