Richard Caring, owner of the Ivy restaurant chain, has been given permission to close a main road in London’s South Kensington so that he can plant dozens of trees in the grounds of his mansion.
Kensington and Chelsea council has granted Caring the all-clear to close part of Onslow Square for two weeks. He has installed a crane to carry the trees over a row of neighbouring terraced houses.
The move means four local bus routes are being diverted, as are ambulances and other vehicles needing to access two nearby hospitals.
Local resident David Erb told The Guardian that the council was “acquiescing to the whims of a billionaire who wants a nice garden”.
