The new owners of a large Georgian country house in Wiltshire have been given the go ahead to continue their restoration works on the property.

Trafalgar Park is a Grade I listed building situated in a parkland approximately 10 miles south of Salisbury city centre.

It dates back to 1733 and boasts 35,871 square feet of space within 66 acres of gardens and grounds.

It was on the market in 2021 at a guide price of 11 million pounds. 

The buyers sent a planning application to Wiltshire Council the following year for repairs and refurbishment.

These new owners, Mr and Mrs Jones, are said to have “an obsession for the Georgian age” and have carried out similar restorations at their previous property, Milgate Park in Kent.

The approved application stated: “There is a vast undertaking of conservation work required to put the building back into good order.”

A key aspect was the intention to “reinstate the sense of ‘Georgianism’ lost though previous alterations.”

In September 2023, Wiltshire Council received a second application, which indicated that a considerable amount of the work had been carried out, but that further permission was needed to make some changes to the original scheme.

The changes include the mansard roof over the central well being covered in sand cast lead, rather than single ply and the removal of the existing chimney pots that top the original chimneys.

This adapted planning application has now been approved by Wiltshire Council.

The Heritage Impact Assessment stated: “The recent Heritage Assessment for the house identified that the special interest of the heritage asset derives from its impressive scale, plan form, wealth of 18th century features, architectural achievement and association with notable historical figures.

“The current proposals form part of a first phase of an ambitious plan by the new owners to restore the house to its former glory and make it suitable for modern family living, objectives that should be welcomed after years of underinvestment and given the potential for alternative, harmful uses resulting from previous planning approvals.

“The proposals have been informed by detailed research and analysis and considering the feedback from pre-application enquiries to Historic England and the local planning authority."

The officer report concluded: "In considering the planning balance, the proposal would result in positive enhancements to the overall heritage asset with very limited harm to other receptors, which can be mitigated by condition.

"No harm is perceived to arise from the proposals to the character, significance or setting of the heritage assets, landscape, trees, protected bat species or other ecological interests and no planning objections are raised."