Owner of £20M war bunker home crowned ‘best in the world’ banned from building luxury swimming pool and hot tub… because locals say it will ruin their GRASS

• There were plans to add a heated swimming pool, hot viewing area, changing rooms, toilets and a plant room 
• Buckinghamshire Council rejected the proposals over concerns how chalk grassland would be affected
• The bunker style home in Hambleden, was deemed the ‘best in the world’ by The Architectural Review in 2015

The owner of a futuristic property once crowned the best in the world has been banned from adding a luxury swimming pool and hot tub after locals complained it could ruin their grass.

Simon Turner also wanted to add a viewing area, changing rooms, toilets and a plant room to the 50 acre plot of the acclaimed Fayland House, worth nearly £20million.

The huge war bunker style home in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire was deemed the ‘home of the year’ by The Architectural Review in 2015 who described it as ‘a radical take on the English country house’.

However, Buckinghamshire Council has now rejected the new proposals because the application ‘failed to demonstrate’ how surrounding chalk grassland would be affected.

Planning chiefs added that the plans could ‘result in a net loss in biodiversity,’ as the modernist three-bedroom home is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Applicant Simon Turner also had plans to add a viewing area, changing rooms, toilets and a plant room to the 50 acre plot of Fayland House

The Buckinghamshire property once crowned ‘home of the year’ has been banned from adding a luxury swimming pool  and hot tub to its growing list of amenities (pictured: planning illustrations of the pool)

The heated pool would have been 128sqm and would sit on a raised viewing area, next to a hot tub.

There was also due to be a plant room for the hot tub equipment, situated below ground level.

Council chiefs rejected the plans because the information provided was said to be ‘insufficiently comprehensive for the Local Planning Authority to properly assess the impact of the development on ecology’.

Mr Turner now must appeal to the Secretary of State in order to get the plans in the current form approved. 

The single-storey ‘asymmetrical’ Fayland House was built in 2013 by multi-millionaire developer Mike Spink and his wife Maria.

The Spinks paid £6.7million for the prime 50-acre plot in the Chilterns in 2008 before knocking down the existing house on the site. 

The huge war bunker style home on Colstrope Lane Hambleden, was deemed the ‘best in the world’ by The Architectural Review in 2015

Described by the judges as having a ‘rigid, rhythmic façade’ and a ‘challenging, uneasy’ design, the single-storey ‘asymmetrical’ property was built in 2013

Some of the biggest names in modern architecture described it as: ‘a radical take on the English country house’, ‘subversive’ and as having a ‘beautiful enfilade’

READ MORE: Millionaire, 45, who spent £13.5m on ‘world’s most expensive bungalow’ in Sandbanks now wants to demolish it as he reveals plans to build an eco-friendly home in its place that will ‘set a benchmark’ for posh neighbourhood

Leading architect David Chipperfield was hired by the couple to design a three-bedroom home with a modern twist.

The house is nestled among rolling hills and surrounded by a wildflower meadow with its own herd of cows.

However, far from a traditional country home, 11 concrete columns hold up the front of the property making it look more like an industrial unit, with a flat roof and oblong-shape. 

However, it was steeped in praise by The Architectural Review House Awards 2015.

Some of the biggest names in modern architecture described it as: ‘a radical take on the English country house’, ‘subversive’ and as having a ‘beautiful enfilade’.

Discussing the property in 2015, Christine Murray, who was editor of The Architectural Review at the time, said: ‘The judges came together to choose from a huge selection of houses from around the world the one they feel is the best from the last five years.

‘The judges set themselves a difficult task: they wanted to find a house that was not just well-designed, but subversive in some way.

‘They found in Chipperfield’s Fayland House a plan that subverted the expectations set up by its rigid, rhythmic façade.

‘The uncomfortable girth of the columns and the way they mediated the landscape was also mentioned.

‘There is accomplished design and perfect detailing here, but also something challenging, uneasy.

‘They also found its restrained opulence interesting, but I think the real enthusiasm was in the courtyards embedded in its asymmetrical plan and that beautiful enfilade.’

Fellow judge, Adam Caruso, added that Fayland House ‘places a very large house in a special landscape without disappearing’.

Adding: ‘The domestic outdoor spaces, which have always been an issue in English country houses, are in courtyards, which is an innovation’. 

The Spinks have since sold Fayland House and live in a farm house next door.

It was last sold in March 2021 for a whopping £19,930,000.

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