The visionaries behind the Matches fashion brand have decided to abandon their proposal for a basement swimming pool in their £13 million villa in London, after facing backlash from the local community over concerns of ‘architectural vandalism.’

Tom Chapman, 62, and his wife Ruth, 63, encountered a wave of opposition from around a dozen neighbors who were against their initial plans to renovate their historic 19th-century stucco-fronted residence.

The couple, reportedly possessing a fortune of £150 million, acquired the opulent Notting Hill property in June 2023.

Upon purchase, they swiftly sought to expand the home, submitting plans to install a basement featuring a swimming pool and sauna, a cinema room, a laundry area, and a guest bedroom. They also proposed adding a new mansard roof to create additional living space.

The Chapmans’ renovation ambitions included demolishing and relocating a side porch, installing new windows, and undertaking a comprehensive restoration of the house’s various elements.

But the house lies within the Pembridge Conservation Area which makes planning permission for significant alterations harder to achieve.

And some neighbours and conservationists saw red at their proposals, saying the initial drawings constituted ‘totally unnecessary acts of architectural vandalism’ and described some design ideas as an ‘absolute travesty.’

The couple subsequently went about trying to appease complainants by tinkering with their designs.

Tom Chapman, 62, and his wife Ruth, 63, made millions from their Matches fashion empire

The pair – said to be worth £150m – bought the property in Notting Hill in June 2023 for £13m

The couple faced a dozen complaints from neighbours who objected to initial plans to transform their 19th century stucco-fronted home

And they also later dropped altogether plans for the subterranean swimming pool to reduce construction time, their planning agents confirmed.

A pre-application meeting was held with officers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) in December 2023, with written advice issued the following month.

In a planning statement, agents Savills explained that the first application was withdrawn in May 2024 due to design and heritage concerns.

A fresh application was submitted in June 2024 but was refused four months later on two grounds, with the council claiming the basement could be subdivided and so ‘exceeded the depth of a basement that would reasonably be required for a single storey as defined in the Local Plan.’

They added that this ‘would create harm to the residential living conditions of near neighbours due to construction and the depth.’

The second reason for refusal was over the size and impact of the basement’s light wells on the building and Conservation Area.

A third application was then put in to address the issues, before the applicants put in a fourth, deciding to drop their plans for a swimming pool altogether and further reducing the basement size.

The house was once home to Victorian animal painter Thomas Sidney Cooper.

In 1875, Cooper commissioned a studio building that now occupies the original garden, and which the Chapmans are to repair.

The high fashion couple also wanted to change the position of an Arts & Crafts side porch above the secondary entrance on a side road.

The initial applications caused much concern.

The Pembridge Association officially objected, saying: ‘We feel these proposals would cause significant negative impact to neighbours and the wider conservation area, not least of all the unique architectural and historical features of the house itself.’

They wanted to build a swimming pool in a new mega basement below the home that they bought two years ago – but have since rowed back on those plans after anger from neighbours

They said they were worried about the basement’s ‘very significant depth’ and claimed it could be subdivided.

They also aired concerns about the light wells, said there wasn’t enough clarity on landscaping and added that plans to change the side porch would also mean the removal of historic gateposts.

On the subject of moving the porch, the association added: ‘We view these decisions as totally unnecessarily acts of architectural vandalism, which will remove features which tell a wonderful and unique story without any material benefit to the occupiers of the property or the wider public.

‘The retention of unique features such as these would come at no cost to the property’s owners and have no effect on the circulation or use of the building; their removal is a wholly aesthetic choice which is prioritising the needless addition of symmetry over the original design intention of the house and studio.

‘Neatness is not, should not, and can not be allowed to be the only consideration in the aesthetics of a building.

‘This off-centre doorway in the rear studio and the matching gateposts tell a story about the unique design history of this building and the conservation area it sits within.

‘In buying a building of such historic design value, the applicants agreed to become custodians of it – not just to their own ends, but for the preservation of the wider architectural history of the conservation area.

‘We maintain our objection to this most pointless alteration.

‘If symmetry was more important than a building’s history and the story it tells, then we would replace the whole of the Pembridge Conservation Area with newbuild houses and astroturf front-lawns.’

Another resident said of the Chapmans’ initial designs: ‘I strongly object to this planning application.

 Neighbours accused the couple of t ‘architectural vandalism’ when they submitted the plans

Some of the push back for a basement swimming pool included design and heritage concerns and the impact of the basement’s light wells on the building and Conservation Area

‘This building is absolutely charming and the house and the small adjacent building with its entrance in Denbigh Road is a very well known and beautiful visual amenity for people who pass by.…be they tourists or locals.

‘It is most impressive. It would be an absolute travesty to make any changes which would affect the public’s view of this.’

The latest application was approved in April and the new, smaller basement will have a cinema, cold plunge, sauna, guest bedroom, mini kitchen and plant room.

Planning officer Sarah Winter-Irving said in a report: ‘Subject to conditions, the proposed scheme would preserve the character and appearance of the building and wider Pembridge Conservation Area.

‘Objections received from interested parties have been taken into consideration and are addressed throughout….’

Savills added of the latest application: ‘The key differences with these revised proposals to the previous submission are the reduced extent of the basement, and the omission of a swimming pool from the basement.’

The Pembridge Association later decided to support the application, after changes were made, adding in a letter of support which said: ‘We especially appreciate the reduction in basement extent made when compared to previous permissions.’

The Chapmans founded Matches Fashion with a single store in Wimbledon, south west London, in 1987, but it grew to be an online behemoth, selling designer brands including Gucci, The Row, Loewe and Bottega Veneta.

In 2017, the founders sold the business to private equity firm Apax for an estimated £800 million.

British retail empire Frasers Group bought the brand for £52 million in December 2023, but three months later it was put into administration.