A LUXURIOUS £7.5m mansion that was rumoured to be linked to a Hollywood megastar and a former England football captain could be turned into 10 flats.

Plans have gone in to Test Valley Borough Council to turn the property Golden Hill, in Belbins, Romsey, into three two-bedroom flats and seven three-bedroom flats.

The 22,000 sq mansion, which is set in 11 acres off Sandy Lane, began construction in 2004 but was never fully completed and occupied. It was only ever lived in when squatters took over temporarily in 2012.

It was built as a substantial, exclusive residence complete with a host of features including a 34-seat cinema, 15-berth nuclear shelter, secret underground escape tunnel, underground aquarium, man-made lake, 50ft master bedroom and underground garage big enough for 10 cars.

It also had 12 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, seven kitchens and two-bedroom staff apartment.

Daily Echo: Golden Hill, Belbins. Picture by A & B Homes.

It went on the market in 2009 for a cool £7.5m and it even caught the eye of England football captain John Terry, who turned it down because it was too far from his club’s training ground in Surrey. The house was also rumoured to have been considered by Johnny Depp when a neighbour thought she saw him in the back of a passing car.

However, it failed to find a loving owner and instead developers A & B Homes submitted plans to convert it into 13 flats in May 2018.

Plans then stalled due to Covid and the planning permission lapsed.

Despite objections from both Romsey Town Council and Test Valley Borough Council, permission was granted.

Daily Echo: Proposed design, photo: Test Valley Borough Council

Now A & B Homes has resubmitted plans for the property in order to get the scheme off the ground again.

Romsey Town Council's planning committee considered the plan, which also includes 25 parking spaces, at its latest meeting last week.

Despite the planning committee raising some concerns over the plan's nitrate output, it did not object.

Cllr Mark Cooper said: “It has got permission from 2018, but it's now out of time so it has had to make a reapplication. It's identical in every way.”

Chairman of the committee, Cllr John Parker said: “I suggest we object to the application because there is no provision to treat nitrates.”

Cllr Sally Lamb disagreed. She said: “I'm all for it. I think it's a brilliant scheme and I will be voting that we do not object to the plan.”

Cllr Cooper said: “I will support the idea of a note that the town council queries the nitrate provisions of the resubmission.”

The councillors recorded no objection but put a note about the nitrate mitigation.

Company architect Steve Bernardez from A & B Homes said they would be taking nitrates into account.

He said: "The application is exactly the same as the one put in three years ago. However with Covid and other work commitments we never got round to starting it, but we are now looking to get on with it."

He said they hoped to get permission within the next four months and to start the project with a view to completing it within one year.

The plan will now go to Test Valley Borough Council for a decision. For more search testvalley.gov.uk, reference 22/00362/FULLS