Showbiz

George Michael’s £10m London mansion ‘gets modern makeover’ after his sister was granted planning permission despite protests from locals

George Michael’s £10m London mansion ‘gets modern makeover’ after his sister was granted planning permission despite protests from locals

George Michael’s £10million London mansion is showing signs of improvement after undergoing major renovation work.

Yioda Panayiotou, who is the Wham! star’s only living sibling, was given ownership of the property following the singer’s tragic death on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.

PH๏τos published by MailOnline last year revealed the multi-million-pound home was in a state of ruin.

There was outrage when Yioda’s design team asked the local council to remove a number of historic trees, but the bitter row hasn’t deterred the her from updating the property.

Now, pictures obtained by The Sun show the scaffolding from the main house has been removed, revealing a brand new roof complete with solar panels, fresh doors, windows, decking, and one of the garages is being turned into living quarters.

The property looks a lot tidier than previous pictures from last year, and the felling of the trees has been completed.

George Michael's £10m London mansion is showing signs of improvement after major renovation work

George Michael’s £10m London mansion is showing signs of improvement after major renovation work

His home is being renovated by his surviving sister after it's fallen into disrepair - these are from planning app showing the type of materials being used

His home is being renovated by his surviving sister after it’s fallen into disrepair – these are from planning app showing the type of materials being used

George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi, back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years.

But the site was later abandoned as the singer chose to split his time between his country home in Goring, Oxfordshire, and a mansion down the road in Highgate.

His sister Yioda inherited the Hampstead home as part of George’s £98million fortune following his tragic death on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.

She previously vowed to restore the property to what her architect described as a ‘habitable’ condition.

And in March she won a planning battle to restore the late singer’s £10million London mansion – despite angry complaints from neighbours.

In January this year landscape designers submitted plans to fell or heavily prune nine trees that had become a ‘threat’ to the home.

But the proposals came under fierce opposition from an angry neighbour and a community group in two letters sent within the space of two days.

In the first, the Redington Frognal Neighbourhood Forum [RFNF] branded the application as ‘regrettable’.

Now, pictures obtained by The Sun show the scaffolding (pictured earlier this year) from the main house has been removed

Now, pictures obtained by The Sun show the scaffolding (pictured earlier this year) from the main house has been removed

PH๏τos published by MailOnline last year revealed the multi-million-pound home was in a state of ruin

PH๏τos published by MailOnline last year revealed the multi-million-pound home was in a state of ruin

Read More George Michael’s only surviving sister has VERY Grand Designs for the Wham star’s rundown mansion in Hampstead article image

The group said on February 16: ‘Any loss of mature trees which provide habitat for wildlife is regrettable.

‘The need for maintenance is recognised, but should not be undertaken during the nesting season.’

It added that the trees are of particular importance as the property is located ‘in an area with much underground water’.

Then four days later, the group once again lambasted the plans on the basis of previous planning applications.

It wrote: ‘Having now checked the history of intent to fell notifications over the past years, it is very concerning that three mature forest trees have been lost: two poplars and a sycamore.’

The RFNF subsequently called for two of the felled trees to be replaced as part of the plans.

Moreover an angry neighbour also objected to the ‘alarming’ plans.

Harlan Zimmerman wrote on the public planning portal: ‘There have already been a large number of trees felled in this property and the adjoining one.

‘It is alarming and suspicious that so many more are now being targeted.

George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi , back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years

George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi , back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years

‘Also, I am concerned that there is no real description of the work planned to reduce foliage between this property and adjoining properties, such as my family’s.

‘This is important for privacy and noise reduction.’

However, Camden Council has given the plans the go-ahead anyway, saying the impacted trees are ‘not visible’ or of ‘historical importance’.

It comes after permission was sought last year to remove a water tank from the roof, as well as replacing the roof in its entirety, along with the crumbling cladding.

There were also plans to convert two garages into living quarters ‘with a more traditional house frontage’ which would ‘reinstate the character of the house’.

New decking is to be installed around the main house so that it wraps around to a bedroom at the rear.

The window on the upper ground floor will be raised so that it enjoys a fuller view of the garden.

The £10million property, which was built in a futuristic design in the mid-1970s, was ransacked in George’s absence in 2002.

George's home in Goring, Oxfordshire, where he died on Christmas Day 2016

George’s home in Goring, Oxfordshire, where he died on Christmas Day 2016

Raiders stole jewellery, designer clothes and paintings, as well as family heirlooms bequeathed to the Wham ! star by his beloved mother, who died of cancer in 1997.

It was previously revealed that George was embroiled in a planning battle to stop a developer knocking down a mansion at the bottom of the property’s garden before his death.

Plans were submitted to Camden Council to replace a 16-bedroom Arts & Craft home with eight ‘large and prime quality’ flats complete with an underground car park.

In August 2016, law firm Russells, which acted on behalf of the singer, wrote: ‘The development will have a negative impact on the character of the local community.

‘The proposal’s size and much increased footprint together with the loss of trees and green space sets an undesirable precedent for future development which will have an adverse impact on the area and is out of keeping with surrounding improvements to local buildings.

‘It will be visually overbearing. The underground car parking is excessive as the property clearly already benefits from off street parking facilities.’

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