Sandbanks Yacht Club's Luxury Restaurant Plan Sparks Millionaire Backlash
Plans to establish a luxury restaurant and bar at the Sandbanks Yacht Club are encountering significant opposition from affluent local residents. Wealthy neighbours have launched a fierce campaign against Spencer Whitworth, the owner of Sandbanks Yacht Company, accusing him of attempting to introduce a disruptive "nightclub atmosphere" to the exclusive millionaires' enclave.
Licensing Application Controversy
The businessman has submitted a new alcohol licence application that includes provisions for a storage area, which could subsequently be transformed into a members' lounge. Residents along the prestigious "millionaires' row" in Poole, Dorset, where average property prices exceed £1.2 million, contend this represents an underhanded effort to effectively double the restaurant's capacity. They argue this expansion would create substantial disturbance for those living in close proximity.
Local opponents maintain the tranquil location is entirely unsuitable for what they describe as a "town centre" style bar operation. They emphasise the original planning permission only authorised a modest cafe facility intended primarily for boat owners using the yacht club.
History of Planning Disputes
This represents the latest chapter in an ongoing saga involving Mr Whitworth's attempts to expand the yacht company's operations. Last year, residents successfully engaged legal representation to challenge proposals for a fifteen-flat residential block alongside the large-scale restaurant development. Their efforts resulted in a Judicial Review that overturned the local council's decision to grant change of use permission.
A crucial condition attached to previous planning approvals stipulates that the boatyard must remain the predominant commercial activity on the site, with all other operations being strictly "ancillary" to this primary function. Local residents allege Mr Whitworth, a chartered surveyor and director of Sandbanks Yacht Company, has employed various strategies to circumvent these planning restrictions.
Residents Voice Their Concerns
Bill Soper, who resides opposite the yacht club, detailed persistent problems with patrons creating noise disturbances in residential streets after closing time. He further described issues with taxis idling and sounding horns while collecting departing customers. According to Mr Soper, the yacht club management has failed to adequately disperse customers when they leave, and council responses to reported disturbances have been insufficient.
When residents have attempted to address these issues directly, they have reportedly faced threats from intoxicated individuals. Mr Soper also revealed that official public notices regarding the new licence application were removed, potentially preventing residents from submitting formal objections within the required timeframe.
"A large full-scale bar and restaurant would never have been permitted in this residential area," Mr Soper stated. "This facility was only approved as an ancillary boatyard cafe and restaurant, primarily intended for boating members. Previous applications for standalone large restaurants in this location have been refused by the council despite various initiatives by the applicant to circumvent planning policies, sometimes using inaccurate information."
Health and Wellbeing Impacts
Resident Natasha Lewis has formally objected to the licence application, citing significant mental health concerns for nearby residents. "The premises are located in the heart of a residential area," she explained. "Granting this licence will cause unacceptable disruption to the lives of people living close by. The current arrangements already generate anxiety and sleep interruptions for nearby residents."
Ms Lewis emphasised that the proposed restaurant and bar would negatively impact both families and elderly residents, creating what she described as an "unacceptable nuisance." She has already registered complaints about what she terms "unbearable" noise levels emanating from the existing operations.
Company's Response and Previous Controversies
The yacht club seeks permission to sell alcohol for both on and off-premises consumption daily from 7am until 11pm. Lawyer Philip Day, representing the yacht company, responded: "The existing premises licence, which was granted without objection many years ago, authorises longer operating hours than are currently utilised by the operator. The current application requests precisely the same hours and licensable activities as the existing licence. If approved, this application will not impose a 'night club atmosphere' on residents."
Mr Day further challenged the allegations of nuisance, particularly regarding music noise, stating they are "neither supported by any evidence nor substantiated by the responsible authorities." The application will be considered by the licensing sub-committee this Wednesday.
This controversy follows previous backlash against Mr Whitworth in November, when wealthy residents opposed his application to construct a two-bedroom bungalow on one of the few remaining open spaces on the exclusive peninsula. If approved, this property would directly adjoin the boundaries of two luxury detached homes.
Broader Development Concerns
Concerned locals have warned that building over "every available square inch" remaining on Sandbanks risks transforming the prestigious neighbourhood into what some have compared to Benidorm or even Manhattan. They have accused Mr Whitworth of attempting to "shoe-horn" a residential property into an unusually small triangular plot.
Professor Norman Noah, an eminent epidemiologist whose property would be closest to the proposed bungalow, expressed serious concerns: "The proposed building will back almost onto our back garden, with the proposed access route for cars directly behind our garden fence. It seems utterly incongruous to construct any house, even a bungalow, on what is possibly the last remaining area of green site land left on Sandbanks. There are so few areas of untouched land remaining here."
Professor Noah continued: "Sandbanks is already completely overburdened with building development. It will begin to resemble a miniature Manhattan, albeit without the skyscrapers - though Manhattan at least benefits from Central Park, which provides greenery and trees. This proposed construction represents clear overdevelopment of a completely unsuitable small remaining parcel of land situated amidst existing blocks of flats and houses. This is not appropriate land for building, and it certainly will not contribute meaningfully to addressing the country's housing challenges."
