A Russian businessman whose attempt to build a metal fence around his Marlow estate was likened to a ‘Berlin Wall’ by angry locals has new plans for the woodland property.
Alexander Mosionzhik, former chairman of the board of directors at the oil trading company Nafta Moskva, gained notoriety after submitting plans for a two-metre-high metal fence around Wymers, his Marlow Bottom estate, last November.
Neighbours described the proposal as “ugly, austere and prison-like”, with one person even describing it as a “Berlin Wall in our village”.
The businessman altered his plans following the outcry and a less obtrusive green chain-link fence was installed around the property to deter “break-ins, arsons and trespassing” early this year.
And Mr Mosionzhik is now planning fresh changes to the 12-hectare property which he purchased last year alongside the adjacent land.
A proposal submitted to Buckinghamshire Council in October outlines the intention to replace the metal gates to the property with 1.5-metre “estate style” counterparts alongside an automated intercom system.
The landowner is ostensibly hoping to dodge criticism from concerned neighbours this time around – describing the plans as a “minor development” with “limited scope for impacting the area”.
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The proposed ironwork gates with cast iron posts were also reportedly designed to be in keeping with Wymers’ “countryside location”.
They would replace the gates at the entrance of the estate’s private drive, which is set back from the nearby roadside by a country lane-style path which also leads to nearby farmland.
Residents living in Ragmans Close, a cluster of homes overlooking the estate, told the Free Press in May that they felt their concerns around the original “eyesore” fence had been heard and taken into consideration.
Some, including 84-year-old Simone Poli and 46-year-old Steve Pack, still harboured concerns about future development at the site, however.
Steve especially sounded the alarm over “all the machinery” used to clear the way for the redesigned chain-link structure – which he said could set a precedent for work still to come.
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