However it has now been erected in a slightly different location, allegedly cutting off a small strip of 'his' garden.
The
row has pitted him against his neighbours, Stephen and Margaret de
Heinrich, who own the luxury beauty products business Omorovicza – and
are showing no signs of backing down.
They
bought their house next door to Mr Becht, who has been described as a
'publicity-shy workaholic', and his 54-year-old wife Ann for £9.6million
last year.
However
the couple are currently living in another huge townhouse in nearby
Holland Park, worth around £7million, while ongoing renovations to their
property are completed.
The row has pitted Mr Becht against
his neighbours, Stephen and Margaret de Heinrich, who own the luxury
beauty products business Omorovicza – and are showing no signs of
backing down
The
row between the warring neighbours began when Mr Becht discovered that a
brick wall erected between the gardens last year may have been built in
the wrong place – a revelation that apparently left him horrified.
According
to papers submitted to London's High Court by Mr and Mrs Becht: 'The
true boundary of the southern end of the garden is located some 1,503mm
[4 feet and 11.17 inches] to the east of the wall.' In January the
Bechts contacted their 44-year-old Swiss-Hungarian neighbour Mr de
Heinrich directly to discuss the wall.
The
court papers reveal that at the time, Mr de Heinrich claimed that he
'was willing to consent to the demolition of the garden wall provided
that he was not liable for the cost'.
However
before work could begin on the demolition, the de Heinrichs declared
that they had decided the wall was in the right place after all –
following the line of a fence which was still in the garden when both
they and the Bechts made their offers for the houses.
A
letter sent on behalf of the de Heinrichs said: 'As it is clear that no
one has actually lost any land from when they made the offer, we
suggest the only logical solution is that the wall stays where it is.'
According the Bechts' claim, Mr de Heinrich is now 'refusing to move the
wall' and as a result 'continues to trespass on the claimants' land'.
The dispute between the warring
neighbours began when Mr Becht discovered that a brick wall erected
between the gardens of their Kensington homes, in London, last year may
have been built in the wrong place
The
Bechts are now asking for the wall to be moved under court order, or
for damages – which could run into millions given the astronomical cost
of property in Kensington.
Also
involved in the row are property developers Nick and Christian Candy,
through their firm Sud Co No.12, who sold the two houses to the warring
millionaires after splitting one giant property in half.
In
2010 it was reported that Holland-born Mr Becht made more than
£90million in cash and shares in a single year thanks to his pay deal
for running corporation Reckitt Benckiser, based in Slough, which is
famous for selling Cillit Bang cleaner.
His
neighbours the de Heinrichs own the firm Omorovicza, launched in 2006,
which sells expensive beauty products and runs a spa in Budapest. Last
night none of the parties responded to requests for further comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment