THE former home of press magnet and politician Lord Beaverbrook is expected to revert to being a private home next week.

Cherkley Court, in Reigate Road, Leatherhead, opened its picturesque gardens in 2006 but will not be open this year as it has struggled for custom.

The Grade II listed country home had been operating at a significant loss in recent years, blamed on consecutive wet summers and the general economic climate.

The number of visitors to the gardens was significantly below the expected number of 50,000 each year. In 2007 there were just 11,800, 12,700 in 2008 and 16,000 in 2009. As a result the Beaverbrook Foundation, which bought the home in 1998, has applied to Mole Valley District Council to turn it back into a single family home.

The planning application is due to be rubber stamped at a MVDC's development control meeting next week.

The council's historic environment officer said: "I do not object to the change of use, although I share the disappointment of many that the house and wonderful gardens will no longer be accessible to the general public."