In a picturesque market town with deep historical roots, local residents are up in arms over plans spearheaded by Timothy Knatchbull, a descendant of Queen Victoria, to construct 920 homes on what they consider unspoiled countryside adjacent to his family’s sprawling estate.

Knatchbull, who shares a familial link with the British Royal Family, has come under fire for his ambitious development project. The proposed housing estate has sparked fears among the community, who worry about the potential impact on their rural environment.

As the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and godson to King Charles, Knatchbull has submitted plans to erect homes and businesses on land neighboring the historic Broadlands Estate in Romsey, Hampshire. This estate holds significant royal history; it was the venue for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s first days as a married couple in 1947 and served as the honeymoon retreat for then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981.

At 61, Knatchbull is at the forefront of a consortium advocating to develop 920 homes on farmland situated on the southern side of Romsey. This proposal has not been well-received by the locals, who accuse Knatchbull of prioritizing his interests over the community’s well-being by sidestepping essential planning regulations due to financial considerations.

Mr Knatchbull, 61, is leading a consortium that is behind proposals to build 920 homes on farmland on the south side of Romsey.

Locals in Romsey have accused Mr Knatchbull of doing what is ‘convenient’ to him and ignoring important planning requirements because they cost too much money.

People in Romsey also say the market town is ‘too small for this amount of extra housing’, that the plans will lead to ‘serious traffic issues’, and are concerned about spoiling the ‘pristine countryside’ and ‘wildlife habitats’.

Broadlands is the home of the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma and their family. The ground floor of the property is opened up on certain days of the year for public tours, while the family-owned estate also hosts weddings, corporate events and concerts.

The plans are being led by Timothy Knatchbull (pictured with King Charles and Queen Camilla in 2015). Mr Knatchbull is Queen Victoria’s great-great-great grandson and godson to King Charles

Pictured: The sprawling countryside which will be built on if the scheme is given the go-ahead

Mr Knatchbull is the grandson of Lord Louis Mountbatten (pictured), who was the last Viceroy of India and uncle of Prince Philip

The Queen and Prince Philip returned to the manor house in November 2007 to mark their diamond wedding anniversary. In a nod to their past the couple were photographed in a similar pose to their honeymoon pictures from 60 years beforehand.

Mr Knatchbull is the grandson of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was the last Viceroy of India and uncle of Prince Philip.

In 1979, Mr Knatchbull survived an IRA bombing that killed his grandfather and twin brother Nicholas on the family’s fishing boat at Mullaghmore harbour in County Sligo.

Lord Mountbatten had a strong influence in the upbringing of the King Charles. During his first visit to Mullaghmore in 2015, the then Prince of Wales paid tribute to Lord Mountbatten, describing him as ‘the grandfather I never had’.

The consortium behind the Romsey development plans – The Ashfield Partnership – originally applied to build 1,100 homes in 2022 but it has been scaled back to 920 homes.

The development would add around 2,500 bedrooms to the town – potentially increasing its population by up to 15 per cent.

The area sits on land set out by Test Valley Borough Council for development and plans include a new primary school, businesses and a community hall.

A then Prince Charles speaks to Lord Louis Mountbatten (centre) and Prince Philip (right) at a polo match in 1977

The consortium behind the Romsey development plans – The Ashfield Partnership – originally applied to build 1,100 homes in 2022 but it has been scaled back to 920 homes

Pictured: The countryside area where the proposed 920 homes in the development will go in the market town of Romsey

An outline application also includes proposals for open spaces, landscaping and local food production, employment and visitor accommodation. 

It is the Ashfield Partnership’s third – and largest – housebuilding scheme in the area, following a 56-home development on the outskirts of Romsey at Luzborough, and plans for 300 new homes on the edge of the nearby village of North Baddesley.

Richard Buss, who has lived in the area for 35 years, has helped lead the challenge to the development – claiming that the developers are ignoring Test Valley Borough Council’s requirement to build a footbridge over the railway line which runs next to it.

The 68-year-old freelance film editor said: ‘In around 2013 the council managed to allocate the site for development.

‘When they came up with the plans it involved specific things like a bridge.

‘What the developers, including Timothy Knatchbull, don’t want to do is fill in the requirements of the council’s plans because it costs them a lot of money.

‘They are doing everything they can to get out of building a bridge.

‘The planning inspector realised that this was the one access point that made the site sustainable.

Royal newly-weds the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip pictured in the grounds of Broadlands at the start of their honeymoon in November 1947

The Queen and Prince Philip were pictured at the same location 60 years later during a visit to mark their diamond wedding anniversary

‘If you don’t have a bridge you are forcing everyone to use their car in an age in which we are trying to make people do everything they can not to.

‘We can’t stop this happening but that is not what we are about. We just want to make sure the developers fulfil the plans that the council put in place.’

He accused Mr Knatchbull of ‘trying to do what is convenient for him and what saves him money.’

Borough councillor Mark Cooper, who has lived in the area for 39 years, said: ‘It is a difficult site because it is separated by the railway line.

‘The borough plan says there has to be a bridge so that people can easily access the town centre and that is not in the current plan.

‘The site is simply not sustainable if it does not have easy access to the town.

‘To be honest I think it is irrelevant that it is Timothy Knatchbull. We just need to make sure that the estate keeps Romsey and Southampton separate because it will expand the town in that direction.

‘The impact of the traffic will be significant but not as big as some people will expect. I am just worried that the developers won’t provide the improvements that are required to ameliorate the impact of the traffic.’

Following the latest changes, 20 local residents put up comments against the application.

Local Jeffrey Clark said: ‘I am still very concerned regarding Romsey’s already serious traffic and parking issues. 920 homes will mean around 1800 extra cars in an area where the roads are insufficient for this amount of increase in traffic.

‘Romsey is an old town with narrow roads and in my opinion too small for this amount of extra housing.’

Another Romsey resident, Dr Mark Willett, said: ‘Romsey is not well served with GP services, only (has) one overstretched NHS GP surgery which is distributed over two locations.

‘Adding nearly 1,000 new houses will mean that somewhere in the region of 3,000 new people will move into the area.

‘This is unsustainable, people will not get the treatment that they require, and their health will suffer as a result, and statistically I expect that there will be some deaths as people will not receive the care that they require within a sufficient time limit.

‘The proposed site is pristine countryside. We can’t just keep destroying wildlife habitats and the clean air and natural beauty provided from the green belts.

‘Romsey is a small market town with a medieval street plan. It is already becoming gridlocked and I think most residents would agree that its roads have reached capacity.’

The Ashfield Partnership declined to comment.

The original Broadlands manor was part of Romsey Abbey before the 11th century English Norman Conquest.