PLANS to demolish the house where Tilford man John Lowe murdered two women in 2014 and build three luxury homes in its place have been refused on appeal.

Waverley Borough Council rejected an application by Raw Element (Waverley) Ltd to redevelop Keepers Cottage Stud off Waverley Lane last July, citing inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

The developer subsequently launched an appeal against the council’s decision, but in March government planning inspector Joanna Reid upheld Waverley’s refusal.

In summary the inspector ruled the proposal would cause “great harm” to the Green Belt, commenting that its buildings and garden walls “would be significantly more bulky and dominant, and their siting would be more intrusive and spread across the site than the existing buildings”.

Lowe, 84, was found guilty of double murder and sentenced to life in prison in October 2014 after shooting dead Christine Lee, 66, and her daughter Lucy Lee, 40, as they tried to make their escape from his farm house.

The dog breeder had lived at Keeper’s Cottage Stud with his wife Susanna Wilson for almost 50 years prior to her death, aged 84, in 2013.