Moment Sandbanks millionaire demolishes ‘world’s most expensive bungalow’ he bought for £13.5m as he insists he WON’T flip new replacement home for profit

This is the moment a millionaire bulldozed the ‘world’s most expensive bungalow’ to make way for his new eco home.

Tom Glanfield bought the rundown, rat-infested property in Dorset’s Sandbanks resort – described as millionaires’ row – for a record £13.5 million in March 2023.

The 48-year-old had plans to demolish the 120-year-old Edwardian country house and replace it with a modern family eco house.

But planners initially recommended the application be refused on the grounds that it would cause ‘serious harm’ to the Sandbanks Conservation Area.

After two years of negotiations, Mr Glanfield was finally given the green light to demolish the property in July 2025, with demolition taking place over two weeks last month.

The building has now been completely leveled to lay the foundation for the new house.

Mr Glanfield said: ‘It’s such a relief to finally have it demolished and it’s really great because we’ve recycled the old house by crushing it and turning it into the foundations of the new house.

‘Everyone asks me if I miss my old house, but actually it never left the property.

Mr Glanfield is demolishing the bungalow. The 48-year-old had plans to demolish the 120-year-old Edwardian country house and replace it with a modern family eco house.

‘It is quite nostalgic that the old house is used to build a new one.

‘I’m really excited to get this started and make something Poole can be proud of.’

As Sandbanks, as its name suggests, is a sandy peninsula, 80 steel piles will be driven 15 meters deep to support the new two-storey home.

A 150-metre-long marine ‘living’ wall to help protect the north-west corner of the Sandbanks from erosion will also be built ‘at great expense’ for the self-made millionaire. He had previously said that he would not “even consider this from the property, this is all for the public good.”

Once completed, the property will feature a massive open-plan kitchen and dining area, double-height lounge, home office, leisure bar and entertainment area, wine store and boot room.

The first floor will feature five bedrooms, including a large master suite with a sea view, elevated jacuzzi tub, dressing room, sitting area and its own balcony.

The carbon-neutral facility will also include a cinema room, gym and shower room.

Outside will include an upper deck and patio, a hidden patio and a lawn extending to the water’s edge.

The Grand Designs-style project will take another two years to complete.

After two years of negotiations, Mr Glanfield was finally given the green light to demolish the property in July 2025, with demolition taking place over two weeks last month.

The facility is being demolished. In its place, Mr Glanfield will build a carbon-neutral property that will also include a cinema room, gym and shower room.

Mr Glanfield with construction workers at Sandbanks. Construction of the new property will take approximately two years

At a planning meeting in July 2025, the self-made millionaire father insisted he was ‘not a property developer’ and not a ‘copycat’. [the bungalow] for profit’.

He added: ‘I’m more of a family man trying to make a family home. ‘I’ll probably die in that house’.

Mr Glanfield said the rundown bungalow had a leaky roof, mold and mildew, and he planned to turn his new home into a sustainable, two-storey family ring house.

The entrepreneur says the new build will be complete with renewable energy and a desalination plant, and will see the seawall, which is currently ‘unsafe’, ‘ugly’ and crumbling, be strengthened and reconstructed.

He said: ‘My dream is to build a family home that will not only preserve the modest beauty of the site but will also stand the test of time.’

Mr Glanfield has received significant support for his bid from the local community, with 38 letters of support submitted to the council.

These included one from neighbor Ros Smart, who labeled the plans ‘an extraordinarily innovative design for an iconic site’.

He continued: ‘The modern stylish look is completely in keeping with the surrounding homes and is completely in line with the conservation area.’

Mr Glanfield said the rundown bungalow had a leaky roof, mold and mildew and he planned to turn his new home into a sustainable, two-storey family eco house.

Others agreed that the design was ‘sympathetic’ to the location, describing the ‘modern chic look’ as ‘completely in keeping with the surrounding houses’.

However, planners argued that the proposal should be rejected on ‘conservation grounds’ and said alternative options ‘involving the retention of the cottage’ could be explored.

Planning officer Babatunde Aregbesola told the planning meeting that the existing building was considered very important to the Sandbanks Conservation Area (CA) given its age, which he described as ‘very early Edwardian, one of the oldest buildings in the area’.

He said: ‘The proposal to demolish the existing cottage would result in the complete loss of the unspecified heritage property, causing significant harm and resulting in a failure to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Sandbanks Conservation Area.’

Mr Aregbesola also argued that the benefits suggested by Mr Glanfield did not outweigh the harm.

He said: ‘The applicant identifies, through legal representation, the following public benefits: visual and environmental improvements from the proposed seawall and landscaping; design choices including use of local materials and sedum roofing; and improved energy efficiency (rated F to A).

‘But while the scheme will deliver a more energy efficient home and some economic activity, it will replace existing, liveable housing and will not increase housing supply.

‘The benefits of reduced flood risk are specific in nature. These benefits are modest and do not outweigh the identified legacy harm.’

Mr Aregbesola stressed that the proposals would ‘damage the character, appearance and significance of the Protected Area’.

He concluded: ‘TThe development conflicts with relevant policies and there is not sufficient public interest to justify the detriment.

‘Therefore the application must be refused.’

But Mr Glanfield managed to give his side of the story to the council.

Following Mr Glanfield’s speech, one councilor told the meeting: ‘The house itself is not special, attractive or dynamic as it is. It’s just an ordinary house.

‘But what is being proposed is a private, ecologically designed estate that will enhance the area and make a huge difference to the appearance of the Reserve.

‘I cannot support the officer’s advice’ [to refuse the application].’

Another said: ‘I struggle to understand what kind of heritage asset this is. Let these people build the house they want and have a positive impact on the environment.’

Mr Glanfield is working on the development with local architecture firms Marlow and Arc and award-winning landscape designer Andy Sturgeon.