Millionaire s island summerhouse hopes dashed

Millionaire s island summerhouse hopes dashed

» 2nd December 2009 «

While building a summer house at the bottom of the garden can be relatively easy to achieve, one millionaire's plans to construct one on a private island appear to have been dashed.

Edward Iliffe has seen his proposal to build a summerhouse on Green Island in Poole Harbour rejected, despite having no objections from locals or conservationists, the Telegraph revealed.

He paid £2.5 million for the island - which is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest - and had intended to build a six-bed octagonal cedar log cabin to act as a summer house for his three children.

The plans would have seen the eco-friendly three-storey building replace an existing structure and be hidden from view by trees, but the local authority felt it was too large for such a small island.

Mr Iliffe is now considering selling 20-acre Green Island if his appeal is turned down.

"I was a bit surprised when the council refused permission and I thought afterwards 'how on earth did you arrive at that conclusion?'," he told the newspaper.

In other news, BBC News has revealed that a "mini tornado" hit Reading last week, ripping the roof off one resident's summer house.