Estate agency tycoon's plans to refurbish Grade II-listed mansion on London's 'Billionaires' Row' stalled for 20 years following objections from diplomat neighbours

By NEIL SEARS

Published: | Updated:

Many of us know the pain of building work dragging on or neighbours objecting to planning applications.

So spare a thought for Jon Hunt, whose bid to refurbish a dilapidated home has dragged on for 20 years.

And it’s not just any neighbours holding up his plans – it’s the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Japan and Lebanon citing the United Nations 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The only good news for Mr Hunt is that he is the billionaire founder of the Foxtons estate agents chain, so can afford to live elsewhere in the meantime. 

And when the house is finally completed it could be worth £100million-plus. It’s just that at this rate his and wife Lois’s four children will have all grown up and left before their dream home is ready.

Mr Hunt sold Foxtons for £375million in 2007, and is now reputed to be worth £1.4billion. In 2005, he bought a mansion on London’s ‘Billionaires’ Row’ near Kensington Palace, where residents include Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone.

The 1846, Grade II-listed house cost £15.75million, with the first planning application made in 2008.

Central to his plans is a huge basement for his classic cars. Now, in an apparent olive branch to neighbours, the original 51,129 sq ft basement – that’s 55 times the floor space of the average home – has been cut from four storeys to two. 

Jon Hunt (pictured), the billionaire founder of Foxtons estate agency, has been embroiled in a 20-year battle to refurbish a dilapidated mansion on Bishop's Avenue in London

Jon Hunt (pictured), the billionaire founder of Foxtons estate agency, has been embroiled in a 20-year battle to refurbish a dilapidated mansion on Bishop's Avenue in London

The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Japan and Lebanon all objected to Mr Hunt's proposals, citing the United Nations 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Japan and Lebanon all objected to Mr Hunt's proposals, citing the United Nations 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

Mr Hunt's plans included a huge basement for his classic cars. He reduced the number of storeys in the proposed basement from four to two in an attempt to appease neighbours

Mr Hunt's plans included a huge basement for his classic cars. He reduced the number of storeys in the proposed basement from four to two in an attempt to appease neighbours

But there are still plans for spas, gyms, staff quarters, a car lift for the underground car park and six en-suite bedrooms.

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.

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