Asda billionaire brothers infuriate locals with plans for 'monstrous McMansions'
Plans by two billionaire brothers who own part of Asda to build five luxury mansions on a country lane have been slammed by neighbours.
It's thought Mohsin Issa, 52, and his brother Zuber, 51, want their family to live in the adjacent properties, which have been granted planning permission despite the uproar by locals.
The siblings, worth an estimated £5billion, made their fortunes running the petrol forecourt empire EG Group, before acquiring Asda from Walmart in in February 2021. Since then, they've devised plans for the homes to built just three miles from where they grew up in Blackburn, Lancashire.
Blackburn with Darwen Council granted planning permission despite 30 objection letters, each arguing the development would damage the environment and ruin the aesthetics of the area. Now, amendments to the plans have also been passed by the Labour-run council - and neighbours are angry again.
The changes will see the height of the homes increased and the felling of more trees, adjustments described as "monstrous" by one local. Another neighbour has called the properties "The McMansions" while, in an original objection letter, the development was branded "the five ugly sisters".
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Mohsin and Zuber Issa (Lancashire Telegraph / SWNS.com)Ian Woolley, a local resident fumed in a written objection in 2022: "As I understand it, this is an application made by the developer to ‘ratify’ breaches of the existing plan. They shouldn’t have built them any bigger. They should not have removed any more trees.
"The whole thing has been a pantomime. What we are left with is not two but five ugly sisters. Because I have been against this grandiose plan for the start, I would object to all the variations requested."
In another written objection, Mr Woolley, who has since passed away, added: "They will look monstrously big - this is totally out of character, as all the other executive houses in this area are individually architect-designed and are laid out with plenty of valuable mature garden space between them. The plans submitted look like a long, monotonous row of houses squeezed together."
Liz Beaumont wrote: "I feel each and every one of us deserve consideration of our lives and chosen lifestyles, not just the rich and powerful within the borough, who seem to take a feudal view of the running of our town. I am filled with horror as I look out of my window to the trees in the Billinge End site and know their likely fate."
Construction continues on the development near Blackburn, Lancashire (James Maloney/Lancs Live)During a heated planning hearing, one local councillor fumed: "The family’s attitude to planning rules is an absolute joke and a shambles because they keep ignoring them. Residents are fed to the back teeth. I am sorry it’s a joke."
The initial plan was reportedly for the Issa brothers' siblings to live in one of the five mansions being built along with other members of the Issa family once they are completed, which is expected to be next year.
But Mail Online reports today that, following the end of Mohsin’s marriage, he has moved out of the family home, which he bought for £18.2million in 2022 and is believed to be living with Ms Price close to Leeds, where Asda’s head office is based. The publication says Zuber is reportedly exploring a sale of his 22.5 per cent shareholding in Asda, which he bought with brother Mohsin and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021 from Walmart for £6.8billion, according to sources.
The move is said to potentially free up Zuber to focus more on EG Group, founded by the brothers in 2001 and one of Europe's largest independent fuel retailers. The EG Group has since acquired several brands including Cooplands, Cumberland Farms, Go Fresh, Leon and Loaf 'N Jug.
A senior retail source told Mail Online: "Everyone they have spoken to so far has said no chance until Mohsin disappears. This recent mess will only make people more nervous about taking it on."
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