Harry Redknapp has been dealt a blow in his bid to demolish a £1.5million home near the Sandbanks amid a fierce battle with locals.
The former Premier League manager, 78, had lodged an application to rip down the property in Poole, Dorset, and replace it with a five-bedroom mansion.
But his planning proposal for the 1970s detached house on a leafy road in the lavish Branksome Park area has been thwarted for the third time in just two years after it was rejected by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.
The most recent plans asked for permission to build a five bedroom property, each with their own en-suite, a detached garage, a sauna, steam room, and a hot tub.
Submitted by his property firm Pierfront Developments, the application claimed the changes would make ‘a significant improvement to [its] character and appearance’.
The I’m A Celebrity Winner had twice infuriated neighbours before having submitted plans to build two properties on the plot to sell for profit in 2023 and 2024.
Neighbours argued previous plans for the site were ‘overbearing and dominant’ and accused Redknapp of trying to ‘compromise the Conservation Area’s integrity’.
Both applications and appeals were rejected, with his firm going back to the drawing board regarding its plans for the Jacobean-style mansion.
And now the council has concluded the latest proposals would have detrimental harm on the local ‘sylvian’ setting as several trees would need to be felled for the project.
They also determined that the development located in the middle of a conservation area would be ‘too overbearing’.
Dominika Robbins, the BCP planning officer, concluded: ‘The Branksome Park and Chine Gardens Conservation Area (CA) is generally characterised by high quality, predominantly period, detached dwellings nestled in generous, wooded plots.
‘Buildings are subservient to greenery and can often just be glimpsed at from among mature vegetation.
‘The proposed building would be positioned further forward within the plot than the existing one, which would necessitate the removal of greenery, including a number of trees.
‘The proposed removal of trees and resultant loss of short, glimpsed views would upset the balance between the dominance of the natural landscape and the building.
‘It would result in detrimental impact on the sylvan and semi-rural character and appearance of the Branksome Park and Chine Gardens Conservation Area.
‘The harm to the significance of the Conservation Area has not been avoided or minimised, nor has it been clearly and convincingly justified.’
However, the planning officer gave a glimmer of hope for Pierfront Developments’ plans by suggesting they move the proposed property back onto the plot and in line with the existing property.
Pierfront’s planning agent Matt Annen, of Pure Town Planning, had argued that the proposed mansion would be a ‘significant enhancement’ to the current ‘tired’ property.
The development is one of three investments which Harry and Sandra’s company are working on close to their own family home in Poole.
They were given permission for a block of nine apartments and a development at another plot where a building is to be knocked down and replaced with 16 flats.
Harry won I’m a Celebrity in 2018 after he retired from a career playing and then managing at the top level in football, and is now focusing on his property business.
In 2024, Harry breathed a sigh of relief after securing planning permission to build a luxury villa for himself and Sandra in place of a seaside home he had already demolished.
He paid almost £7million for a 60-year-old detached house on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in 2023.
They applied for planning consent to bulldoze the existing property and build a stunning Italianate villa with Palladian-style columns plus four separate balconies with wrought iron railings overlooking Poole Harbour.
But before local council officials could agree to their plans, the couple gave the go-ahead for builders to go in and flatten the old house.
Fortunately, the permission went through and the villa-style property, thought to cost around £12million with four separate balconies and wrought iron railings, is close to completion. However, the dream home caused a stir among locals.
