A derelict Chelsea mansion where the mummified body of a man was discovered inside is to be cleaned up after years of complaints.
Neighbours raised fresh concerns about the neglected house, which has become overrun with invasive Japanese knotweed since the remains were found in 2010.
Despite being located on one of London’s most affluent streets, the property has been left to decay for more than a decade.
Residents say it is heavily infested with pests and choked by the overgrown vegetation, prompting years of complaints and legal disputes.
Now, the owner of the property has finally been ordered to clean up the site.
The man found inside the property was known as ‘Frank’, an Irish builder who had been living at the property as a lodger.
Frank’s body was discovered in the basement after neighbours reported concerns at the time.
Locals described him as a familiar figure in the area and a regular at a nearby pub, whose sudden disappearance went unexplained.
Police gained access to the crumbling mansion on Ifield Road using a ladder from an adjoining garden.
Inside, they made the grim discovery of his badly decomposed remains.
According to residents, the condition of the body was so severe that some officers at the scene vomited.
One officer was reportedly on his very first day on the job and was offered whiskey by residents in an attempt to calm him down.
More than 15 years later and the property has become an eyesore for local residents, claiming it acts as a breeding ground for rats, mosquitos and foxes, while the garden has become overrun with knotweed.
Now Kensington and Chelsea Council has stepped in, ordering the property’s owner, Nicholas Halbritter, to address the worsening conditions.
The 78-year-old has been served with a Section 215 notice, legally requiring him to clear and restore the site.
The move follows mounting pressure from the community, with dozens of residents signing a petition calling for council intervention.
Speaking at a recent council meeting, neighbour Nik Hoexter set out the extent of the problems affecting the area.
He said: “There’s rampant knotweed, there are rats, foxes, there’s a mosquito swarm from a leaking mains, which has been going on for two years.”
Neighbours have described Mr Halbritter as a “neighbour from hell” and claim he refuses to engage with concerns about the property.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, next-door resident Christine Gambles, 69, said: “He beetles up the street and runs in the door.
“If I ask him for a conversation, he literally slams the door in my face.”
Mr Halbritter is a former Conservative councillor in Kensington and Chelsea and once sat on the same committee now taking action against him.
A Kensington and Chelsea Council spokesperson said: “Following the decision of the Planning Applications Committee, we are proceeding with a Section 215 notice and will progress it in line with the legislation and relevant guidance.
“The 2016 notice – which was investigated by a Hammersmith & Fulham officer under a bi-borough working arrangement at the time – was considered complied with and the enforcement case was closed.”
