Simon Halabi’s Buckingham Securities has fought off further legal opposition to its plans to convert the listed Mentmore Towers into a luxury six-star hotel.
The Court of Appeal has rejected an application by Buckinghamshire resident Jonathan Davey for permission to continue his challenge to the 45,000 sq ft scheme, which involves building a three-storey extension and detached staff quarters.
In March, the High Court held that Aylesbury Vale council had been “unimpeachable” in considering the benefits of carrying out the £42m redevelopment, which will enable restoration of the dilapidated heritage building in Mentmore, near Leighton Buzzard.
Today, two appeal judges upheld that decision, ruling that the council had been “entitled to take the approach that it did” to the issue of enabling development.
Lord Justice Pill said: “In my judgment, the planning officer’s report was a sufficient document. There is no real possibility that the decision would have been different had other matters been considered.”
Mentmore Towers was built in 1856 for banker Baron Meyer Amschel de Rothschild. The Halabi family trust purchased it from previous owners, the Maharishi Foundation, in 1999 and plan to turn it into a 101-suite hotel.
Davey v Aylesbury Vale District Council and another Court of Appeal (Pill LJ and
Sir Christopher Staughton) 20 October 2005.
References: EGi News 20/10/05
