CAMPAIGNERS have won their battle to prevent a huge “Buckingham Palace-style” mansion being built in the New Forest countryside.

A government-appointed planning inspector has rejected proposals to bulldoze farm buildings in the New Forest National Park and replace them with a stately home surrounded by a dry moat.

The multi-million-pound plan to redevelop a site off Forest Road in Burley resulted in 60 letters of objection.

Robert Cordery, of Burley Lawn, Burley, wrote: “This is a preposterous application which goes against the looks and values of the New Forest. We do not want Buckingham Palace in Burley.”

Architect Robin Bryer was originally commissioned to design a classical-style building for the Staffordshire estate of the Earl of Litchfield.

The project was scrapped after the celebrated photographer died in 2005 and Mr Bryer devised a similar plan for Burley instead.

But the National Park Authority (NPA) rejected the application earlier this year amid fears that the proposed development would harm the landscape.

An officer's report said: “The proposal would introduce a large and imposing dwelling, an avenue of trees and extensive planting in an area that is currently a mosaic of historic fields and boundaries.

“It would rise through three floors to a height of 19 metres and would be surrounded by a ‘moat’ with access on all four sides via bridges.”

The applicant, retired businessman Trevor Adams, lodged an appeal but a planning inspector has upheld the NPA’s decision.

His eight-page report cites a national planning policy which says new houses occupying isolated sites in the countryside should be “truly outstanding or innovative”.

It adds: “While not in any way decrying the design of the building, I consider that the elevational treatment cannot be described as either truly outstanding or innovative. The proposal would not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Burley Conservation Area.”

The inspector’s ruling was greeted with delight at a meeting of the NPA’s planning and development control committee.

Steve Avery, executive director strategy and planning, said five of the six appeals determined in the past few weeks had been dismissed.

He added: “It’s encouraging that as far as the new manor house for Burley is concerned the inspector has come down on our side.”

Documents submitted as part of the appeal defended Mr Adams’s proposal for an eight-bedroom mansion, saying design was “a matter of judgement”.

They added that the proposed development would result in several unsightly buildings being replaced with one that was “positively attractive”.