Holland Park residents challenge neighbour’s right to excavate beneath shared garden
Residents of a Grade II listed house in Holland Park are in a High Court dispute over whether a neighbouring flat owner can excavate beneath a shared garden to build a basement. The case matters because it turns on how far ownership of a garden extends underground, despite the owner having planning permission for the proposed work.
The basement plans, approved in 2018, are for a depth of 2.5 metres and include a gym, family and cinema room, shower room and storage. The ground-floor and garden lease is held by Jersey-listed Montana International Properties Ltd; the residents’ company argues its rights cover only the soil reasonably needed to use the land as a garden. The house contains three flats, with leases held by photographer Piers Calvert, singer Lisa Erickson and Montana.
In short
- Holland Park residents are contesting excavation beneath their garden.
- The proposed 2.5-metre basement includes a gym and cinema room.
- The High Court is considering how far the garden lease extends underground.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The residents’ company can argue that a garden lease should protect the soil needed to enjoy and maintain the garden, and that excavation beneath it would interfere with those rights even if the surface remained intact. Planning permission does not itself settle private property rights, so the court should determine the lease’s scope before the neighbour proceeds.
The case against
The flat owner can argue that the lease grants use of the garden at the surface without conveying every part of the ground beneath it, and that the residents’ company should not gain a broader underground right than the agreement supports. With planning permission already granted, the owner may say the proposed basement can proceed if it does not materially impair the garden’s use or breach other legal protections.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Residents living beside David and Victoria Beckham on ‘millionaire’s row’ in bitter court fight over mystery neighbour’s plans for giant cinema under garden”.