Neighbours revolt over tycoon's plans for Winter Palace on Exmoor

But clothing tycoon Richard Caring's plans for his own vast "Winter Palace" in the wilds of Exmoor have not gone down well with the locals.

Mr Caring, 59, whose £450 million fortune is based on providing millions of garments every year to the likes of Bhs and Topshop, has big ideas for an historic Grade II listed stable block near the quiet Somerset market town of Dulverton, where the understated manner of old money is the order of the day.

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But his neighbours have condemned his proposal for a lavish extension to the luxurious home already on the site, boasting the facilities of a top-flight hotel including a gym, steam room and swimming pool within a vast glass palace, as little more than a "Disneyesque eyesore" and a "grandiose whim".

Plans submitted to the Exmoor National Park Authority reveal that it would be connected to the existing building by an underground tunnel.

And there is speculation that he plans to establish it as Britain's most luxurious shooting lodge.

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Mr Caring lives with his wife Jackie in a £15 million London mansion, known as the Versailles of Hampstead, which has a 55ft ballroom, private cinema, 30ft dining room and two-acre garden, complete with lake.

He bought the stable block - with several hundred acres of land - for £1 million in 2005 and has already transformed it out of all recognition into a six-bedroom residence.

But it is his application to refurbish and convert a former laundry and potting shed, together with the construction of the glass "palace" accommodating full-size palm trees and a swimming pool with a bar area, steam room and gymnasium, which has really upset the locals.

A detailed planning statement says the building needs the extra accommodation so that the traditional shooting party of eight guns can be accommodated.

But some people are whispering that the lavish redevelopment is inappropriate and, perhaps, a little too ostentatious.

Few will voice their thoughts publicly - except Mr Caring's nearest neighbour Timothy Bell, who gave up his career in the City 25 years ago to move to Pixton Park, a Georgian mansion set in its own landscaped estate.

A close friend of Mr Bell and his wife, Beatrice, said the conflict over the developments had broken the couple's hearts.

"Bea is often in tears over it and that can't be right," the friend said. "Their view is that such properties should be maintained in a way which is true to their history."

Mr Bell himself said: "Mr Caring is the most utterly charming fellow, but this latest structure is just a Disneyesque eyesore, a grandiose whim which has no benefit to the wider community.

"He and his guests will never set foot outside and there will be no financial boost to the local economy.

"I believe people have merely been mesmerised by the vast sums being expended and by its supposed architectural cleverness.

"That is not a sound set of guiding principles on which to base such sensitive decisions."

Mr Caring declined to comment.