Oxford's Headington Shark house Airbnb row deepens

Oxford City Council says the Headington Shark is not in a location suitable for short lets

The owner of a famous house with a shark sticking out of its roof has criticised a council refusing him permission to rent it out on Airbnb.

Magnus Hanson-Heine said the Headington Shark house was shown off by Oxford City Council in its local plan for the area but treated as "just any other place" when the decision was made.

"I would like them to leave the shark and me alone," he said.

Oxford City Council said the house was not in a site suitable for short lets.

The shark, which was controversial when it appeared in 1986, was added to the Oxford Heritage Asset Register in 2022, which recognises places of important local cultural, social or historic value.

Mr Hanson-Heine has been renting out the landmark property for several years, but received a breach notice from the council last July. He appealed but permission was refused.

"The change of use would result in the loss of a residential dwelling, in which the proposal would also fail to be regarded as meeting any of the exceptional circumstances," the council document says.

It sent out an enforcement notice in November, but Mr Hanson-Heine has appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.

He said: "I think it's very telling that the Headington Local Plan of the council has the shark house on its cover page... and now they're essentially claiming it be treated like any other house with very glib one-line reasons why it shouldn't be given this permission, if permission is even needed, which isn't clear at all."

He added: "If I'm wrong on point of law, then I hope they really see that this is a truly unique offering for Oxfordshire and maybe England as a whole.

"It isn't something that should be treated just as any other place in their average plan. They don't do it whenever it suits them, and that's just wrong."

Magnus Hanson-Heine is renting the Headington Shark out on Airbnb

Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing, said the "uncontrolled rise in the number of short lets deprives our city of much-needed homes and can cause misery in quiet neighbourhoods".

She added: "The shark house is not in a location we consider suitable for short lets, which is why we have previously refused an application for change of use, and why we are now taking planning enforcement action against the property."

Installed by former BBC Radio Oxford presenter Bill Heine and sculpted by John Buckley, the Headington Shark, known as Untitled 1986, was a cause celebre when it landed.

Heine, who died in 2019, was told it broke planning rules and he was only able to keep it when Michael Heseltine backed an appeal in 1992.