THE wealthy founder of a Starbucks franchise has re-ignited a planning battle over the same plot of land where the council ordered him to dig up his unauthorised tennis court.

Mark Hepburn, who until recently owned the multi-million-pound company 23.5 Degrees, lost an appeal to change the use of the land to residential at his address, "Cupressus" on Durley Brook Road, Durley, in March.

But now, he has applied once more to have the area recognised as residential.

He has repeatedly claimed that the three-acre rural site had been used as a garden by its previous owners and that he and his family were just doing the same when they built the tennis courts, children's playground and a home gym.

The property in Durley, owned by Mark Hepburn, is the one with the swimming pool and tennis court (Image: Andrew Croft/Solent News) However, a planning inspector upheld the council's decision to refuse the 52-year-old's application to convert the land to residential use after an inquiry following Hepburn's appeal.

Robert Hitchcock said there was 'insufficient evidence' for the change of use.

Now, the bright blue tennis court, home gym, bar, TV room and children's play area he has built are under threat following complaints from his neighbours about 'increased urbanisation'.

Until October last year, 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 village of Durley - 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.

Mark HepburnHe 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, 52-year-old 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."

After the family moved in, Mr Hepburn said they fulfilled a dream of his wife's by buying a flock of alpacas, which lived on the land at the back of the home.