Almost unchanging in its charms, it cast its spell on Laurence Olivier and his one-time lover, Dorothy Tutin, back in the 1950s, prompting Richard Burton and Margot Fonteyn to come to call – and, rather more awkwardly, Olivier’s second wife, Vivien Leigh.
More recently, Chelsea Reach – the hamlet of houseboats bobbing on the north bank of the Thames – has counted ageing art world enfant terrible Damien Hirst among its occasional residents.
But the magic may be about to evaporate forever. Next Tuesday, those living aboard the houseboats – who count Sir Mick Jagger and Tetra Pak billionaire Hans Rausing among their neighbours on dry land – learn their fate at a critical meeting of the local planning authorities.
Houseboat owners fear that they will be sunk – priced out of their homes by the arrival of an armada of luxurious ‘super-boats’ so vast that they’ll disfigure a riverscape that has remained fundamentally unaltered for more than 150 years.
Three identical giant barges, boasting air-conditioning and underfloor heating, have already anchored. They’re the brainchild of property developer Andrew Moffat, 50, who since acquiring Chelsea Reach in 2016, has controlled the moorings for 62 houseboats.
Next Tuesday, those living aboard the houseboats learn their fate at a critical meeting of the local planning authorities
The houseboat residents count Sir Mick Jagger and Tetra Pak billionaire Hans Rausing among their neighbours on dry land
A petition supporting the houseboat owners has attracted 11,600 signatures
His arrival has coincided with developments which have stunned long-term residents such as Rick Stroud and his wife, Alexandra.
Seeking another ten-year licence for their houseboat, Stroud, who’s been in Chelsea Reach for three decades, was told it would cost £500,000 – an unimaginable increase on what he’d paid before. ‘The previous one cost £30,000,’ he tells me. ‘We were terrified. We’re in our seventies. We don’t have £500,000.’
Fellow houseboat owners, aware that their future in Chelsea Reach was at stake, paid for an ‘expert determination’, legally binding on both sides. This ruled that the new licence fee was to be £50,000 – a tenth of the landlord’s staggering demand.
A petition supporting the houseboat owners has attracted 11,600 signatures, thanks in part to local resident Rob McGibbon, who claims that super-barges flout planning laws protecting the riverside. ‘The fact that there has been no enforcement at all is unfathomable,’ McGibbon alleges. ‘If Mr Moffat gets his way, the entire view will be lost [and] the special community of boat owners obliterated.’
Moffat’s spokesman tells me that it’s a corporate matter, decided by his Chelsea Yacht and Boat Company. ‘The duration and cost of the licence varies,’ he says, adding that ‘legal advice from a KC concluded that there were no planning breaches. It is wholly incorrect to suggest otherwise.
‘Chelsea Yacht and Boat Company proactively tries to work with any owner who is behind on their bills. Owners who have properly engaged with the company have seen reductions on their outstanding bills and longer-term arrangements to help them.’
Elton rocks it in green
I think I’ve solved the puzzle of why Sir Elton John turned up at stylish private members’ club Oswald’s in Mayfair this week wearing a bright green suit, matched with emerald-coloured trainers and red-tinted spectacles.
The Rocket Man singer, 76, must have been paying tribute to The Riddler, comic book supervillain and enemy of Batman.
Sir Elton John turned up at stylish private members’ club Oswald’s in Mayfair this week wearing a bright green suit, matched with emerald-coloured trainers and red-tinted spectacles
The Rocket Man singer, 76, must have been paying tribute to The Riddler, comic book supervillain and enemy of Batman
It’s not unusual for Sir Tom Jones to be an octogenarian sex symbol. ‘If people still think I’m sexy at 83, then God bless them,’ the singer says, chuckling. ‘I’m 83. I can’t believe it.’ Sir Tom, whose hits include Delilah and Green Green Grass Of Home, adds: ‘I think it’s more enjoyable now because I think, ‘My God, my voice is still working. It’s still coming out. The people are still there and they still want to hear me sing.’ Isn’t that wonderful? It’s a wonderful feeling.’
It’s not unusual for Sir Tom Jones, whose hits include Delilah and Green Green Grass Of Home, to be an octogenarian sex symbol
Poppy’s ex shows off his new love
While Poppy Delevingne has reportedly split up with her toyboy, Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, 25, her estranged husband, James Cook, appears keen to make the point that he has a new lover.
Poppy Delevingne has reportedly split up with her toyboy, Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece
Poppy’s estranged husband, James Cook (left), appears keen to make the point that he has a new lover, Lauren Brown (right), a talent booker for a modelling agency
Invited to a Christmas party in Mayfair, co-hosted by Poppy, 37, to promote her family’s prosecco, Cook, 44, turned up hand-in-hand with new girlfriend, Lauren Brown, a talent booker for a modelling agency.
‘Poppy is happy that James has a new woman in his life,’ a pal insists.
Actress and model Poppy, sister of Cara Delevingne, married Cook, who works for his family’s aerospace company, in 2014.
She enjoyed a romance with the prince, a godson of Prince William affectionately known as Tino, over the summer but he recently moved to Los Angeles to attend film school.
This may explain how Cressida Bonas was able to put up with whining Prince Harry for as long as two years…
The actress, who went out with Harry until 2014, has admitted that while she may appear to be concentrating on a friend, she’s actually listening to others’ conversations.
Cressida Bonas, who went out with Harry until 2014, has admitted that while she may appear to be concentrating on a friend, she’s actually listening to others’ conversations
‘I’m nosey and I like to eavesdrop,’ confesses Cressida, 34, who’s married to property investor Harry Wentworth-Stanley. ‘I have the ability to engage in a conversation while subtly listening to someone else close by.’
She adds: ‘While it’s a risky game, I often hear intriguing and extraordinary things, but it’s only a matter of time before I get caught.’
Daniel’s given a licence to fell
As James Bond he often used to take his enemies down quickly in a hail of bullets.
But when it comes to chopping down trees at his £6 million London townhouse, Daniel Craig likes to take them down slowly — limb by limb.
He and his wife, the Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz, have been given the go-ahead to raze a rear garden bay tree to the ground ‘by sectional take-down’.
Craig and his wife, the Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz, have been given the go-ahead to raze a rear garden bay tree to the ground ‘by sectional take-down’
The Hollywood couple applied to the local council for permission for a ‘licence to kill’ to allow for a garden revamp and more tree planting. They needed consent because their Grade II listed terrace home, which dates back to 1840, lies in a designated conservation area.
There were no objections from neighbours but Colin Jacobson, a resident of more than 50 years, called for other trees to be protected.
It’s not the first time that Daniel and Rachel have faced a battle over a tree.
In 2017 a neighbour claimed that the roots of an 80ft plane tree in the couple’s garden were causing cracks to his Victorian home.
But it was saved from the chainsaw after Craig and Rachel applied to the council to trim it back — instead of felling it.