Blairs plan 'glorified bus shelter' pavillion at listed home

With its landscaped lawn and grand stone fountain centrepiece, it is a historic country estate fit for any Lord and Lady.But – as they never before seen pictures show – even the palatial splendour of the £5.75 million South Pavilion is not enough for Tony and Cherie Blair.

According to an extraordinary 91-page “justification” report just submitted to local planners, the estate’s 17th century surroundings are out of kilter for a modern day family of millionaires.The Blair’s now want to install a glass and steel sports pavilion in the middle of the historic grounds – taking their spending on the former home of the late actor Sir John Gielgud since they moved in two years ago soaring past the million pound.

Tony and Cherie’s mini-leisure centre will house a swimming pool and swanky ‘privacy pod’ changing rooms, and be ‘unashamedly contemporary’ in design - in contrast to the rest of South Pavilion.

Last night one local, who declined to be named, said: ‘Gielgud will be turning over in his grave at what they have done. He spent years restoring the ornamental gardens to the way they were. Now the Blairs have moved in and done the opposite. The pavilion looks like little more than a glorified bus shelter.’

For months the Blairs have struggled to convince the local planning authority to grant them permission, in the face of concerns from local conservationists, neighbours and even English Heritage.

South Pavilion, which is modelled on Buckingham Palace, is a Grade-I listed mansion in Buckinghamshire not far from Chequers, the Prime Minister’s official residence which the Blairs fell in love with.But they have faced an uphill struggle to get their proposals to improve South Pavilion accepted.

Now the Blairs have paid a firm of historic buildings consultants to produce the report ‘justifying’ why they should be allowed to build their sports pavilion.The dossier, submitted as part of the public consultation over the proposals, contains dozens of photographs of the extensive gardens at the Blairs’ country pile.They show the property’s formal garden, which has a landscaped lawn cut into shapes with a circular, multi-layered fountain in the centre.

This is only the smaller garden of two gardens, and beyond it lies their ‘kitchen garden’, at least twice the size, which is where they want to build the sports pavilion.It would adjoin the all-weather tennis court which was built in the grounds last year.

The pavilion would contain the ultimate fitness toy - a £30,000 wave exercise pool. The 20ft by 8ft Riptide Trident PRO has been 'parked' in a shed for months after the council said they needed planning permission to install it.

Its arrival on a lorry in 2008 caused a scene in itself because the lorry was too wide to go up the drive, and the pool had to be hoisted over an ancient wall.

The former Prime Minister and his wife initially wanted their pavilion to be a permanent structure, but were stopped in their tracks when English Heritage expressed concern about the plans, saying they did not show due concern for a loss of 'special character' and the local building traditions.

Almost a full year on, revised plans were submitted by the Blairs' architect, Simon Templeton.The pavilion is now a 'lightweight and potentially reversible structure' with a ‘demountable’ cantilever roof.In addition, the roof lights which English Heritage objected to as having a 'discordant effect' have been removed altogether.

The Blairs have also submitted retrospective plans for a tennis court fence - as they erected one without the required permission.

Mr Blair is understood to have already hosted one Labour party fundraiser on the tennis court towards the end of last year. He has also converted an existing artist’s studio into a £30,000 gymnasium, where he regularly works out to keep fit.

English Heritage and the parish council have now dropped their objections to the proposals, and the Blairs are hopeful they will finally be approved by Aylesbury Vale District Council in the coming weeks.

But one last headache remains, as archaeologists have demanded the right to dig up their garden. Scientists at Buckinghamshire County Council say the proposed building work 'could cause some harm' to the important site of a medieval village and possible moat beneath the Blairs' garden which appears on a 17th century map.They want a condition attached to any planning permission saying a ‘programme of archaeological work’ must be implemented during the works.