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A £ 30,000-a-week luxury flat in central London owned by the Vatican has become the subject of complaints from local residents over what they claim was a “hellish noise” of meetings at night.
Some residents of Hans Place in Chelsea, one of London’s most expensive addresses, have complained to the local council and even the Holy See’s ambassador to the UK over loud events, some related to DJs, held in the property of the Vatican.
The purchase of the flat and several other luxury properties in London in 2014 was overseen by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who this month became the first cardinal of the modern era. accused of financial crimes by the Vatican.
The properties are maintained through Jersey business enterprises by the Holy See unit in charge of Peters Pence charitable donations to the poor and needy. The investments supervised by Becciu with this money have been subjected to intense international control following allegations filed against him and several other Vatican officials.
Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu defended investments in London’s primary assets made by the Holy See unit he oversaw, saying they were a normal and responsible use of Vatican assets © Gregorio Borgia / AP
The current 9,000-square-foot triplex apartment in Hans Place has a large garden and an indoor pool installed as part of a million-pound refurbishment. It is currently advertised for rent for £ 30,000 a week on behalf of the company that manages it for the Holy See.
The property management company, which has had several tenants over the past year, said it had not been leased on short-term leases and it was normal for the London real estate market to be quoted at a rate weekly.
A resident who lived nearby, who asked to remain anonymous, said residents had filed several complaints, including with the town hall, after some people on the property held noisy parties and gatherings there, including one that occurred. early in the morning. this May.
In a correspondence seen by the Financial Times between residents and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea complaining of “hellish noise”, a councilor said the district’s “noise and nuisance” team had recently written to an incorporated company in Jersey through which the Vatican owns the property.
The council has been examining the complaints, according to correspondence seen by FT since last month. “With the restrictions being lifted, we hope people can party at nightclubs and not flats,” the councilor wrote in an email sent to residents this month.
A local resident said he had been so frustrated that he complained to the Vatican ambassador to the UK. “I have written to an apostolic nuncio (the Vatican ambassador) but they have done nothing about it.”
The office of the Vatican ambassador to the UK responded to the complaint in an email hoping that they would “act with the local authority” and others help resolve the issue immediately.
None of the complainants suggested that there were Vatican employees at any of the evening meetings held on the floor.
The accusation by the Vatican of Becciu and nine other people during the first week of July led to a dramatic acceleration of that of Pope Francis drive reform the finances of the Holy See.
Becciu, who was one of the most powerful clerics in the Vatican, denies having done wrong. He has defended investments in London’s main properties made by the Holy See unit he oversaw, saying they were a normal and responsible use of the Vatican’s assets.
Becciu had no role in overseeing the rental or management of any London property owned by the Vatican.
The company that manages Vatican property has not been charged with misdemeanors. His spokesman said he was aware of some neighbors’ concerns about noise, lights and nuisance, which he properly investigated, and that he “does not expect any problems to recur.”
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