Christian Candy's plans to turn road outside his £200m mansion into a private garden are blocked

Property tycoon Christian Candy’s plans to turn part of the road outside his £200 million mansion into a private garden have been blocked.

The proposals for a “historic garden” based on an original John Nash design had angered residents of nearby Chester Terrace in Regent’s Park.

It would have been built on a 200ft stretch of private road and pavement which he bought from the Crown Estate for £3 million in 2014.

The Chester Terrace Residents’ Association said the work on the land, which is public right of way, would pose a danger to cyclists and pedestrians.

Their concerns were echoed by Camden councillors last night with 10 voting against the scheme and one in favour, despite it having won the support of council officers.

Professor Francesca Cordeiro, of the residents’ group, said: “Justice has been done. The odds were against us because the recommendation had been very much against what we wanted.”

The group represents 40 households in the Grade I listed row of villas which use the road to access the Outer Circular route around the park.

Professor Cordeiro told the council the plans would lead to “gridlock and chaos”, adding: “The application proposes a windy, tortuous route that will narrow the passage for pedestrians, cyclists and traffic by reducing two lanes to a single lane.

“It is clear the sole motivation of the applicant is not to increase the heritage value of Regent’s Park but to increase the luxury and privilege of the private home.”

Cllr Richard Cottons said: “This seems to be a transfer of public space to private space and that surely runs counter to our planning policies.”

But George Steele, highways consultant for Mr Candy, said: “We had an independent road safety auditor review our proposals and they did not come up with any issues deemed to be severe or significant in terms of safety.”

Mr Candy already has planning permission to convert a row of houses at Cambridge Terrace and Chester Gate into a 15-bedroom family home. His development company CPC London said the decision “defies logic” and they will appeal through the inspectorate.