A ROW has erupted over proposals to build a mansion and moat in Burley.

Retired businessman Trevor Adams has angered locals by drawing up proposals to bulldoze farm buildings and replace them with an eight-bedroom mansion surrounded by a dry moat.

Mr Adams, 73, was managing director of the housebuilder Pennyfarthing Estates, now Pennyfarthing Homes.

The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has confirmed it received about 60 letters of objection after his multi-million-pound proposal was submitted.

Robert Cordery, of Burley Lawn, Burley, wrote: “This is a preposterous application which goes against the looks and values of the New Forest. We do not want Buckingham Palace in Burley.”

Anthony Hodges, also of Burley Lawn, added: “To remove farm buildings and replace them with a three-storey mansion goes against all the principles of the New Forest.”

The NPA rejected the application but Mr Adams has lodged an appeal in a move that is set to spark another wave of objections.

The architect, Yeovil-based Robin Bryer, was commissioned to design a classical-style building for the Staffordshire estate of the Earl of Litchfield. But the project was scrapped after the photographer died in 2005.

Now a similar mansion will be built at Forest Road in Burley if the NPA’s decision is quashed by a government-appointed planning inspector.

Mr Bryer has submitted appeal documents in which he responds to criticism of the scheme, saying design is “a matter of judgement”.

He adds that the proposed development, if approved, will see several unsightly buildings replaced with one that is “positively attractive”.

The NPA rejected the original application amid fears the property would harm the landscape.

An officers’ report said: “The proposal would introduce a large and imposing dwelling, an avenue of trees and extensive planting in an area that is currently a mosaic of historic fields and boundaries.

"It would rise through three floors to a height of 19 metres and would be surrounded by a ‘moat’ with access on all four sides via bridges.”

Mr Adams was unavailable for comment.

A Pennyfarthing Homes spokesman said it was a private application and nothing to do with the company.