Nestled in the sought-after area of Sandbanks in Dorset is what’s been dubbed “the world’s most expensive bungalow”. However, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur has just won a battle against planners to demolish the property. Tom Glanfield, 46, plans to knock the Edwarnian one-storey house down and replace it with a modern eco-home.
The businessman bought the bungalow in March 2023 for £13.5million, with the hope of using the land to construct a new family home. However, his planning application was initially rejected due to the “significant harm” it could cause to the Sandbanks Conservation Area. Mr Glanfield challenged the outcome which led to a lengthy two-year battle, and on Thursday, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council finally granted the entrepreneur permission to build his new vision.
This comes after Mr Glanfield consistently argued that the bungalow he purchased was “no longer fit for purpose”. He also made it clear that he was “not a property developer”, therefore the project was not being flipped for profit.
“I am very much a family man who is trying to make a family home. I will probably die in that home,” the 46-year-old said during a meeting with planners, the Telegraph reports.
“I care deeply about the environment. I have a renewable energy recruitment firm that I built from scratch. The house’s current state also isn’t good. I don’t allow my kids down to the harbour wall because it is dangerous.”
The bungalow-owner added that his proposal would further “improve the environment” and he has “got the time, energy, and money to make this something you can all be proud of”.
One supportive council member said in the latest meeting that the current bungalow is “not particularly special, charming or dynamic”.
He continued: “But what is being proposed is a special, ecologically designed property that is going to enhance the area and make a huge difference to what the conservation area looks like.”
The currency property would be replaced with a two-storey building featuring renewable power and a desalination facility – a plant which removes salt and minerals from seawater – as well as a full overhaul of the sea wall.
The local Sandbanks community overwhelmingly supported the family-man’s proposals, with 38 letters of support sent to the council.
