These are London's most controversial billionaire basements
The super-rich and their love for London basements….
The
former home of singer Duffy and the address at which the rules of
football were first written down has collapsed thanks to a basement
excavation gone wrong.
One wall of the £3.8m Barnes townhouse,
which is now owned by former Phones4U boss David Kassler, completely
disintegrated as builders dug beneath to create a home cinema, gym and
wine room.
The company carrying out the work denied the collapse had
anything to do with the basement excavation, saying it was “just an old
building”.
Here are five more basement excavation controversies:
Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter, Petra
Petra
Ecclestone, daughter of F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, was forced to
withdraw a planning application on a 19th Century lodge in the grounds
of her Chelsea mansion after planners thought the work would be too
invasive. However, the basement excavation on her Grade II listed home
still went ahead despite residents objecting to the work.
Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi
The
next-door neighbour of the TV chef and art collector submitted planning
permission for a huge basement complex underneath the garden of the
Eaton Square home in 2012. Saatchi had previously clashed with residents
over building works and was accused of causing £50,000 worth of damage
to some Italian marble bathroom tiles. However, despite these protests
the couple were no strangers to causing disruption themselves. In 2010,
they bought a former factory in Chelsea and converted it to a mansion,
including, you guessed it, a massive basement excavation.
Jon Hunt
Foxtons’
billionaire founder Jon Hunt wants a humongous basement under his home
in Kensington Palace Gardens to fit a tennis court, swimming pool and a
showroom for his collection of Ferraris.
However, the French
government has launched a legal tirade against Hunt claiming that
certificates granted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for
completion of the property mogul’s project are invalid.
Hunt bought his home for £15.75m in 2007.
Lakshmi Mittal
Indian
steel czar Lakshmi Mittal spent millions putting an underground complex
of Turkish baths and a pool made of marble from the same quarry as the
Taj Mahal. No wonder his Kensington Palace Gardens home is nicknamed
“Taj Mittal”.
Hedge Fund boss Edmund Lazarus
Hedge
fund boss and major Conservative Party donor Edmund Lazarus submitted
plans to build a three-storey basement underneath his Victorian home in
West London. If built, the basement would be more than double the size
of his Holland Park home.
Lazarus was reportedly willing to fork
out £16m for the basement complex. Frills and thrills include a swimming
pool, gym, yoga studio, wine cellar and private cinema.
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