6 days ago
Harry Redknapp gets unwelcome visitor as huge 50ft racing yacht crashes into jetty at the bottom of the garden of his brand new Sandbanks home
A huge 50-foot racing yacht crashed into a jetty at the bottom of the garden of Harry Redknapp's brand new Sandbanks mansion.
The vessel was swept towards the north shore of the exclusive peninsula in Poole Harbour by strong winds.
It collided with the wooden pier belonging to the former Tottenham and West Ham manager's next-door neighbour, businessman Nigel Walters.
The four occupants were able to safely step off, but the trimaran, called Three Cheers, remained wedged under the structure.
The Poole lifeboat and Poole coastguard were called out to assist, but the crew ended up calling a local recovery company to remove the boat.
A spokesperson for Poole Lifeboat said: 'A 50ft trimaran was passing through Poole Harbour on passage.
'With no engine at the time, it got into difficulty and ended up aground and wedged under a jetty near North Haven Point.
'The lifeboat volunteers were swiftly on scene and found that the casualties were all ashore, safe and well and did not require assistance.'
Harry and Sandra Redknapp's new Italianate villa is being built on the Sandbanks waterfront.
The couple paid £7million for a 60-year-old house that stood on the plot before bulldozzing it and now the new Italian inspired property sits in its place.
They had spent two years living in a leafy inland suburb of Poole, but it is thought they missed a sea view, so they bought the waterfront property.
The mansion will have spectacular views of Brownsea Island, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The latest photos of the project show that the three-storey villa is quickly taking shape.
The shell and the roof of the mansion have been built with huge gaps in the walls left for the windows and doors.
The back garden is also being formed with the outline of concrete steps leading down to the harbour's edge.
The rectangular building that will be a boathouse has also been constructed.
When it is complete, the luxury villa will have a grand entrance hall, a huge open-plan living/kitchen/dining room, two reception rooms, a study, a boot room and five en suite bedrooms as well as a double garage at the front which will have room for a gymnasium.
The white-rendering to the external walls will be in keeping with properties around Lake Como, as will the Palladian-style columns and four separate balconies with black wrought iron railings.
When finished, the property will be worth about £12million.
When the proposals were first tabled, one neighbour, Alison Wheeler said: 'The proposed building is overpowering. I fear it would feel oppressive.
'The quiet enjoyment of our garden would be seriously impacted by the windows in the new south-west wing. The addition of several ground and first-floor windows... would have a major impact on our privacy.
'It would create shadow in the morning and significantly reduce the light on the south-eastern aspect of our house.'
Another resident, Nicola Bailey, added: 'The proposed development... does not seem to respect the "spacing between plots".'
Chris Shipperley, of ARC Architects, acting for the Redknapps, said the couple had already revised the plans to appease locals, including lowering the property's height and making it narrower.
Luxury properties on the edges of the peninsula have gardens running down to the water and private jetties with direct access to Poole Harbour.
