So Tony’s not the only Blair who falls out with the guy next door!
TECH tycoon Euan Blair has not only eclipsed his father’s multimillion-pound fortune but he’s proving rather more adept than the former Prime Minister at dealing with his neighbours.
During his Downing Street premiership, Sir Tony Blair endured a rocky relationship with his colleague next door, the then Chancellor Gordon Brown.
But it seems to have taught his son a useful lesson. After buying a £22 million London townhouse, Euan swiftly became embroiled in a planning dispute with Kensington Council and his new next-door neighbour Vinod Nair who had submitted plans to remodel his pile with a two-storey extension and a new outbuilding in his back garden.
Euan, 38, whose apprenticeship start-up Multiverse is valued at £1.35billion, lodged a raft of objections to the planning application. Among them was that the new rear building was too big and would make his garden feel too enclosed. He also claimed that builders engaged in preparatory work were disruptive.
Kensington Council rejected his claims, pointing out that neighbouring properties had similarly sized outbuildings and builders had to comply with its code of construction practice. Now, after wrangling over the plans, it appears Euan and his businessman neighbour have reached an amicable agreement and harmony has been restored in their affluent Notting Hill enclave. A spokesman for Euan confirmed he had lodged objections but that his concerns ‘had now been resolved’. Property experts were unsurprised at Euan’s expertise in the planning process, given the Blair family property portfolio is estimated at £35 million and he has a property investment company with his mother Cherie.