Billionaire tycoon Robert Tchenguiz launches legal war with council over traffic order
Billionaire tycoon Robert Tchenguiz launches legal war with council over traffic order to stop cars parking outside because it ‘restricts access’ to his £20M home near Royal Albert Hall
Robert Tchenguiz lives in South Kensington, near the Royal Albert Hall, London The business tycoon has taken legal action against Westminster City CouncilMr Tchenguiz says council has failed to have regard to ‘significant interference’The businessman claims it is over his right to respect for private and family life
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A billionaire tycoon has launched a legal war on a council over anti-terror changes to a road that he claims blocks off his £20million London home.
Robert Tchenguiz, who lives near the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, has taken action against Westminster City Council over the traffic management orders.
Mr Tchenguiz says the council has failed to have regard to the ‘significant interference’ with his human right to respect for private and family life.
Lawyers representing him are also arguing the council’s decision was ‘materially influenced by an improper motive’ – facilitating the provision of a loading and parking area for the Royal Albert Hall.
They have asked Mrs Justice Lang – who is overseeing the hearing at the High Court today and tomorrow – to quash the orders.
Robert Tchenguiz is pictured with his ex-wife Heather Bird, 51, in South Kensington in 2006
Robert Tchenguiz, who lives in South Kensington, near the Royal Albert Hall, has taken legal action against Westminster City Council. Pictured: The house, the hall and parking outside
Mr Tchenguiz is pictured with his current girlfriend Julia Dybowska at a birthday party in London in 2018
Council bosses say the ‘primary objective’ of the orders is to guard against terror attacks.
They say the restrictions aim to protect people living near the Royal Albert Hall against ‘vehicle-borne terrorist attacks’ by ‘removing parked vehicles’ from the ‘lengths of road immediately adjacent’ to the hall.
Lawyers representing the council say the orders are valid and Mr Tchenguiz’s complaints should be dismissed.
Tim Buley QC, for Mr Tchenguiz said: ‘The claimant, a private individual, challenges two traffic management orders made by Westminster City Council.
‘The traffic management orders have the effect of significantly restricting access to his family home.
‘Control over the restrictions on access under the traffic management orders is delegated to the Royal Albert Hall, who designed, promoted and funded the proposals.
‘The council argues that the ‘primary objective’ of the traffic management orders was ‘to safeguard the public and premises, including residents, in the vicinity of the Royal Albert Hall from vehicle-borne terrorist attacks by removing parked vehicles from the lengths of road immediately adjacent to the hall’.’
Mr Tchenguiz (pictured with his ex-wife Ms Bird in 2009) has gone to war with Westminster City Council over parking
Mr Tchenguiz lives in the former Royal College of Organists building next to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington
Ruth Stockley, leading the council’s legal team, told the judge in a written argument: ‘The defendant undoubtedly had regard to the claimed interference with the claimant’s human rights as part of the decision-making process.’
She said the council was not influenced by any desire to facilitate parking for the Royal Albert Hall, and added: ‘The defendant is entirely independent from the Royal Albert Hall.’
Mr Buley told the judge: ‘In practice, the approach of the Royal Albert Hall has been to use the area to which access is restricted by the traffic management orders as a private parking area for the Royal Albert Hall, with large numbers of vehicles regularly parked within that area.
‘This is obviously inconsistent with the submission that the primary purpose of the measures is the prevention of terrorism.
‘Instead, a power intended to avoid or reduce the likelihood of, or danger associated with, terrorism has been used to facilitate the Royal Albert Hall’s operations, with the effect of turning a section of public highway into a private yard.’
Miss Stockley said: ‘The defendant was not in any way materially influenced by a purpose of facilitating the provision of a loading and parking area for the Royal Albert Hall.’
The couple’s divorce was finalised in 2019, but they separated in 2009 and lived on different floors of their £20million London house next door to the Royal Albert Hall. Also living in the house was Mr Tchenguiz’ girlfriend, Polish model Julia Dybowska (pictured), 30
She said the orders did not ‘prevent access’ to the Mr Tchenguiz’s home but prevented ‘vehicular access to the kerbside’ on the road outside between noon and midnight.
Mr Tchenguiz’s latest battle comes after he accused his ex-wife of ‘fabrication and lies’ over her claims he could force their 14-year-old son to have sex with a prostitute.
Heather Bird, 51, said her ex-husband wanted their son to sleep with a sex worker to ‘make him a man’.
But in December Mr Tchenguiz hit back at the claims, telling MailOnline: ‘This is not the first time Ms Bird is resorting to fabrication and lies.
‘She is desperate to justify her unlawful actions and has already been warned by the US court of the serious consequences she could face following the hearing if she is found to have unlawfully retained the children.’
Ms Bird made the astonishing allegation in documents submitted as part of a legal action in the US brought by her ex-husband after she took their two children to see her family in the US for Christmas 2020 but never returned.
Ms Bird has also accused Mr Tchenguiz of ‘years of intense psychological abuse’ during their years of marriage.
