High Court Judges Holland Park Basement Excavation Dispute
Neighbours in star-studded Holland Park are locked in a High Court battle over plans to dig a basement beneath a Grade-II listed Victorian house, the-independent.com reported. Documentary photographer Piers Calvert and choral singer Lisa Erickson are opposing excavation plans beneath the garden of their multi-flat building. David and Victoria Beckham purchased their main London residence on the same street in 2013 for £31.5 million, joining neighbors like Simon Cowell, Elton John, and Robbie Williams.
Freehold Residents Fight Jersey-Listed Company Over Subsoil Ownership
Mr. Calvert and Mrs. Erickson serve as directors of the building’s freehold and residents’ company, 51 Holland Park Residents Ltd. They are challenging the ground floor leaseholder, Montana International Properties Ltd, a Jersey-listed company whose beneficial owners remain undisclosed. Master Francesca Kaye heard arguments at London’s High Court over whether the freehold company owns only the cultivatable surface of the garden or all the subsoil extending beneath it. Planning permission for the 2.5-meter deep basement—designed to house a gym, family cinema room, shower room, and storage space—was originally granted in 2018.
Legal Arguments Test Ancient Property Law Against Leasehold Contracts
David Nicholls, barrister for the residents’ company, argued in court that the lease specifies a “garden” rather than broader land ownership. He stated that subsoil located 20, 100, or 1,000 feet below the surface cannot reasonably be considered a garden or required for its cultivation. Conversely, Daniel Dovar, barrister for Montana International Properties Ltd, maintained that a natural reading of the lease demises the whole garden without limitation, which naturally includes all underlying subsoil. He also cited legal precedents establishing that a property conveyance typically includes the airspace above and the subsoil below unless explicitly excluded.
What Remains Unresolved After Three Days of Court Hearings
Following three days of legal arguments at the High Court, Master Kaye reserved her final decision to a later date. Lawyers for both disputing parties declined to identify the owners of the offshore entity or the tenants currently occupying the lower apartment. The court must ultimately determine whether the lease language restricts subsoil rights to gardening purposes or allows the subterranean construction work to proceed.
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