PLANNING chiefs in the New Forest National Park are set to reject the latest application submitted by one of Britain’s richest men.

Billionaire businessman Jim Ratcliffe has launched another bid to build a luxury mansion on the Hampshire coast – two years after his previous proposal was thrown out.

The 61-year-old tycoon wants to bulldoze an existing property at Thorns Beach, near Beaulieu, and redevelop the site.

His original application was refused by the National Party Authority (NPA) in 2012 and was rejected on appeal by a Government-appointed planning inspector.

Earlier this year he submitted a revised scheme that aimed to overcome the objections.

But a report to next week’s meeting of the NPA’s planning and development control committee says Mr Ratcliffe has merely “tinkered” with the original proposal.

The report describes most of the changes as “purely cosmetic” and not sufficient to elevate the design from being “very good” to “truly outstanding”.

It adds: “The approach taken by the applicant to essentially tinker with the scheme dismissed at appeal has not resulted in a significantly different design.

“In some respects the amendments have actually resulted in a retrograde step.”

Quoting a letter of objection sent in by the New Forest Association the report adds: “The best that can be said of the proposal is that it is better than the very ordinary design of the original application.

“But it remains miles away from achieving the criteria set out by the inspector at the appeal.”

The NPA has also received an objection from the Solent Protection Society, which says the house would appear “conspicuous and disruptive” when viewed from the sea.

However, the application has also sparked 16 letters of support.

One of the people backing the proposal says the “carefully designed” house will be sympathetic to the landscape and will enhance the area.

Another claims the property will “sit beautifully” on the shoreline.