Cara Delevingne's father sparks fury by planning to build a £10m home in Kensington

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Charles Delevingne is building a new five-storey home in Kensington
He has won planning permission but neighbours have complained about disruption from the two-year building works
Model's father insists the upheaval is a price worth paying for new home

Published: 07:21 EST, 23 May 2016 | Updated: 18:37 EST, 23 May 2016

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Cara Delevingne's father has aroused the anger of his neighbours after embarking on a two-year building project to install a double basement under his luxury home.

Charles Delevingne, who is descended from aristocracy and made a fortune as a property developer, is knocking down two buildings he owns around a courtyard in Kensington, West London.

He is to replace them with a five-storey family home worth around £10million, with two of the floors being built underground.

But neighbours today complained about the 'hellish' disruption they will face during the two years of construction scheduled for the site.

Home: This is an artist's impression of the house being built by Charles Delevingne in South Kensington

Disruption: This image shows the site at the beginning of the building works scheduled to last two years

Family: Mr Delevingne with his daughters Chloe, left, Cara, second right, and Poppy, right

Mr Delevingne, the father of top models Cara and Poppy, has owned the site for several years after buying it for £2million, and currently uses one of the buildings as his office.

He submitted plans to Kensington & Chelsea Council in 2014 in a bid to demolish the property and replace it, and the proposal was approved on appeal last summer.

The initial plans included a swimming pool, sauna, gym and underground cinema, with Mr Delevingne aiming to create a home where his whole extended family can gather.

Neighbours in South Kensington, one of the most expensive areas in Britain, submitted objections to the council during the planning process.

They insisted that the proposal ran contrary to officials' crackdown on so-called 'iceberg basements', with developments over a certain size now banned from going ahead.

Development: The property mogul is set to demolish these two buildings around a courtyard

Neighbours: The residents of blocks of flats which overlook the site, pictured, are angry about the plans

Luxury: A digital image of what the finished house will look like after two years of works

And after Mr Delevingne won planning permission, locals have claimed that they were not given enough opportunity to air their views.

Work is scheduled to begin on the site next week and will last nearly two years, causing disruption to the surrounding area.

Retired oil executive Charles Bowen, whose flat overlooks the courtyard, told the Evening Standard that 'the noise and disruption is going to be hellish'.

He added: 'The council said because we are not an adjoining site they don't need to consult us. That's absolute c**k.

'I was hoping to let our flat, but the chances of doing that now are absolute zero. This is a life-changing project that potentially wrecks our flat.'

Another resident, Peter Ellis, said: 'This couldn't be starting at a worse time.'

Deep: The property will have five storeys, including a double basement beneath the ground

Plans: Mr Delevingne originally suggested installing a swimming pool but has since changed his mind

Mr Delevingne admitted that the project was a 'pain in the a***' but insisted that the most disruptive building work would take just a few weeks.

He also said he had abandoned plans for an underground swimming pool, telling the Standard: 'There will be a big family room with a snooker table, that sort of thing. I am looking forward to seeing my grandchildren growing up there.'

Residents of Kensington and Chelsea have complained about the boom in iceberg basements in previous years, which has come as wealthy foreign investors have moved into traditionally quiet areas such as South Kensington.

Earlier this month Queen guitarist Brian May said he was leaving the neighbourhood because constant building work had turned it into a 'hellhole'.

Mr Delevingne, 66, has lived in West London for decades and was a well-known figure in high society even before his daughters were established as leading models for brands such as Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton.

He is said to own 'great swags of property' around South Kensington, although some family friends have commented that they are unable to work out the full extent of his wealth.

His wife Pandora, the daughter of publisher Sir Jocelyn Stevens, had a well-publicised battle with heroin addiction while their children were growing up.