The founders of a celebrity skincare brand and business partners of Kim Kardashian have been ordered to tear down a ‘jarring’ pergola they illegally erected on the roof of their £5million Chelsea mansion.
Dr Yannis Alexandridis and his wife Eva, who founded award-winning 111Skin, built the vast 100-square-metre steel-framed unit on the roof terrace of their four-storey Sloane Avenue pile without planning permission in September 2022.
They also replaced the glazing, framing and fascia of their existing rooftop box living space to match the pergola’s grey steel finish.
The Alexandridises, whose skincare brand is part-owned by Kardashian’s private equity firm SKKY Partners, and counts Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Priyanka Chopra and the singer Charli XCX as clients, insisted the ‘pergola is no higher than the existing roof access structure so does not intentionally dominate the roof’.
They argued the ‘quirky’ and ‘slightly unusual’ pergola would ‘enhance the usability of the existing roof terrace’ and despite standing 10ft tall, was built ‘ensuring minimal visual impact from street level and neighbouring properties’.
The ‘modest yet valuable’ pergola – which included a retractable sunroof – was a ‘visually unobtrusive, with a minimalist metal frame that complements the existing architecture’, the couple insisted.
But the structure triggered a backlash from their local council when the couple applied for retrospective planning permission in June 2024, which is sought after a structure has been completed.
Dr Yannis Alexandridis and his wife Eva have been ordered to tear down the ‘jarring’ pergola on their Chelsea home, pictured
The pergola spans 100 square metres and is framed by steel – it also has a retractable sunroof
The couple said the pergola (pictured) on their home was ‘visually unobtrusive, with a minimalist metal frame that complements the existing architecture’
Dr Alexandridis and his wife founded award-winning 111Skin, which is part-owned by Kim Kardashian’s private equity firm SKKY Partners
Despite the couple’s assurances, it emerged the structure, which was in fact a series of three seperate pergolas across the entire roof terrace, could be seen from across most of the borough – dominating the skyline in one of Britain’s most expensive and protected postcodes.
Plans revealed how the roof top also towered over neighbouring properties and when the sunroof was in place, blocked sunlight onto neighbouring properties.
Planners at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea branded the pergola ‘incongruous’, ‘very prominent,’ and ‘jarring’ in the Chelsea Conservation Area and in September 2024 ordered that it be torn down within three months.
But in a blistering 21-page rebuke, Dr Alexandridis, a leading Harley Street plastic surgeon who boasts 17,500 followers on Instagram, appealed the planning refusal and enforcement notice, then demanded that then-Secretary of State Angela Rayner call in the case and rule on it herself.
In the letter, he said the council’s ruling was ‘inadequately drafted’ and offered to remove the pergola section overlooking Sloane Avenue and fencing at the front and rear of the property in order to ‘remedy the harm caused’.
But his appeal was thrown out after it was deemed the changes did not go far enough and would be ‘harmful’ to the area.
In a statement, Andy Harwood, Planning Inspector for Kensington and Chelsea said: ‘The framework of the pergola extends close to the edge of the roof both at the front and the rear and even though the blinds were not closed when I visited and I could see the sky through the structure, it is still very prominent and jarring.’
Dr Alexandridis is a leading Harley Street plastic surgeon and has 17,500 followers on Instagram
Dr Alexandridis’s wife Eva is the co-founder and CEO of their skincare company
The couple have been ordered to remove their roof terrace by June 17, with Kensington and Chelsea saying it was ‘harmful to public and private views from the street’
The council added: ‘The pergola is multiple times as large and bulky as the previous pavilion and is clearly more visible from long views.
‘The proposed roof pergolas and associated alterations, due to their siting, scale, positioning would be an incongruous addition which would fail to preserve the appearance of the building, the roofline of terrace group.
‘It would also be harmful to public and private views from the street and upper floor windows of surrounding properties, including conservation areas and listed buildings, contrary to Local Plan policies.’
The Alexandridises have until June 17 to take down the structure.
