A STARBUCKS millionaire could be forced to dig up his swimming pool, tennis court and bar at his £800,000 mansion in a bitter council row.
Mark Hepburn has been embroiled in a bitter planning dispute after officials ordered him to demolish the luxuries at his six-bedroom pad in Durley, near Southampton.
The business mogul slammed the council enforcement order and claimed the previous owners had used the three-acre countryside estate in the same way.
But Winchester City Council have refused the dad-of-three’s application to officially convert the land to residential use.
This means his home gym, TV room and children’s play area are at risk of being ripped out.
And, his neighbours have jumped on the bandwagon with complaints about “increased urbanisation”.
Mr Hepburn, who owned the Starbucks franchise 23.5 Degrees with 110 UK branches, bought the sprawling mansion in 2017.
At an inquiry, he said: “It is semi-rural, the house wasn’t the nicest house but it had an extensive garden and with a young family that is important, we spent more time viewing the garden and the house.
“[They were] using the land how we would use it.”
When they moved in, the family bought some alpacas which they kept on their land.
But because they were classed as pets, not for commercial use, he was ordered by the council to apply for a document that would show the land was in residential use not agricultural.
He said: “[My wife] always wanted them as a child, she loves them.
“Our dream was to own alpacas, they eat the grass and they are inquisitive, they come up and approach you.”
Mr Hepburn agreed to make the application in May 2023, however it was refused.
Officials denied it because they didn’t believe the land had been used as a garden for ten or more years.
The former Starbucks millionaire argued he had evidence that showed the field being used for this purpose since 1988.
Despite having his application denied, he went ahead and built tennis courts, a bar and gym – which are in wooden huts – without planning permission.
He told the inquiry he thought he already had the right to build them.
NEIGHBOURS WEIGH IN
Disgruntled neighbours David Bushby and Dawn Castell also spoke at the inquiry.
In a statement they said: “Furthermore [Mr Hepburn] has continued with the land mainly to pasture having only recently fenced off a large area of the land to keep alpacas and up until recently pigs and installed a large animal shelter.
“We had not queried the installation of the children’s play area on the agricultural land.
“In conclusion we consider that this request for a lawful development certificate to amend this land from agricultural use to residential at this time does not appear warranted given the fact that it has recently been redeveloped into formal pasture land.
“Furthermore we consider there maybe a risk of increased development or urbanisation of this countryside area which is not included within local authority plans if this were to be agreed.”
Fellow local Mark Day, who has lived in the village for 40 years added: “I clearly remember as I had many visits to my Grand parents and remember the large market garden at the rear of the property and the large industrial green houses.
“It has always been used for horticultural use, grazing use and for a short time fallow and I strongly believe it should remain so for the foreseeable future.”
The inquiry continues.
