Theirry Henry has enraged neighbours in the affluent London suburb of Hampstead by gaining planning permission to demolish his luxury £6million home and replace it with three-storey fish tank. Many feel that the last minute winning goal against the residents nearby is absurd as there is nothing wrong with the current mansion that he owns.
Planners agreed to allow Henry to demolish his mansion in order that he can re-build it with a three-storey fish tank contained within the mansion. The aquarium will be made up of four tanks that will have a height total of 40ft and 15ft width measuring 3ft across. The four storey’s of the fish tank will be at basement level, ground floor, first and second floor.
One resident who is opposed to the plans is actor Tom Conti who led the revolt against him. However Henry defended his plans well to the planners in documents that were presented to the council bosses. Camden Council voted in favour of the proposal by a massive nine to two at the planning committee in the last few minutes of the three-hour planning meeting. Henry was not present at the meeting. However Camden Councillor Jonathan Simpson described Henry’s designs as fantastic stating that they would offer “outstanding contribution to the borough.”
Now that Henry has the green light to demolish the mansion he will begin to install the £250,000 fish tank that will house 5,500 gallons of water. Tom Conti feels that the building of the fish tank along with the rest of the re-design will cause massive disruption to the area and is simply not suitable. However Henry argues that the house is not fit for purpose now as a family home and that since being built in 1999 has aged badly. The papers submitted to the planners describe the house as having low ceilings and poor daylight. Tension has been growing between Henry and the neighbours since he submitted his plans back in February.
The fish tanks are made up of four separate containers, one for each storey of the house. The Beckhams, Madonna and other Premier League footballers have invested in such fish tanks, but none on the scale of Henry’s. The new home would also house a swimming pool and gym and would act as a London base for Henry when he comes here to visit his daughter. At present he plays for the New York Red Bulls having previously played for many years for Arsenal. The renovations are going to take around six months to complete which has enraged Tom Conti and other residents. He feels that because they are drilling into the basement there will be endless disruption to his and his neighbour’s lives. He feels that many people in the area are retired or work from home like himself, this sort of development would cause a terrible disturbance and if he really wants a new house why not build elsewhere rather than knock down a perfectly good house. Conti admits that in the last ten years there has been endless development in the area. The original architect who designed Henry’s house has opposed the new design and its application. He believes that the current house still benefits from good daylighting and is in good condition but has not been well maintained by Henry. Others local groups such as the Heath and Hampstead Society also tried to oppose the application.
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Fiona Davies is a senior land consultant at UK Land For Sale. All articles on the website have been written uniquely by her. She has worked in the land and property sector for the last ten years.