Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton has won a long-running battle over a controversial development outside a listed building in Cheltenham, just weeks before the town stages its world-famous racing festival.
The chief executive and co-founder of the global fashion brand had been the target of critics in Cheltenham for refusing to remove 16 tired-looking white marquees outside his boutique hotel and restaurant, called No 131.
Council bosses said they spoilt the look of three grade II* listed buildings in the town’s upmarket Promenade area, while some members of the public said they should go because they looked like ‘tatty tents’.
But rather than simply remove them, Mr Dunkerton submitted plans to create a brand new covered outside dining area, a proposal opposed by some locals.
The 59-year-old is not only the co-founder and chief executive of Superdry but also the director of the Lucky Onion Group, the company behind No 131.
Mr Dunkerton has now won his battle to create the new dining space at the site after Cheltenham Borough Council last night granted planning permission for a white metal pergola to be installed.
It rejected a similar plan for a glazed structure with decorative black ironwork.
It comes with just over three weeks to go before tens of thousands of racing fans will descend on Cheltenham for the annual four-day festival.
Speaking at the council’s planning meeting, Mr Dunkerton said racegoers flocked to No 131 during the prestigious event.
He said: ‘It is doing something unique that is talked about around the world. When people come to Cheltenham, that’s where they go. When March comes along, every race event, they’re there.’
He urged the council’s planning committee to allow him to go ahead with the development, which he said would improve the hotel and enable it to keep trading.
He added that the tough economic climate meant it faced closure, with the loss of 100 jobs, if it continued to lose money as it had been.
Mr Dunkerton insisted that he had not restored what had been an empty property to make money but because he loved Cheltenham and its architecturally splendid buildings.
He described himself as an ‘oddball’, spending huge sums of money on the town to improve it and help people to enjoy its hospitality.
He said he had spent £50 million in Cheltenham, where he has also revamped the George Hotel and expanded his Dunkertons Organic Cider site.
He claimed that he and his wife, fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper, employed 1,000 people in Cheltenham.
But Cheltenham Civic Society, which aims to conserve the architectural and historical features of the spa town, previously described the tents as ‘tatty’ and objected to the new dining area.
The society’s chairman Andrew Booton said: ‘The tents obscure the view of three of Cheltenham’s finest Grade II* listed buildings and we now think they are affecting the town’s reputation and overall attraction.’
The highly visible structures were supposed to be temporary, having been allowed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have stayed put ever since.
The public gallery in the council chamber erupted with cheers and applause after councillors went against their planning officers’ recommendation to refuse both applications and instead gave the go-ahead to one of them.
Members heard there were objections from organisations such as Cheltenham Civic Society and Historic England but also that more than 2,000 people had signed a petition supporting Mr Dunkerton’s plans.
There were also mixed views online – one person commenting on No 131’s Instagram post about the proposals said: ‘Absolutely on board with this. You’re a huge asset to the town.
‘Cheltenham needs to move forward and develop. It’s being done with great consideration to heritage.’
But another expressed anger at the continuing presence of the marquees, though called the potential new look ‘much better than the teepees that have partially blocked the elegant Regency buildings behind’.
They added: ‘Should have been done a long time ago but well done.’
A financial report by Superdry in January showed a 23.5 per cent revenue decline to £219million in the six months leading up to November, with losses widening to £25million – raising concerns about potential administration.
In response, Mr Dunkerton initiated a rescue plan involving rent reductions for underperforming stores, an equity raise of up to £10million, and the company’s delisting from the London Stock Exchange in July this year.