Local residents have expressed their outrage after a billionaire was granted permission to close a main road in South Kensington in order to plant a dozen trees in the grounds of his £40million mansion. British businessman Richard Caring, who owns clubs and restaurants including the Ivy, has secured support from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to close part of Onslow Square for two weeks to install a crane to lift the mature trees above neighboring terraced houses. However, local residents criticized the council for “accommodating the whims of a billionaire who wants a nice garden”. David Erb, a software developer, told the Guardian: “It is absolutely wrong that one man, with a huge fortune, can disrupt the lives of thousands of people. “They often close the sidewalk as well and it starts to feel like we’re living behind a barricade.”
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The huge house has a two-storey basement with a swimming pool, beauty treatment room, steam room and summer clothing store, according to plans lodged with the council. Mr Caring has been embroiled in a five-year battle with residents living near his Park House mansion. “Anyone can apply to us for a road closure, from residents wanting to lift heavy objects into their homes to utility companies carrying out repairs and upgrades,” a council spokesman said. “While we cannot unreasonably refuse these requests, we appreciate that the shutdown may be disruptive and are doing our best to minimize any disruption. “In this case, we publicized the closure in the local media and on our website several weeks in advance and the applicant hand-delivered a letter to over 600 homes in the area. We have also encouraged the applicant to carry out the work during the school holidays to avoid disruption to school traffic and have informed Transport for London and the emergency services of the planned closure.” The Standard has reached out to Mr Caring’s representatives for comment.
