Mini mansions for modest footballers

A Cheshire property developer best-known for his 8,000 – 10,000 sq ft mansions is developing his first ‘mini mansion’ in the Cheshire property hotspot of Alderley Edge.

Aimed firmly at the local Premiership footballers and Manchester’s luxury-seeking business tycoons, this 4,500 sq ft mini mansion will be packed with all the features (leisure suite, swimming pool, wine cellar etc) and quality (handmade plasterwork coving, Bisazza Italian glass mosaic tiles, top of the range kitchen) which would be found in one of the developer’s larger properties.

The mini mansion is the brainchild of Chris Oakes whose award-winning property company Huntsmere is enjoying a run of success, despite the recent downturn in the market.

Commenting he said: “We have developed a number of large, speculative properties packed with all the luxury features you would expect to find in a house with a £3 - £4 million price tag. But it occurred to me that there would be buyers out there, whether successful business people or footballers for example, who wanted all the luxury features of our properties, but who didn’t need 6 bedrooms and 5 reception rooms.

“I suppose I’ve modelled this latest property in Alderley on a footballer’s lifestyle – I like to have someone in mind when designing a new project.”

The Lodge, as the property is called, will be built on three floors. The property’s leisure suite will occupy the lower ground floor and will include an 8m swimming pool with pool side lounge and bar plus changing rooms. A gym overlooks the pool and the ubiquitous Huntsmere wine cellar will also be located on this floor.

The hub of this property (when the pool isn’t in use!) will be the huge kitchen/family room which, at 9.75m x 4.27m, is anything but mini. The formal sitting room has a large terrace which will command stunning views from the property’s elevated position and there is also a large dining room.

Again, there is nothing small about the master bedroom suite, located on the first floor which will come complete with adjoining dressing room and large bathroom.

“This property will have everything that our large properties have – just scaled down. The quality of the fixtures and fittings and finishes like the plaster work coving will all be there along with sumptuous bathrooms and an extremely high tech kitchen.”

Such is Chris Oakes’ confidence in the property market in this area that he is currently buying land for more homes and 3 further plots have already been identified for his new mini mansions.

Huntsmere’s ‘mini mansions’ are the second new concept to be launched by this bullish developer recently. In June they launched Fingerprint, aimed firmly at the high net worth individual. With Fingerprint, Huntsmere work with clients to build a totally bespoke home. From sourcing the plot to managing its acquisition and planning, through to handling all aspects of the construction, right through to finishes and furnishings, Chris and his team will project manage the development of a dream home.

The Lodge is for sale priced at £2.25 million through Alderley Edge estate agents Andrew Nowell and Gascoigne Halman.

For more information on Huntsmere visit huntsmere.co.uk.