Jeremy Hunt’s dismembering of Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget is not the only radical change the new chancellor is currently involved with.
Hunt, his wife Lucia Guo and their three children must be grateful for Liz Truss for facilitating their move from their Pimlico townhouse to the flat above 10 Downing Street (the prime minister has already nabbed the superior flat above No 11, although how long she will be able to enjoy it is another matter).
The Hunts have lately submitted plans for a substantial refurbishment of their home to Westminster Council and no one wants to be stuck in a house with building work going on.
The new chancellor got his application in on September 8. He wants to add a Mansard roof and two new bedrooms, as well as reconfiguring the existing layout to give him and Lucia a master bedroom and ensuite encompassing the entire second floor. He also proposes switching the kitchen from the basement and moving the sitting room to the first floor where the couple also wish to put an office and a bedroom.
There’s a bedroom in the basement that he plans to move from the back to the front of the property, as well as adding a second bedroom/reading room and a sitting room as well as digging down to increase the height of the basement bathroom.
Cost is unlikely to be an issue for the new chancellor – the prime minister in all but name – as he made untold millions from the sale of Hotcourses, the education publisher he co-founded. Hunt bought the Pimlico townhouse in 2010 for £1,695,000 and – despite his predecessor’s best endeavours to crash the property market – it’s still believed to be worth upwards of £3m.
