Villagers in Bantham didn’t take kindly to the landowner’s ambitious plans (Image: SWNS)
A pretty seaside village has been sold after the former owner of Soho House failed to transform it into a “millionaire’s playground.”
Nicholas Johnston, a friend of ex-Prime Minister and former owner of the members club Soho House, had a vision of turning the quiet village of Bantham in into a luxury resort when he bought it in 2014.
The Old Etonian, who is part of Mr Cameron’s ‘Chipping Norton set’, had his hopes dashed when residents joined together to protest his ambitious plans.
Locals didn’t take kindly to the development of 27 new homes, a sunken beach club and an underground car park at the pretty spot.
South Hams District Council also didn’t think much of the proposals, and they were gradually rejected or withdrawn.
Mr Johnston has now sold the village to a Buckinghamshire-based company for an undisclosed sum, according to reports. He bought the 728-acre site for £11.5 million and listed it on the market for £30 million in September.
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The pretty village also boasts a beach ranked among the best in Europe (Image: SWNS)
The listing includes Bantham Beach, several Grade II listed properties, a village shop, a golf course and several boathouses.
Announcing the sale, the estate said: “We are pleased to be able to say that the Bantham Estate has been sold to Chilton Home Farms… owned by the Aubrey-Fletcher family who have been farming in Buckinghamshire for generations.
“The family have visited Bantham for many years and look forward to looking after this very special part of the South Hams.”
Thousands of protestors joined the action group Save Bantham, spurred on by fears that their home would turn into an offshoot of Soho House – an elite members club with branches around the globe.
Despite Bantham’s modest population – with only around 25 houses – over 12,000 people joined the demonstration, with many motivated to help preserve the village’s picturesque beach, which has been voted among the best in Europe.
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Campaigners were worried that Mr Johnston treated the village as a “playground” (Image: SWNS)
Speaking at the time, a spokesperson for Save Bantham said: “We have so few unspoilt parts of the coastline and when it’s built on, it is gone forever.
“[Mr Johnston] is conducting a large number of pheasant shoots. Buggies run all over the estate. Boats carry the shooting parties. His whole proposition appears to be, ‘I’ve bought this land as your playground.’”
The former businessman was adamant that he had no plans to merge the hamlet with Soho House.
“I don’t have any great love of second homes at all,” he said in response to the opposition. “What we need in these communities is a mixture of homes so that all people stand to benefit if there is to be any new development.
“I think that a community needs to appeal to a whole variety of people. We are fully supportive of the needs of people in our community, their need for housing, of challenges for first-time buyers and the best situation for everyone in the community of Bantham.”