A ROW has broken out between two major conservation charities over the £2million plans to restore John Fowles’ former Lyme Regis home.

The Landmark Trust is proposing to return Belmont House to its 18th-century form and let it out as holiday accommodation.

But the Victorian Society has branded the plans ‘excessively destructive’ and accused the trust of writing John Fowles out of the history of the house.

Mr Fowles’ widow Sarah has been in talks with the Victorian Society and has this week backed its objections.

Landmark, which bought Belmont in 2007, has submitted plans to West Dorset District Council to demolish parts of the Grade II-listed house.

The Victorian Society is concerned about moves to demolish an entire wing, which was added in the Victorian period.

Heloise Brown, the society’s conservation adviser, said: “This is a strangely old-fashioned approach to conservation.

“It is no longer acceptable to restore historic buildings to a specific and short-lived moment. Under these plans, virtually everything that was done to the house during the last 200 years is removed. This is excessively destructive.”

In a statement issued to the News, Mrs Fowles said: “Mrs Fowles, the widow of John Fowles, wholeheartedly concurs with the Victorian Society’s views.”

Belmont is a maritime villa built in 1784 and was originally occupied by 18th-century businesswoman Eleanor Coade, whose artificial Coade stone decorates the front of the house.

The Landmark Trust has defended its plans. Historian Caroline Stanford said: “We have great respect for the Victorian Society but they are a special interest group who champion one period only.

“We have researched all periods of Belmont in great detail and we are convinced that our proposals are the right ones for Belmont.

“The Fowles lived in the whole house, not just the two South West rooms, and under our plans this association will be celebrated just as much as Mrs Coade’s.

“Indeed, John Fowles’ writing room on the first floor will play an important role within the house as it will become the main drawing room for visitors.”

The Victorian Society is urging the district council to refuse planning permission.

Ms Brown added: “John Fowles moved to Belmont in the late 1960s and it was there that he wrote The French Lieutenant’s Woman and The Maggot.

“He knew and used the house in its current form. By destroying all the Victorian rooms you effectively write Fowles out of the history of the building.”

The plans have also come under fire from Mr Fowles’ former secretary, Jean Wellings.

She said: “The Landmark Trust says it wishes to reflect the lives of its most well-known occupants. John Fowles used these two rooms extensively.

“He spent much time in the large ground floor room, his drawing room, which was lined with bookshelves containing part of his library.”

But the Lyme Regis Society has praised Landmark’s efforts.

Stephen Wilkins, of the society, said: “Landmark is to be commended for having the vision, the skill and the courage to take the house back to the days of its prime.”