Historic £2million lodge is Britain's costliest council house

Ruth Ben-Adir, 44, is being housed in the historic Victorian lodge which sits on the edge of a 29-acre estate in Highgate Village.

The mother-of-one moved into the Grade II-listed building while repairs are being carried out on her council home in Kentish Town.

The lodge is situated in Waterlow Park and is close to homes belonging to personalities such as George Michael and Sting, as well as Government minister Tessa Jowell.

The decision, by Camden council, has been labelled "extraordinary" by officials and comes days after housing chiefs at Ealing council were criticised for paying £12,000-a-month rent for an Afghan family to live in a £1.2million, seven-bedroom house in Acton. Ms Ben-Adir has been living in the three-bedroom house with her 22-year-old son for a number of weeks. The property, designed by architect James Pennethorne, was home to the park's gardeners, but more recently has been used for storage despite extensive renovation work.

A local authority source said the decision to hand the property over to a council tenant was unbelievable.

The source said: "This must be the most expensive council house in Britain. The place is dripping with history and there are a lot of wealthy people who would give their eye teeth to live there.

"To hand it over to a council tenant is extraordinary. It's like they made her lady of the manor overnight."

The house is owned by Camden council, who also run the park, after London's Lord Mayor gave them to the public in 1889 as a "garden for the gardenless". Local historian Pam Coopers said the building was beautifully designed.

She said: "This is a wonderful building. It is very typical of the architect's Tudor-esque, gothic style with beautiful chimneys.

"It has so many nice touches such as the original gun cupboards used by hunting parties on the estate. There's also a mysterious bust by the side entrance, which English Heritage say is a statue of the god Hercules."

Camden Council spokesperson said: "Camden Council owns this property - we are not paying rent for it on the private market. The Council used the space for offices until recently.

"The lodge is not a council house but the Council chose to temporarily house a tenant in the lodge because the tenant's council house is directly affected by a major building project in Camden.

"The work would cause considerable distress and disruption to the tenant if they remained in their current house. The tenant will be returning to their home once the work has been completed."

Ms Ben-Adir refused to comment.