£20m house is eyesore, say neighbours

They claim the three-storey Modernist property will ruin the neighbourhood and should not have been granted planning permission.

The house, in Pitt Street, Kensington, is the latest in a series of multi-million-pound homes being built in London.

It will have an underground swimming pool, gym, steam room, wine cellar, garage for four saloon cars and servants' quarters.

Being built by developers Spink Property, it is expected to go on the market for about £20million. Neighbours were astonished when Kensington and Chelsea council approved the plans, in spite of at least 35 objections.

Jade Aebi, 37, who lives next door, said: "It's an enormous block with huge windows. It's totally out of keeping with the neighbourhood, which is beautiful period houses.

"I understand the developer is doing his job, trying to build the biggest possible house, but all the residents objected and the council is meant to step in and make a judicious decision."

A two-storey Fifties house with mature gardens used to be on the third-of-an-acre site. "We all enjoyed looking out on the garden but then they cut the trees down," said Mrs Aebi. "The house wasn't attractive but it was a small eyesore and now it's going to be an even bigger one."

Michael French, the council's planning chief at the time, recommended approval, saying: "The proposed building, although much larger in footprint than the prevailing norm locally, is considered to relate reasonably with other buildings along Pitt Street, in terms of both scale and design, particularly given the variety of architectural styles within the vicinity."

There were four and five-storey townhouses opposite the site and a "strikingly modern building" in nearby Hornton Street.

Mr French concluded the house would "preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area".