A meat mogul millionaire has a brewing beef with his new neighbours over his plans to demolish a bungalow and build a £15million ‘superhome’ on Sandbanks.
Hilton Foods Group co-founder, Philip Heffer, shelled out £3.6million for a 1950s style property on the exclusive part of Dorset known as ‘millionaire’s playground’.
More recently, he was given the green light to demolish the run-down Dorset bungalow and replace it with a multi-million super home, which would boast five balconies.
Bungalows were traditionally known as a single storey home, but in recent years it has become increasingly common to add a second floor.
By the end of construction, the four storey beachfront mansion would be worth an estimated £15million, but his plans have struck a sour note among locals.
Among those who have been left feeling off-key about the proposal is piano teacher and neighbour Vivien Shiplee as she believed the balconies will peer into her holiday home.
The 68-year-old is concerned the ‘superhome’ will not only look straight down into her front and back garden, but that the flat-roofed property will cast her home in a shadow.
But she isn’t the only one to voice her worries, as the Sandbanks Neighbourhood Forum also believe Mr Heffer’s home poses a threat to locals privacy as it ‘will significantly increase the overlooking to the adjacent houses’ rear gardens’.
The forum also questioned the meat mogul’s intentions with the flat roof in their statement, saying: ‘It is worth mentioning that there is no roof plan to control what is placed upon the roof, its use and what may protrude upon the skyline.’
Other mansions on Banks Road in the exclusive stretch of Dorset prime real estate have luxury observation rooms and sun terraces to take in the stunning views.
The property is on the ‘panhandle’ of Sandbanks and will look out on Poole Harbour on one side and the sea on the other.
The narrow strip of land has also been identified as a major flood risk in years to come, with experts predicting rising sea levels.
Up until now planning officials at Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council have backed Mr Heffer’s plans, despite complaints about privacy and over development. They say such concerns come with the territory of living on Sandbanks.
Planning officer Claire Moir said the size and design of the new mansion are no different to others that have been built in recent years.
She added the ‘inevitable overlooking’ from balconies was now commonplace due to the ‘pattern of development’ and was something Sandbanks residents had to accept.
Although Mr Heffer was granted planning permission and building work now is underway, he has gone back to the council seeking to amend the scheme and make the whole building slightly taller.
has approached Mr Heffer for comment.
Mr Heffer comes from a dynasty of meat barons, with his father Robin having founded wholesalers Romford Wholesale Meats.
But he has since stepped back from his role as chief executive of the pre-packed high quality meat supplier after revenues rose to £3.85billion last year.
Last year, his meat firm were planning to expand further after profits jumped by nearly two thirds.
The food packaging company, which supplies major supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose, reported bumper pre-tax profits growth of 64.2 percent to £ 48.6 million in 2023.
Its UK seafood arm returned to operating profitability thanks to price hikes and new business contracts after being heavily impacted the year before.
However he is not the only millionaire in the area with planning application woes, as another rich hopeful was deal a devastating blow last May.
Tom Glanfield, 46, bought the rundown house in an exclusive area of Dorset known as ‘Millionaire’s Row’ in March 2023.
He had dreams of knocking the cottage down and building a state-of-the-art eco-home, but had been hit with resistance ever since.
And now, despite locals writing in 28 letters of support for the plans, councillors are being recommended to turn down the 46-year-old’s plans on ‘conservation grounds’.
Planning officer Babatunde Aregbesola is set to tell members at Bournemouth and Poole Council on Thursday: ‘The proposal by reason of the demolition of the existing cottage would result in the total loss of the non-designated heritage asset causing significant harm to the Sandbanks Conservation Area.
‘Consequently, losing a positive building within the Sandbanks CA to a single dwelling of an unsympathetic design is not considered a heritage or public benefit which could outweigh the harm to the significance of the Conservation Area.’
The matter was referred to the committee due to the high amount of public support.
Elsewhere on ‘Millionaire’s Row’, residents on the exclusive Sandbanks resort emerged victorious after plans for a four-story ‘monstrosity’ AirBnB was rejected.
Fears were raised that it would be snapped up by AirBnB hosts cashing in on demand for rowdy stag and hen parties in the upmarket resort.
It came with plans to double the size of a restaurant on site which councillors were warned would transform the pretty street into a ‘commercialised strip mall’.
The committee voted unanimously to refuse the plans over concerns about the size, bulk and mass of the proposed four-story building, fears of flood risks and concerns about the restaurant element of the plans.