see url:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/22/chinese-tycoon-luxury-palace-hyde-park
see full story...Rich Chinese Communist makes a monkey out of
Westminster Council and its policy of creating affordable homes for the
poor...Still...nice vew...He 😉might get an invite to meet the
queen...And 752 affordable homed created in 3 years, out of 100,000
needed for the poor and the servants...is not to be sneezed at...😉
Quote<<<
A Chinese billionaire has been granted planning permission to construct
an eight-storey, 5,760-sq metre (62,000-sq-ft) private palace
overlooking Hyde Park, central London.
Westminster city council granted Cheung Chung-kiu, a Hong Kong-based
property tycoon, permission to partly demolish and reconstruct 2-8A
Rutland Gate, in Knightsbridge, in order to create his vast new home,
which experts said could be worth up to £500m when completed.
The council’s decision to permit the project comes just months after it
imposed a ban on new “Monopoly board-style” residences so as to free up
space for more affordable homes.
Westminster council said it was unable to stop this project going ahead
as the site had been previouslya single dwelling and planning rules
allowed it to be replaced. The council also confirmed that Cheung would
not be obliged to contribute to the construction of any affordable homes
in the borough, as is the case with most large-scale private property
developments.
A spokesperson for Westminster council said “This year the council
introduced a policy which will prevent the construction of new homes
over 200 sq metres. This policy does not apply to the redevelopment of
existing single dwellings. Building the right type of homes for people
to live in is a priority for the council and Westminster has delivered
over 725 new affordable homes since 2017.”
>>>End of Quote
