British millionaire ordered to demolish his chateau in France after he forgot to get building permit Feb 08, 2021, 04:40 PM
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French courts say the $64 million Chateau Diter was built without permission in a protected woodland area.
VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
A British millionaire developer has been ordered to demolish his sprawling $64 million chateau by June 2022.
The developer has been in a multi-year legal battle to keep the property, which the court said was illegally built and ignored zoning laws.
The chateau, which can sleep up to 36 guests, has reportedly hosted massive, loud parties that drew complaints from neighbours.
British millionaire property developer Patrick Diter and his wife, Monica, wanted to buy a villa in Tuscany.
British real estate developer Patrick Diter was ordered to demolish his illegally built French château after failing to get the proper permits and receiving complaints over the massive parties he throws on the property.
The €60m mansion that was used as a central location for Paul McGuinness s hit television series Riviera must be demolished, a judge in France has ruled.
The Renaissance-style palace, nestled in the hills above the Riviera, is owned by property tycoon Patrick Diter, but it was found to have been built without planning permission.
The ruling was handed down by the Cour de Cassation, France s highest court dealing with such matters, and ends a 15-year high-profile legal battle between Mr Diter and some wealthy neighbours.
Known as Villa Carmella, the faux-Italianate villa appeared throughout series one and two as the home of American art curator Georgina Marjorie Clios, played by actress Julia Stiles.
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A £48million mansion nestled in the hills above the French Riviera must be demolished after a court ruling brought a 15-year legal standoff to an end.
Property tycoon Patrick Diter built a 32,000 sq ft Italianate palace, dubbed Chateau Diter , on the site of what was once a modest 2,000 sq ft farmhouse without first obtaining planning permission.
The building work started in 2005 and in 2009 a group of disgruntled neighbours, led by British millionaires Stephen and Caroline Butt, took Mr Diter to court, deciding the building frenzy had to stop .
In 2015 an appeal court in Aix-en-Provence ruled that the chateau must be demolished. Only the small original house was spared.
patrce lapoirie / Maxppp / PA Images
The so-called Chateau Diter - the 32,000-square foot Italianate palace built by property tycoon Patrick Diter (and named after him) - is set to be demolished after he lost a 15 year court battle with neighbouring millionaires, Stephen and Caroline Butt.
Why? A failure to obtain a building permit for the project, which begun in 2005 and was completed in 2009, on the site of what was once a 2,000-square foot farmhouse in the South of France. Diter had been appealing a court decision in 2015 to destroy all but the original house, but now France s highest court, la Cour de Cassation, has ruled the original decision must be upheld.