Millionaire residents in one of the UK's most expensive postcodes are fighting plans to bulldoze a historic hotel down in what they have called a 'disgusting act of vandalism'. The Haven Hotel has stood at the entrance to Poole Harbour in Dorset since 1880 and was one of the first properties to be built on the exclusive sandy peninsula. The Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi used its lounge in 1898 to pioneer his wireless telegraphy experiments, marking the site as the birthplace of radio. But wealthy locals in Sandbanks, Poole - where the average home sells for £1.5million - have been fighting plans by the owners to close the iconic hotel and demolish the building and level the site, ahead of a future development by SCG Development Group Ltd. Owners of the 84-room hotel, which has become an iconic landmark for passing yachts and cross-Channel ferries, say the building has now come to the end of its life and is now so expensive to run in the winter that they have had to close it. A planning agent acting on behalf of owners FJB Hotels insisted that they intend to build a brand new hotel of similar size on the plot, adding that it will be more sustainable and cheaper to run. Many of Sandbanks' inhabitants are horrified at the prospect of losing a building of such historical importance, while others have raised fears that the site could be left empty for a long period to force through more profitable plans for luxury flats. A previous planning application for the site back in 2017 that was previously ruled invalid proposed building a six-storey block of 119 apartments. Sandbank locals are furious that the iconic Haven Hotel (pictured) is set to be demolished by its owners The Haven Hotel pictured in the 1930s. It has stood on the sandy peninsula for over a centuryLocal resident Keith Ulyatt wrote in his letter of objection: 'Granting permission for demolition without any proposal of what is to replace it is totally unacceptable. 'It raises the prospect of a flattened empty building plot being in place for years, in the most iconic of local locations...so that any subsequent proposed building would be acceptable compared to the wasteland created.'Another local, Andrew Reed, said: 'This application is nothing short of vandalism, a ploy to avoid the rigorous assessment of a future development application by reducing a useable and valuable asset to a piece of waste ground in the most prominent of locations.' Resident Carl Emms said: 'I'm disgusted that a property of such historic significance has been left to deteriorate.'It seems to have been a deliberate lowering of maintenance and worth so to convince decision makers that the hotel's future is not sustainable.'Sarah Charles wrote in her letter of objection: 'The Haven Hotel in Sandbanks should not be demolished. It is a site of significant heritage and is a wonderful hotel in the present day.'It was once home to Marconi who conducted important work for wireless telegraphy, and is an icon of 1920s architecture. It would be an act of vandalism on this iconic Sandbanks landmark if it were to be demolished.' She added: 'The building should be cherished and supported, not destroyed and disrespected losing all its rich history.' Pictured: SCG Development's 3D proposed new building on the site to replace Haven Hotel Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi (pictured) effectively pioneered radio at the hotel in the late 19th century Marconi's radio mast pictured next to the hotel in the 1930s. His was the radio network used to by those on board the Titanic to transmit their SOS emergency signals in 1912 Architect Philip Gumuchdjian and Sandbanks Community Group chairman Norman Allenby Smith with a 3D model of the SCG's proposed developmentElectrical engineer Marconi set out to prove radio waves could travel long distances and came to England in 1896 to conduct his experiments after getting no interest in Italy. He moved into the Haven Hotel in 1898, adapted a downstairs room into a laboratory and built a 120-foot wooden transmitter mast in the hotel grounds. In April 1912, when the Titanic sank, the Marconi operators on board used his exact radio network to transmit their desperate SOS emergency signals. Despite its rich history, Richard Carr of Property Planning Strategy, who is working for FJB Hotels, said the hotel in its present form cannot be saved. He reassured locals that a new hotel would be built on the site, not residential flats.Mr Carr said: 'The site has to be used as a hotel and we plan to submit a new application very soon for a 85-bedroom hotel.'We are planning to demolish the Haven which isn't listed or in a Conservation Area. The building has come to the end of its life.'The majority of it is a steel-form building which faces the sea and has been exposed to salt water and south westerly winds for over 100 years. Parts of it are severely corroded.'If you run a bath, you get yellow water from where the pipes were made of galvanised steel that has perished over the years.'He added: 'It has wide corridors and high ceilings. The bedrooms are old, there are a lot of grand rooms that aren't used. 'The running costs are just eye-watering and ridiculous. There are people jumping up and down and making noise about what will happen to the site, but if they read the local planning policy then they will see that we have to replace it with another hotel.'The new hotel will use a lot less energy and be built using modern materials. The bedrooms will have purpose-built ensuite bathrooms and air conditioning.'Sandbanks, which is made up of about 800 households, has several famous residents including former football managers Harry Redknapp and Graeme Souness, and the computer magnate Sir Peter Ogden. The Daily Mail contacted Poole Council for comment.