The other day I was walking back to Saunders 1865 – The VIP Relocation Company’s HQ in Kensington. I was just round the corner in a quiet residential backwater when I came across a shocking and mysterious sight in a lovely area of Kensington Village!
Why oh why had one of the Victorian town houses been painted all red and white so that it resembled a beach house in Brighton! That can’t be allowed was my 2nd thought!!
Eventually I discovered what it was all about and it’s now made the national press.
According to reports, the owner of this elite, compact multi-million pound house wanted to renovate the property by doing a complete overhaul. This would have involved knocking the house down and replacing it with a new 5-bedroom property.
However, the neighbours were none too happy. They lodged an objection with the Planning Department 
stating, ironically in hindsight, that the new property would ruin the appearance of the street. So, apparently, in the dead of night, the owner had the house painted red and white in protest!
I understand that there are in fact no restrictions what colour you can paint your property when, as here, it is not a listed building.
Litigation rages and there’s due to be another High Court hearing in June.
This is exactly the type of property that our home finding experts find for our clients’ VIP expats when they are relocated to London. This story demonstrates the need to use a relocation firm that does its due diligence.
Imagine renting a home next to this one; waking up the next morning to find that it’s been turned into an unsightly mess – with no prospect of it changing for, perhaps, years!
