Superdry's £440million boss Julian Dunkerton wages war with Cotswolds ... trends now
Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton has been caught in a bitter row with the council and a civic society over his boutique hotel's 'tatty' tents that critics argue obscure the view of three Grade II listed buildings.
Dunkerton may often have been feted in his elegant home town of Cheltenham, after founding and building up the international Superdry fashion brand there, but he is now losing many admirers due to a long-running planning dispute.
The 59-year-old is not just the co-founder and chief executive of Superdry but is the director of the Lucky Onion Group, the company behind No 131.
It's a boutique luxury hotel in arguably Cheltenham's most prestigious and famous street, Promenade, that offers food and drink to guests and the general public.
And it's the 16 white marquees, which cover dining tables outside the hotel, that have caused a big row in the town.
Julian Dunkerton and his fashion designer wife, Jade Holland Cooper
Some of the 16 marquees outside the No 131 hotel in Promenade, Cheltenham, which have caused controversy and which the council says must go
Another view of the marquees, which some people describe as 'tatty tents'
The Queens Hotel is directly opposite No 131, in Cheltenham's central conservation area
Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton, pictured with Idris Elba, has been caught in a bitter row with the council and a civic society over his boutique hotel's 'tatty' tents
The highly visible structures were supposed to be temporary, having been allowed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have stayed put ever since.
This is despite Cheltenham Borough Council and a planning inspector saying they must go because they are spoiling the view of a row of five grade II* listed buildings in the town's central conservation area.
The Lucky Onion Group was told by the council in 2022 to remove them 'without delay' but appealed against the ruling. An appeal inspector backed the council in the summer of last year.
New plans were later submitted to keep the marquees but to reduce their height by around two metres and have their central peaks replaced with a lower, domed-shaped, covering.
But these proposals were also turned down because of the impact on the listed buildings. Enforcement action was planned earlier this year but now the company has appealed against that too.
Councillor Diggory Seacome, who represents the Lansdown area on the council, has campaigned to have, as he put it, 'all those tents outside 131' removed.
'Basically, he (Julian Dunkerton) has put in an appeal against the enforcement order which told him to take them down,' he said.
'So in this case he put in an appeal. He goes on and on doing it.'
Julian Dunkerton and his wife Jade Holland-Cooper at home at Dowdeswell Court, Gloucestershire
Superdry boss Julian Dunkerton and his wife Jade Holland Cooper are seen here attending Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham racecourse in January this year
The couple, who both run their own fashion firms, married in 2018
Julian Dunkerton is pictured with his wife of their wedding day. They married in 2018, at a ceremony in the Cotswolds
Jade Holland Cooper and Julian Dunkerton during the celebrations of Lady Kitty Spencer and Michael Lewis Wedding in Rome, Italy in 2021
Cheltenham Civic Society, which aims to conserve the architectural and historical features of the spa town, is backing the council regarding the marquees.
The society previously described them as 'tatty' and wanted to see them removed.
'We don't think that anything has
