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A millionaire property developer who felled 28 clifftop trees to create room for an illegal pool house has been fined £20,000.
Bill Buckler was given permission by Natural England in February 2021 to fell the trees for ‘conservation purposes’ on the sloping cliff at the end of his garden in Poole, Dorset.
He told the non-departmental public body this was to protect the cliff from erosion and improve the habitat for sand lizards, which are a rare and protected species.
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The cliff after the trees were removed (BNPS)
But sceptical neighbours speculated it was more about improving his views and soon after the businessman started building a luxury garden pod and an infinity pool on the newly-cleared cliff edge.
Outraged locals said he should not be building on the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), but Mr Buckler claimed he had been in discussions with the council and Natural England and both were on board with his plans.
Natural England were informed of reports of ‘unauthorised excavation works’ at the site in early 2022.
After visiting the site to investigate in May and September of that year, they said the building work was unauthorised and would have been objected to if Mr Buckler had followed the proper process.
However, further excavation work carried on until February 2023.
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An aerial view of Bill Buckler’s clifftop mansion under construction (BNPS)
In March last year, Mr Buckler was fined £8,812 for infringements under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), and £11.187 under the Enforcement Costs Recovery Notice.
Mr Buckler took Natural England to the High Court to challenge the penalty, which he claimed was ‘disproportionate and manifestly excessive’.
He also claimed that he had been ‘open and co-operative’ with Natural England throughout the process.
But judges have now unanimously dismissed his appeal in a damning judgement, labelling it ‘notably free of merit’.
Mr Buckler bought a 1960s bungalow in the Canford Cliffs area of Poole in October 2019 for over £3.1million.
He has been carrying out a £10m development project to replace it with four luxury homes since 2020.
The Poole Bay Cliffs is an SSSI for its important coastal habitat, particularly for sand lizards, and for its geological features.
Its layers of rock, sand and fossilised flora date back thousands of years when the Isle of Purbeck and Isle of Wight were one connected land mass.
Mr Buckler dug into the cliff to put in underground concrete pillars for the 60ft wide garden room on the edge of the cliff, which has been designed with a viewing platform with a balcony on the roof.
Nick Squirrel, from Natural England, said geological features on the protected land have been ‘permanently damaged’ and cannot be restored.
He also stated trying to undo the illegal works would cause cliff instability and put beach users below at risk.
He said: “Had the works, already carried out, been the subject of the legally required consultation process under the planning and conservation legislation, I have no doubt that both Natural England and the council would have raised strong objections.
“The effect of the unauthorised construction works carried out in the SSSI have destroyed a part of the geological features for which the SSSI is notified.
“It is apparent that these features are now lost and that the unauthorised piling works and construction activity is of a nature which may not be undone without raising greater risks to both the lower geological formations and the structural stability of the cliff face as well as visitors using the promenade and beach huts below.”
Mr Squirrel added: “It’s very heavily engineered for a garden room.
“Our concerns really relate to the situation on Bournemouth cliffs, there’s a number of slippages going on at the moment. The policy is to keep development set back to prevent erosion and to protect the beach huts and people at the bottom.
“It can’t be restored, it’s permanently damaged so now we need to look at what, if any, recompense can be made to cover the loss of those features that have been destroyed.
“Pulling all the pillars and concrete out will create instability in the cliff. Leaving it as it is, we think is the best thing.”
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The bungalow on the site before Bayview Developments director Bill Buckler began to build his clifftop mansion (BNPS)
Backing the conservation body, Judge Anthony Snelson’s judgement reads: “We find nothing of substance in any of the individual points of appeal which we have examined…this is an appeal which is notably free of merit.”
Outlining the facts, it adds: “In early 2022 [Natural England} was made aware of reports of unauthorised excavation works having been carried out at the site affecting geological features of the SSSI.
“Site visits followed, on May 9, 2022 and September 1, 2022.
“It was evident that large quantities of soil had been removed, apparently for the purposes of constructing an infinity pool.
“It seems that the work had been commenced in July 2021.
“In correspondence initiated on June 28, 2022 [Natural England] wrote to [Mr Buckler] asking him to stop the works pending any decision on further action.
“[Mr Buckler] objected to doing so but then relented.
“The apparent change of heart may have been prompted by warnings from [Natural England] and the local planning authority that any resumption would be met with Stop Notices.
“The works were, however, resumed in fairly short order (without permission from the respondent or the local planning authority) and continued until the local planning authority carried out a site visit and gave an immediate instruction to stop on or about March 28, 2023.
“At that visit it was evident that further excavation had been done (in addition to the 2021-2022 activity), at least some within the boundary of the SSSI.”
