Millionaire Starbucks boss ordered to tear down tennis court and gym in planning row

Millionaire Starbucks boss ordered to tear down tennis court and gym in planning row Mark Hepburn’s developments had an ‘unacceptable effect on the rural character’ of the area - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A wealthy Starbucks entrepreneur has been ordered to tear down his home gym and dig up his tennis court after losing an appeal in a planning row. Mark Hepburn, who until recently owned a multimillion-pound firm, failed in his bid to have the field behind his six-bedroom country house recognised as garden space. The 54-year-old businessman claimed that the three-acre rural plot had been used as a garden by its former owners, maintaining that he and his family were simply doing the same. However, a planning inspector supported the council’s initial decision to reject his application to officially convert the site to mixed residential and agricultural use. Mr Hepburn appealed against the refusal, but the challenge was rejected after his developments were deemed to have an "unacceptable effect on the rural character". As a result, all structures on the site, with the exception of his railway carriage, must now be cleared. Planning inspector Robert Hitchcock concluded that there was "insufficient evidence" to justify the requested change of use. The bright blue tennis court, home gym, bar, TV room and children's play area will all be removed after local residents raised concerns over "increased urbanisation". Details of Mr Hepburn's case emerged at a planning inquiry in Winchester, Hampshire, during his failed appeal against the city council's decision. Until October 2024, the father of three owned the successful Starbucks franchise 23.5 Degrees, which operates 110 locations of the popular coffee chain across the UK. He bought the house in the quiet village of Durley, near Southampton, for £740,000 in December 2017 and planned additional work to the house and garden. In evidence submitted to the inquiry, Mr Hepburn said that when the previous owners had shown him around the property, it was the "extensive garden" that appealed the most. He said they told him how they had used it to walk their dogs and installed rope swings on the tree for their children. At the inquiry in January 2025, Mr Hepburn said: "It is semi-rural, the house wasn't the nicest house but it had an extensive garden and with a young family that is important, we spent more time viewing the garden than the house. "[They were] using the land how we would use it." After his family moved in, Mr Hepburn said they fulfilled a dream of his wife's by buying a herd of alpacas, which lived on the land at the back of the home. However, because they were pets rather than for commercial use, in 2021 he was asked by the council to apply for a lawful development certificate, stating that the land was in residential use not agricultural. "I got an email from the council, they had a problem with the alpacas because they were pets," he said. "They said I had to make an application to change the use. "[My wife] always wanted them as a child, she loves them. "Our dream was to own alpacas, they eat the grass and they are inquisitive, they come up and approach you." He made the application in May 2023 and in July it was refused by Winchester City Council. The planning inquiry heard that the lawful development certificate was denied because the council did not believe the field had been used as a garden continuously for ten or more years, the threshold for certification. To support the application Mr Hepburn had submitted statutory declarations from him and the previous owner stating that the field had been used as a garden, stretching back as far as 1988. After the certificate was refused Mr Hepburn built the bar and gym in late 2023 and the tennis courts in 2024. The bar and gym, comprising a weight machine, boxing and two elliptical machines, are housed in two timber huts with a TV room also part of the complex. He told the inquiry he did not seek planning permission for these developments as he thought they were allowed under permitted development rights. Dismissing the appeal, Mr Hitchcock said there was "contrary evidence" to show the site had been used agriculturally in recent years. Inspector M P Howell has now reviewed Mr Hepburn's appeal and dismissed every aspect of it, except for allowing the railway carriage to stay. Mr Howell said: "I conclude that the appellant has demonstrated that the railway carriage is immune from enforcement action as operational development and that its removal cannot be required. "The character of the land has therefore changed from that of a largely undeveloped medium sized field parcel to one where a residential use forms a significant component. "In my judgement, that change erodes the rural character of the predominantly undeveloped field and diminishes the relationship between the surrounding countryside and the established residential development. "It also introduces a greater degree of domestic activity, lighting and residential paraphernalia into an area which presently contributes to the relatively tranquil rural setting. "This change to the character and appearance of the site gives rise to an unacceptable effect on the rural character of the area, conflicting with the prevailing landscape character and causing the identified harm." Councillor Jackie Porter, of Winchester City Council, said: ”It’s reassuring that the inspector’s decision supports our position and confirms that our enforcement action was right and justified. "Planning enforcement plays an important role in protecting our district to ensure that development is appropriate for Winchester and follows proper planning process. “I’d like to thank our enforcement team for working on this case for a number of years. Now we’ll continue to work with the landowner to ensure the necessary action takes place within the timescale set by the Inspector.” In 2025, neighbours hit out at Mr Hepburn for "doing what he wanted" and trying to "cash in" on the land. Richard Callaway said that the "constant" work was the "biggest reason" why he was looking to move away from the area. David Bushby a retired bank manager, said: "He has got a huge amount of experience in planning, when he was building all the Starbucks he talks with planners all across the country, but in his comments he was saying he thought he was allowed."