Residents block Roman Abramovich renovation over river view fears

Roman Abramovich's plans to refurbish the £25 million Chelsea home he bought for his girlfriend have suffered a blow after objections from his neighbours.

The Russian billionaire bought the Grade II listed property which overlooks the Thames on Cheyne Walk to share with his partner Dasha Zhukova, 30, and their two-year-old son Aaron last year.

But his plans for a £10million makeover have angered some local residents who fear a roof extension could block their view of the river.

The Chelsea FC owner submitted a planning application to Kensington and Chelsea council in April under the name of Acmonius Investments, which proposed raising the height of the roof plus rebuilding and extensions.

Four residents have objected in writing, which means the decision must now be referred to a committee of ward councillors unless Mr Abramovich, 45, decides to withdraw the current application and submit revised proposals.

In a letter to residents the council said: “When we receive three or more objections to an application, planning officers write a report which recommends the application be either refused or granted and the final decision will be made by a committee made up of ward councillors who do not have to agree with the officers’ recommendation.”

One resident, whose flat backs onto Mr Abramovich’s property, said: “I am most definitely against his plans. I feel it is typical of these extremely rich people who just want to do whatever they want at everybody else’s expense.

“It is not simply the changes to his home but what this will bring to us, two years of construction work and then a bigger property, more traffic, and potentially blocking the view of the river.”

The house next door to Mr Abramovich’s property was bought by Mick Jagger, who gained planning permission to install air conditioning and refurbish the property, earlier this year.

But local residents, who include Wuthering Heights and Brideshead Revisited producer Robert Bernstein, are unwilling to see the area damaged. One said today: “He is causing a lot of upset, but we will not give up. We are not going to let this happen.”

A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea council said: “We are in talks with the agents. This is a complex application given the number of stakeholders, so we are giving it due consideration.”