Jamie Oliver plans a six-figure revamp at his £6million home including new automatic gates and driveway less than a year after his restaurant chain collapsed
- Jamie Oliver has lodged refurbishment plans for home Spains Hall near Braintree
- Application includes new automatic gates, driveway and upgrade to the library
- His restaurant business collapsed Last May, leaving 1,000 people out of work
Jamie Oliver has lodged plans for a major refurbishment at his £6million countryside home — less than a year after his restaurant chain collapsed.
The celebrity chef, 44, is applying to add new automatic gates, a new drive and to upgrade the property’s oak-panelled library.
He has also brought in a top planning consultancy to work on plans for his seven-bedroom family home Spains Hall in Finchingfield, Essex.
It believed the work to carried out could amount to a six-figure sum.
Jamie Oliver has lodged plans for a major refurbishment at his £6million countryside home — less than a year after his restaurant chain collapsed
The celebrity chef, 44, is applying to add new automatic gates, a new drive and to upgrade the property’s oak-panelled library
A series of applications for the refurbishment were sent in to local Braintree Council earlier this month.
Dad-of-five Jamie and his wife Jools, 45, bought the 16th Century Grade-I listed home in 2018 for £6million.
It comes almost a year after his restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy protection, partly due to increased competition and escalating rents in local commercial districts.
A series of applications for the refurbishment of the Grad-I listed property were sent in to local Braintree Council earlier this month
Dad-of-five Jamie and his wife Jools, 45, bought the 16th Century Grade-I listed home in 2018 for £6million
The insolvency left 1,000 people out of work, and creditors suffered £83million of losses after stumping up funds to try to keep the flagging business afloat.
A report found that Oliver personally lost millions himself after he supplied an £18.3million secured loan injection to the business, of which it only clawed back £2million.
‘I’m devastated that our much-loved U.K. restaurants have gone into administration,’ Oliver wrote on Twitter at the time.
‘I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the staff and our suppliers who have put their hearts and souls into this business over the years.’
The Naked Chef star moved in to the house just two months after the collapse of his restaurant business
In 2018, he and his wife took £5.2 million in dividends from the company despite being hit by £9.8 million in costs.
The Naked Chef star is currently self-isolating at the Tudor mansion, and has splashed out thousands of pounds renovating the property over the last year.
Last June the family lodged plans for under-floor heating to be installed in the pantry – two weeks after the restaurant claim collapsed.
And in December, he faced opposition from a local archaeology group over his plans for a terrace extension, along with wood-fired oven and kitchen fireplace.