Barnet mansion on Green Belt turned down

The plan, which was recommended for approval by planning officers, would have seen the demolition of an existing house at Folly Farm on Burtonhole Lane and the erection of a two-storey home with a basement.

A tennis court, basketball enclosure and outdoor swimming pool would have been removed and a new pool created in a different location.

At a meeting of the Chipping Barnet Area Planning Committee on Tuesday (April 24), the applicant’s agent claimed the “high-quality design” would involve the use of “timber cladding and brown earth” to ensure it blended in with the environment.

This led one councillor present to dub it a “Grand Designs-style” building.

While the proposed structure would have been slightly larger, the increase in size was within planning guidelines and limited to the basement of the property.

It would be set back from the site’s boundary to make it less visible from a nearby footpath, while soft landscaping would take the place of the tennis court, basketball court and current swimming pool.

Planning officers deemed it an “appropriate development in the Green Belt”.

But the council received five letters objecting to the proposal, claiming it would be out of character and an inappropriate development in the Green Belt that would have an impact on rural views.

The Mill Hill Preservation Society also raised concerns over harm to the Green Belt and overdevelopment.

At the planning committee, objections were raised that the plans involved building on Green Belt land and would not improve the area – even though the “1970s” style of the current property was not an ideal fit.

The Planning Committee’s decision was split, with three votes in favour and three against.

This meant the casting vote went to the committee’s vice chairman, Wendy Prentice, who refused the application on the grounds that it was an out of character development on the Green Belt that would not improve the area.