Kensington striped house boarded up as owner presses ahead with demolition

Boarded up: The house is one step closer to being demolished
Barney Davis
Chloe Chaplain28 July 2016

The Kensington striped house is one step closer to being flattened after the front was boarded up in preparation for its demolition.

The infamous house in London’s affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea is owned by property developer Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring who has announced plans to knock it down and build a dream home.

Ms Lisle-Mainwaring sparked fury amongst her neighbours when she painted the multi-million-pound townhouse in red and white stripes.

She was ordered to get rid of the stripes, labelled an “eyesore”, but appealed the decision.

An 'eyesore': The controversial striped house in Kensington
AFP

Ms Lisle-Mainwaring, who lives in Switzerland, has since revealed plans to flatten the entire building in order to turn the disused office in South End into a dream London home.

But her plans have been beset by legal challenges and she has so far spent more than £1 million trying to fight them.

Work to demolish the property began on March 22, with asbestos being removed and the interior stripped out.

Demolition plans: Work has begun to transform the disused office into a home
Laura Proto

Ms Lisle-Mainwaring told the Standard earlier this year that she had “no doubt” her neighbours would cause her more “terrible problems” in trying to delay her.

Council order: Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring outside the house in Kensington
Alex Lentati

She said: “It has been very stressful but at least I have a comfortable home to live in and am not going to go bankrupt.”

The “noisy” work has angered neighbours.

One said: “Living in Geneva she has no idea of the amount of disruption she is causing.

“The serious work hasn’t even started yet- so it is likely to get worse.”

Another neighbour, Mohammed Dawood, claimed work was starting at 6am and said: “It is really loud in the mornings and I struggle to sleep through.”

Conservative councillor Daniel Moylan said he had not received any complaints around the works but that council officers would investigate any “noisy work” outside of sociable hours if there is evidence of it.

Dream home: Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring inside the controversial property in Kensington
Alex Lentati

He added: “People are very anxious about what is going on in that house. It’s become something of a local icon.

“But it is a free country, just about, and we can’t stop her from doing the works so we will have to wait for the next steps.”

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