The very luxurious Château de Saint-Jeannet, twenty minutes from Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), will soon have one less outbuilding.
The State has just started the demolition of a building of approximately 200 m2 located under a terrace, below the swimming pool.
“It is a gallery, an annex, which had a commercial function, in particular for restoration, built without authorization in the early 2000s. We replace the owner who did not demolish it, despite the injunctions of justice,” specifies Mathieu Eyrard, deputy director of the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM).
With its beautiful light facade and its battlements, the 11th century building located on just over 1 hectare is a prestigious, but very discreet, place on the Côte d'Azur.
It belongs to British director, screenwriter and producer Jon Acevski, who bought it from the heirs of French actress Viviane Romance.
The cinema man completely rehabilitated it to make it an event venue with thirteen rooms and two helicopter pads where many celebrities such as the singer Madonna have visited.
An operation of 140,000 euros payable by the owner
During these major works, the lord had carried out several extensions deemed non-compliant with town planning rules after initial checks in 2007. A 250 m2 house located on the estate had already been the subject of a first demolition in 2017 The last outbuilding deemed illegal is therefore razed by the machines, more than fifteen years after the launch of the procedures.
“The delays are long,” explains the representative of the prefecture, “because many owners chain appeals and practice an avoidance strategy which does not pay off in the end.
» And all the more so since the operation, costing 140,000 euros, will be fully invoiced to the owner.