Jon Hunt, founder of Foxtons, featured in the news over the weekend, after it emerged that his efforts to make major improvements to a dilapidated home continues to drag on – 20 years after submitting plans to refurbish it
The estate agency founder has faced major opposition from neighbours opposed to his plans, which includes the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Japan and Lebanon, all of which reportedly cited the United Nations 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The 1846, Grade II-listed mansion in London, cost £15.75, with the first planning application made in 2008.
Central to his plans is a huge basement for his classic cars. Now, in an apparent attempt tp satisfy neighbours, the original 51,129 sq ft basement – that is 55 times the floor space of the average home – has been cut from four storeys to two.
His latest submission to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea shows barely any work has started, with the windows boarded up.
The UN convention says all states must ‘protect the premises of a diplomatic mission against intrusion or damage’.
The nearby Indian High Commission made two objections in the past seven months, and Mr Hunt beat off a 2015 High Court challenge by the French ambassador Sylvie Bermann, backed by the Saudis, Japanese, Russians and Lebanese.
Hunt sold Foxtons for £375m in 2007, and is now reputed to be worth £1.4bn. In 2005, he bought a mansion on London’s ‘Billionaires’ Row’ near Kensington Palace.
