Motorist driven to spend £35,000 on astroturfed London balcony - to get their hands on a parking permit

18 December 2023, 20:37 | Updated: 18 December 2023, 20:42

By Jasmine Moody

The buyer has spent £35,000 on a balcony in South Kensington to have a parking permit, shaving £15,000 off the asking price.

The balcony, 128 sq, on Stanhope Gardens, near Gloucester Road Tube station in West London was listed for £50,000 on Next Home Ltd back in July.

Now, agent Glenn Jacobs has revealed that it has been bought for its parking permit.

Mr Jacobs added that the balcony’s new owner had bought a property nearby and negotiated a price as it did not come with parking.

The new owner will contribute £1,300 for the annual service charge.

The agency had received over 200 inquiries, according to Mr Jacobs, but he had not anticipated it to be used for a parking permit.

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He told The Telegraph: "It wasn’t something we’d thought of initially… I thought of every other thing. I got told of tents and canopies and all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas, but this one makes perfect sense."

London parking prices have spiked, with £80,000 representing the lower end of the market.

The top-end spaces can be sold for as much as £250,000, Patrick Alvarado, director of Nicholas van Patrick, told the Evening Standard.

The motorist discovered the balcony via their buying agent and now plans to place a plastic, or glass, frame around the terrace to ensure it is waterproof.

A buyer who lost out to the motorist was someone in China, who wanted to use the balcony as an art space; they were willing to purchase it for £50,000.

Mr Jacobs was also approached by a group looking to hold a dance class there, to which he joked: "I bet the neighbours would love that."

There were around 400 inquiries in total, which took Mr Jacobs hours to filter them.

Some inquiries were in jest but some were from those who thought the entire flat was for sale.

Others have now contacted Mr Jacobs to see if they could sell parts of their property, which the agent says is a "sign of the times" during the cost of living crisis.