DIABOLICAL!
Angry neighbours’ verdict on traffic chaos as property tycoon builds £27m garden ... in the middle of a road
HIS luxury property developments have helped earn him an estimated £843million fortune. Christian Candy’s own home, however, is proving a problem – at least for his neighbours.
Angry locals say the construction of his private garden, which juts out into the middle of a street, is ruining their quality of life.
Mr Candy started building his £250million mansion in Regent’s Park three years ago. Its size makes it the equivalent of seven townhouses and it is London’s largest residence after Buckingham Palace.
The main building work is nearly complete, but construction is continuing on the roadside garden, said to be costing some £26.5million.
One neighbour, an 80-year- old disabled widow, said congestion caused by the works were making it difficult to get to her home.
‘I’m fed up with it,’ she said. ‘I lost my husband recently and it’s been very difficult. I’ve had to get taxis everywhere because I’m disabled; I have bad legs.
‘The congestion is so bad that my taxi driver got fed up and dropped me up the road. I had to carry my bags by myself, it was awful. It’s been majorly disruptive. I’ve been through a lot and don’t really want to have to think about this kind of stuff.’
Some of the neighbours’ complaints are about traffic grinding to a halt in the area, as the renovations dominate the two streets that it runs along.
The road by the side of the property is a tight one-way street with near constant jams. When the plans for the property were approved, the proposals for a ‘historic garden’ were rejected.
Mr Candy, 44, argued the garden was in architect John Nash’s
plans when the terrace was built in 1825 – something locals said was a ‘misrepresentation of history’ – and won his case on appeal.
A friend of the widow, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said: ‘The only way I can describe it is diabolical. I’m here a lot helping out and I see what’s happening. They do it because they’re rich and they can. It shows you the rich just step on everyone.’
Another resident, aged 75, said: ‘Public space should be for everyone, not just one individual. So many residents objected to it but I suppose he has deeper pockets than the rest of us. It’s been very disruptive, it’s dangerous and the pollution levels are increasing. It’s a complete nightmare.’
Another woman said: ‘It’s very bad. My mother has sold her house because of it.’ A man who lives yards from where the work is taking place said: ‘It’s very disruptive and only going to get worse through August and September when they close off the road.
‘I’m thinking about safety mainly. It’s a danger to pedestrians and cyclists and should never have been accepted by the council.’
Despite the row surrounding the ongoing construction of the garden, the rest of the property is nearly complete and estimated to be worth around £250million. That would break the record for the most expensive house ever sold in Britain – which is held by Mr Candy and his brother Nick.
Their most famous construction to date is the super-luxurious One Hyde Park building in Knightsbridge, which included a record £136million sale of an apartment to Ukraine’s then richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, in 2011.
Back in Regent’s Park, Christian Candy’s new home has 14 bedrooms over five floors, with a swimming pool and wine room in the basement, and a gym and yoga rooms above those.
The ground floor has separate daytime and night- time playrooms, as well as a walk-in children’s toy closet. On the first, there’s a billiards room, smoking room, library, formal and informal reception rooms and a bar with grand piano.
The second floor is dominated by the master bedroom. There is also a ‘family safe room’ in case the place comes under attack from burglars and a ‘confidential storage room’.
The top floor has a games room and huge rooftop terrace. Mr Candy has also built two smaller three- bedroom townhouses adjoined to the main house.
Mr Candy did not respond to requests for comment.