A MILLIONAIRE couple is set to knock down their £5million Victorian mansion after their plan to replace it with a Grand Designs-style newbuild was approved, council docs have revealed.
Euan and Harriet O'Sullivan want to replace the "enchanting" 1900s mansion with a modern six-bedroom brick and flint home.
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The Victorian Society, campaigning to preserve historic 19th-Century buildings, has slammed the couple's plan to rebuild.
Despite this, the works are set to go ahead with thewealthypair employing McLean Quinlan Architects - the masterminds behind several homes on Channel 4's Grand Designs show - to build their new home.
The six-bedroom mansion, Apuldram House, sits on the water at Dell Quay in Chichester.
The O'Sullivans bought the late Victorian house for just under £5million in 2020.
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Once the new build is complete the property is expected to be valued at around £7million.
The society slammed the plans as "extremely disappointing" and urged the O'Sullivans to build on an empty plot of land rather than "wastefully razing" historic property.
A spokesperson from the Victorian Society told The Sun: "By the Council's own assessment Apuldram House was recognised as a building of architectural and historical importance.
"This, and the fact it is in a Conservation Area means that the Council should have been justified to refuse the application for demolition.
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"Their decision to grant permission in this case is confusing and weakens our confidence in Chichester District Council to make the right decisions concerning historic buildings."
LOCAL FURY
One local, David Moore, called for the house to be refurbished instead.
He added: "Apuldram House is well suited to its surroundings and could be preserved and refurbished with considerably less environmental impact than that caused by demolition and rebuilding."
Others claimed the demolition was "not culturally or environmentally justifiable".
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Harriet revealed the family just want to "built a home for our young family which is responsive to our needs, as well as the unique and beautiful setting of the plot".
Her husband told The Times: "The Victorian Society originally objected to our application on January 31, 2023.
"They applied to Historic England to have the house listed but Historic England rejected the application at initial assessment on April 5, 2023, stating, ‘Apuldram House does not possess the necessary architectural or historical interest necessary for listing’.”
The property was built in the early 1900s and is considered a "non-designated heritage asset".
This means that it doesn't meet the requirements to have planning protection.
We simply want to build a home for our young family which is responsive to our needs, as well as the unique and beautiful setting of the plot
Harriet O’SullivanHomeowner
The O'Sullivans' architects said the couple originally planned to refurbish but decided to demolish and rebuild to utilise the site's energy performance.
The pair's application was approved by planning bosses at Chichester District Council by six votes to four after they learned that "harmful" alteration made to the original design meant its appearance was now "detrimental" to the conservation area.
However, The Society campaigning against the plans refutes this argument and claims the "house existed before the designation of the conservation area".
Council leader Adrian Moss said the new build would be "much more in keeping with the harbour and would be less intrusive in the landscape".
Grand Designs-favourite Mclean Quinlan Architects has been responsible for several modern mansions
One of its properties, Devon Passivhaus was shortlisted for RIBA's House of the Year award.
Mclean Quinlan Architects managed to transform what was once a place for prized cattle into an incredibly high architectural house.
It features ultra-modern floor-to-ceiling windows with a block-style interior.
The Sun has contacted Chichester District Council for comment.
It comes after an unsold underground reservoir that nearly featured on the hit series Grand Designs is set for a major transformation.
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And shocking photos of a mansion dubbed the "saddest ever" Grand Designs home show disastrous cracks that have condemned the property to a cut-price deal
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