The £16million slums on millionaire’s row: How two five-storey megamansions are making residents’ lives a distress in Kensington… and why it is solely going to worsen

Discarded needles, piles of rubbish and mounds of pigeon poo are not what one expects to find on the pristine mansion-lined streets of Kensington. 

But for those living on Prince of Wales Terrace – where homes are worth millions – opening their blinds and spotting a drug user next door no longer phases them. 

Residents say its down to two five-storey townhouses that have been left to rot after being abandoned by their oligarch owner for almost a decade. 

David Davidovich, who is said to be Roman Abramovich‘s right hand man, bought the properties in 2018 for £16million. 

He planned to convert what was a run-down hotel into luxury flats but after being sanctioned in 2022, the properties were abandoned. 

As a result, the mansions, which overlook Kensington Gardens are a far cry from the palatial homes they sit in between. 

The gleaming white paint has turned brown, the glazed windows are smashed, wires dangle from all angles and black mould has grown on the stairs and pipes. 

‘It’s an eyesore, pigeons s*** all over the place, there’s rubbish everywhere, it’s awful,’ next door neighbour Sarah, 78, told the Daily Mail. 

‘The council said there’s nothing we can do because it’s owned but because the owner’s been sanctioned they can’t do it up.

‘Its been boarded up since the day they bought it and been left like that ever since.’ 

When a person is sanctioned they can no longer visit, sell, or rent their properties, which means upkeep is extremely difficult. 

However, neighbours explained that the blockade in front of the property is new and perhaps an indication that some work will finally begin. 

Sarah added: ‘There have been some clear outs recently and I believe they’re going to start work.

‘There used to be loads of druggies.’ 

Yet the two entrances are still adorned with ‘warning’ signs and despite the recent clear out, rubbish has once again begun to accumulate. 

Georgia Lamb, who lives locally told the Daily Mail the properties completely ruin the ‘aesthetic’ of the area. 

She said: ‘I’ve lived round here for three years and I’ve always noticed it, its spooky.

It affects the aesthetic of the area you have all these beautiful properties worth millions and then you’ve got a building with smashed windows. 

‘I reckon there are people squatting and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are drugs. I don’t know what you do with something like that. 

‘I live down the road but I can imagine for direct neighbours if they wanted to sell that would virtually impossible.’

Meanwhile, Marie, who lives on Victoria Road, a couple of houses behind the property added that she feels ‘sorry’ for the neighbours.

She said: ‘It’s such a pity it’s crazy in this kind of neighbourhood I feel sorry for the people living on the street right behind it.

‘There is no security and it looks abandoned, I reckon people could live in there. If I was on that street I would not be happy at all.

‘People have spent so much money renovating their own homes just for their gardens and windows to look onto an ugly mess. ‘

Mr Davidovich was sanctioned alongside Eugene Tenenbaum following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both are considered close allies of the former Chelsea Football club owner and were hit by sanctions that represented one of the largest asset freezes in UK history. 

The Government said the measures, which saw an estimated £10billion in assets frozen, were to prevent them from being repatriated to Russia and used to fund the country’s war machine.

Mr Davidovich made his millions through processed meat, running the second-largest processing company in Russia called Prodo. 

And just before his assets were seized and Russia invaded Ukraine, Mr Davidovich was given control of Mr Abramovich’s investment vehicle, Norma Investments Ltd. 

In 2022, research from Transparency International UK found £238million worth of property bought by Russians accused of corruption or links to the Kremlin were in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. 

The local MP Joe Powell wrote to the Foreign Office Minister in April urging the government to manage the ‘unintended consequences of sanctions, particularly in the property sector.’

He said: ‘As time goes on, we’re going to increasingly have a situation where we’ve got buildings that are in neglect.’ 

But this is now a prominent issue affecting the property value in the extremely sought out area. 

Henry Sherwood, a buying agent, said: ‘Literally every street in Kensington and Chelsea has got one or two that are not used and in some cases it’s quite visible because they’re in various states of repair. 

‘There are people stuck in limbo, there’s no short term solution because the owners cannot sell and given the way the UK property industry works there‘s so much red tape.

‘There’s no law around what happens in this situation. So if you’re trying to sell next to one of these bordering on derelict houses it’s going to be a long wait. 

‘With some of them once things like roofs start to go and your getting water penetration which will affect the structural integrity of the building, it’s a massive problem.

‘At some stage the Government will have to step in and protect the other buildings in the area. 

‘I cannot see any legislation being passed in the foreseeable future that allows these properties to either be taken over by the state or sold. 

‘The bottom line for buyers in prime London is they want the best addresses, now the address means nothing if you’ve got some derelict monstrosity next door to you and you cannot do anything you’re trapped‘

Efrem Tekeste a chauffeur who spends a lot of time parked on the street added that the houses have been in an ‘awful’ state for years.

He said: ‘My clients are really disappointed because homeless people come and sleep there and the birds make a mess it’s quite awful.’

‘The houses are boarded up, and they’re in a pretty sorry state, and there’s nothing happening with them,’ one Knightsbridge resident, who advocates seizing the properties from Davidovich told Politico in May. 

‘They look awful. It’s prime real estate, not doing anything. I would argue that in some of these cases, these are assets of the Russian state.’

Camilla Dell, a buying agent who looks after ultra high-net worth buyers, added: ‘Any property that’s left unoccupied with no investment and becomes derelict and has squatters its not good for a neighbourhood. 

‘It’s going to affect value certainly in the short term. It’s not good news for prices and property is obviously going to get devalued over time.’ 

It is understood that the two properties – number 18 and 19 – were granted live planning permission in 2022 for residential use.

And that after a series of planning enforcement complaints the council held a formal notice in abeyance. 

Kensington and Chelsea have been contacted for comment.