Caring, 74, who owns celebrity hotspot restaurants Ivy and Sexy Fish as well as private members’ club Annabel’s, appealed against a decision by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that the windows were installed “without planning permission” and “fail to maintain the character and appearance’ of the conservation area. The appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, seen by the Guardian, comes after Caring angered his neighbors by closing a main road for two weeks in order to plant dozens of trees in the grounds of his mansion. It’s the latest chapter in a five-year battle between Caring and his wife and many of the 500 or so people who live in properties next door to the Park House property. Renovation work at the rear of Richard Caring’s home in South Kensington. Photo: Antonio Olmos/The Observer Plans for the 13,400-square-foot house, which replaces a 19th-century country house previously owned by German industrialist heir Gert-Rudolf Flick, feature a large two-story basement. The basement alone contains a swimming pool that can be converted into a ballroom, beauty treatment room, steam room and summer clothing store, according to plans submitted to the council. The couple is expected to move into the home on Monday. In the appeal, Caring’s wife Patricia, who is more than 30 years his junior and pregnant with his sixth child, said the windows were “well designed, well proportioned and detailed to match the overall Victorian character of the wider protection area”. . He also complained that the six-month deadline given by the council to remove the windows “goes beyond what is reasonable”. The Planning Inspectorate said it expects written submissions from both parties by September 7 and an inspector will be sent to survey the site and issue a decision. If the council loses the appeal, it may have to pay Caring’s costs. The council declined to comment on the appeal, but a spokesman said: “There are planning regulations to protect neighbourhoods. We take violations very seriously and work with landowners to quickly investigate and correct issues. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our site and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Richard Caring, pictured with his wife Patricia, owns celebrity hotspot restaurants Ivy and Sexy Fish as well as private members’ club Annabel’s. Photo: David M Bennett/Dave Bennett/Getty Images for EJAF/The Caring Family Foundation “We have issued an enforcement notice in this case and this allows the developer to amend their property for six months from the date of issue to comply with planning consent.” David Erb, who lives in Onslow Square on a property overlooking the Caring mansion, said: “I find it inconceivable that after the applicant deliberately misled the council and built massive dormitories completely contrary to the plans submitted to RBKC and after retrospective permission for huge dormitories refused, that there is any justification for overturning the carefully considered planning decision which refuses the dormitories.’ “The project has significantly exceeded the building mass limits that were set at the outset, even without the dormitories, and these huge dormitories just compound that. After more than four years of enduring extremely noisy construction, I’m hesitant to support any more work, but the dormitories are a big part of what makes replacing the formerly wonderful Park House a nuisance.” Caring is a donor to the Conservative party, with records on the Electoral Commission website showing he has given at least £735,000 to the party since 2010. The Conservatives control RBKC council with 35 of the 50 seats.
