Row over £50m London home: planning battle in star-studded Regent's Park terrace is one of the capital's most high-value

An iconic Regency terrace is at the heart of one of the most high-value planning rows over proposals to turn it into a series of super-sized homes.

Developers want to create a 10-bedroom, £50 million house in the middle of one of the John Nash-designed, stucco-fronted terraces near Regent’s Park, which have attracted celebrities such as designers Tom Ford and Stefano Gabbana, property developer Christian Candy and artist Damien Hirst.

Two other homes, with six and seven bedrooms respectively, would flank the terrace, each with price tags of £20 million to £30 million.

The properties between the three huge houses would be divided into 18 flats with from one to four bedrooms, as part of a £250 million scheme for 21 homes in York Terrace East.

However, the application has been slated for rejection by Westminster officers on the grounds that the larger properties are “too big”.

Documents submitted with the application show the £50 million home would occupy the space of four in the original terrace and would provide 22,421 sq ft of living space.

The council, which wants to rein in the phenomenon of “super-houses” aimed at wealthy international buyers, says the plan fails “to optimise the residential use of York Terrace East”.

The authority insists the scheme could support the creation of up to 28 smaller homes and still be financially viable.

Under the current plan a new basement level would be dug out to provide extra space for leisure facilities, including wine-tasting rooms, cinemas, swimming pools, gyms, saunas and massage rooms.

Developer Westbourne Management has been fighting to redevelop the site for more than a year.

Last January its application to convert the terrace into 13 town houses was refused.

Chief executive Johnny Sandelson said: “By having a 21-unit scheme as opposed to 28 it unlocks us to build 44 affordable units just across the park in St John’s Wood.”