A DISTRAUGHT pensioner says her retirement dream has been “completely shattered” by a millionaire’s plans to build a Grand Designs-style “glass monstrosity” next door.
She lives in a tiny country road in Studland, Dorset, which boasts stunning views of heathland and Studland Bay where most of the houses date back 100 years.
The woman said: “It is just the most beautiful peaceful place on earth.
“Absolute heaven, we were so looking forward to spending the end of our days there. It has been our dream for 30 years.”
But she now fears her retirement will turn into “complete hell” after the owner won approval to tear down his £2.2 million detached house nearby and turn it into a modern glass fronted home similar to ones in millionaire’s paradise Sandbanks across the water.
The woman said: “It is absolutely heartbreaking. We bought the house three decades ago and always planned to retire there.
“We used it as a holiday home and my daughter has lived there for the last eight years but has just moved out so we could relocate to it permanently.
“We were so looking forward to retiring there but now that plan has been completely shattered.
“We will be living…[near] to a building site for years. It just won’t be the same place it is now.”
Other neighbours are also concerned it will bring “Sandbanks to Studland”.
Sandbanks is one of the most expensive places in the world to live and is popular with multi-millionaires and footballing celebrities like Harry and Jamie Redknapp.
Liam Gallagher used to have a home there. But residents living near Mr Priestley say Studland is a “world away” from Sandbanks.
One said: “Most of the houses here are 100 years old and a lot a handed down through families. They stay almost as they always were which creates a really unique environment…
“It’s like stepping back in time here, idyllic.
“Houses in this road have small windows as they did in those days so at night there is hardly any light pollution, so the stars are really bright, and it is just so peaceful.
“But his house is a glass monstrosity which is going to have huge windows so his lights will be bright in the evenings.”
One neighbour says they fear others will follow in the homeowner’s footsteps, saying: “It is very hard to buy a home in Sandbanks now and Studland is just a five-minute ferry ride away.
“Homes here are quite traditional in character but now the planners have let his home be built it might open the floodgates to more Sandbanks style homes being put up in Studland which will be just awful.”
Other people living in the road say they fear the new home could impact the environment.
One woman said: “At the moment we see all sorts of wildlife because there is a heath right in front of us.
“But with huge trucks trundling up and down and noisy building work going on, I fear it will drive creatures away.
“I realise things have to change but I think what he is planning to create is awful, homes here are traditional, cottage style.
“He must have realised that when he viewed the house he brought, so why then decided to build something so out of character?
“A huge glass palace that will just look completely wrong here.”
Dorset council approved the owner’s plans for a three-storey house with open plan living area on the ground floor along with a first-floor lounge with balcony.
Vesp Architects, who drew up the plans for the home say the new “negative carbon, zero emission property will replace a poor quality, inefficient house”.
They added it will be “high quality design will enhance the character of the area and provide a functional home for years to come”.
The Sun has approached Dorset Council for comment.
