Jon Hunt, the billionaire who founded Foxtons, has defeated the French government’s bid to prevent him creating a ‘mega-basement’ in his grade II listed mansion house next to the embassy of France in Kensington Palace Gardens, London.
Hunt and his wife Lois had started work on their home - the former Soviet mission next to the embassy - with a view to a mega-basement accommodating a classic car collection.
The couple were first granted planning permission and listed building consent in 2008 with a smaller scheme receiving listed building consent in 2010; in 2011, freehold owners Crown Estates granted a limited licence to allow excavation to go ahead.
The French authorities went to court to challenge the validity of some of the consents granted by Kensington and Chelsea local authority. However, their application for a judicial review has been rejected and have ben ordered to pay the majority of the council's costs estimated as over £100,000.
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Everything that is wrong with the world in a nutshell. Who the hell needs a mega-basement? It just smacks of gross and vulgar wealth, of showing off, of trying to prove a point.
We know Foxtons' ethos is to do exactly what they please no matter what the objections. Well, we now know the owner follows that mantra.
Quite why he couldn't have got a massive house in the country to store his classic car collection is a mystery to me. It's not like he couldn't afford it!
This really really pains me to agree with you, as you are a Gas-fan, but I feel compelled to. Oh well normal hostilities can resume tomorrow when we pick your pockets of three points! :-)
No chance!
Level on points if we beat you. With our recent form, I can't see it, but you never know with football.
I'm going for a 2-2 draw. Then we'll both be reasonably happy and we can be united again in our hate for Foxtons
Good old Foxtons!
Classic Foxtons. Of course its founder wanted to build an unnecessarily large and extravagant basement to cater to his classic car collection.
Foxtons is renowned for its excessive and indulgent business attitude, you just have to look at their plush offices to see that.
I can't think of a month, maybe a week even, where there hasn't been some kind of controversy surrounding the company, it's like they thrive on it. Clearly the boss has the same mentality, divide and conquer!
A mega basement, how vulgar, now if we were talking pyramid that would be classy
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