A Maltese interior designer who serves as one of the country’s ambassadors for culture is at the heart of a planning row in the UK, after he installed a gate at a historic hunting lodge.

Francis Sultana has attracted a flurry of criticism from a group of UK-based interior designers and UK National Trust members for installing the “horrific”  gate at the 18^th-century lodge in Hampshire.

They also claim that Sultana installed the gate before obtaining planning permission for it.

Sultana says that the gate was needed to protect the lodge’s garden from deer and is an improvement on the chicken wire that had been placed there by the previous owner.

The gate erected by Francis Sultana shown while the wooden gate was taken away for restoration. Photo: John Tanner/Instagram

The grade II listed building in question, Odiham lodge, was once described as the “prettiest small house in the world”, Britain's Times and Daily Mail newspapers reported.

While some say it was one of King Henry VII’s hunting lodges, according to the UK’s heritage conservation organisation, National Trust, it dates back to the 18th century. 

Odiham lodge became an emblem of English country house design under the renowned decorator John Fowler, who moved into the house in 1947, and Nicky Haslam, who resided there until 2019.

According to The Times, Sultana moved into the prestige property last year and installed the new electric gates before planning permissions were granted. 

A spokesperson for Sultana, however, said the gates are not electric. 

“They are manual gates, hand-made by British craftsmen,” she told Times of Malta. 

“They have been put up to protect the garden, which Mr Sultana is restoring to its former glory, from deer and stags, which is in accordance and approval of the National Trust.”

Francis Sultana. Photo: Jonathan Glynn Smith

Raised in Gozo, Sultana moved to London when he was 19 and began to work at David Gill Gallery. The 49-year-old is the go-to interior designer for international collectors and last year designed the new Fawaz Gruosi flagship store in London. 

He was appointed an ambassador for culture by the Maltese government in 2018.

'Horrific' gate

In planning proposals to Hart district council, Sultana described the new metal gates as an: “acceptable compromise between not obstructing the view of the house while stopping the entrance of deer,” and “this is an improvement from ad hoc mesh previously installed.”

The “ad hoc mesh” was chicken wire fixed by the previous owner, Nicky Haslam, who lived at the property for 40 years. 

The new gates have been dubbed “horrific” by critics, and decorator John Tanner is leading a campaign against them and Sultana’s further planning proposals which include the installation of 14 security cameras and a plastic-coated fence around the property.  

He has taken his protest to Instagram, and urged his 27,000 followers to submit objections to the local council. 

The image of one of the gates posted by Francis Sultana on his social media. Photo:Francis Sultana

Critics claim the iron gate, when closed, will obscure the view of the historic property as illustrated in this render. Photo: John Tanner/Instagram

The former gates were much more in keeping with the hunting lodge, critics say. Photo: John Tanner/Instagram

'Working with National Trust' 

In a statement sent by his spokesperson, Sultana said he first fell in love with the English hunting lodge as a teenager and he was “thrilled” when he was awarded custodianship.

" I appreciate that the custodianship of this unique house was hotly contended and I understand that not everyone was happy when my tenancy was announced," he said.

"However, I would like to assure everyone that loves the house as much as I do, that both the National Trust and I have only the house and the garden's best interests at heart."

He said he and the National Trust are working together "tirelessly" on the conservation and restoration programme. 

"Every piece of John Fowler and Nicky Haslam's legacy is being carefully preserved to ensure that this precious jewel remains part of the UK's heritage for many more years to come," he said.

A statement from National Trust said Sultana is working closely with National Trust specialists to restore John Fowler's original schemes for the property. 

"No aspect of the Fowler collection has been discarded and any conservation work will be made with curatorial and conservation guidance from the Trust," it said. 

"Changes to the exterior – for which a retrospective planning application has been made - are for security purposes and to deter deer, both of which were a problem for previous tenants."

It said every aspect of work to the garden and building is "sympathetic to a detailed Conservation Management Plan", and under guidance from National Trust curatorial, gardens, and archaeology specialists. 

This story was amended to clarify that one of the images of the gates was a render for illustrative purposes.