Owner of sprawling £48m palace on the French Riviera is told he has 18 months to DEMOLISH IT because the Tuscan-style property was illegally built on protected woodland
- The Chateau Diter is nestled among the green hills between Monaco and Cannes in the South of France
- French businessman Patrick Diter now has 18 months to demolish the estate or face daily fines of up to £500
- Appeals court ruled he’d built it illegally without the proper planning permission when he built it in 2005
Advertisement
A lavish £48million palace on the French Riviera that hosts parties for the rich and famous has to be demolished within 18 months because it was built illegally, an appeals court has ruled.
Chateau Diter is a beautiful Tuscan property nestled among green hills and gardens between the opulent cities of Monaco and Cannes in the South of France.
It needs to be torn down because its tycoon owner failed to get planning permission before it was constructed in a protected wooded area in 2005, the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal ruled Monday.
The £48million Chateau Diter palace must be demolished within 18 months, a French appeals court has ruled
The Tuscan property, which boasts three pools and two helipads needs to be torn down because it was constructed in a protected wooded area
The site used to be home to a 250sqm farm until it was developed into a renaissance castle with sprawling grounds and enough space to play host to 2,000 revellers
French businessman Patrick Diter has been fined more than £350,000 and ordered to serve a three-month suspended prison sentence
French businessman Patrick Diter now has 18 months to demolish the estate, which was often used by oligarchs and their loved ones for weddings and film production companies for more than £40,000 per day, The Local France reported.
The site used to be home to a 250sqm farm until it was developed into a renaissance castle with sprawling grounds and enough space to play host to 2,000 revellers.
Prosecutor Pierrre-Jean Gaury described his palace as a ‘pharaonic project, delusional, totally illegal and built illegally,’ according to the news outlet.
Gaury accused Diter of building the property – which boasts three pools and two onsite helipads – purely to make money from renting it out.
Lavish: The chateau has many antique-filled reception rooms and lounges and can host 2,000 people for a wide range of events
Decadent: Once a humble farmhouse the site was transformed into a beautiful mansion with green gardens by businessman Patrick Diter
Comfort: As well as reception rooms, the mansion has a range of bedrooms and plush bathrooms for guests to relax in after lavish parties
The entire property will need to be demolished within 18 months or Diter will face daily fines. Pictured: One of the lavish mansion’s many grand living rooms
Disgruntled neighbours of Mr Diter launched legal proceedings against him in 2013, after seeing a tower and a pavilion pop up and their property damaged.
However, talking in 2015 the millionaire accused them of being jealous.
Diter has been fined more than £350,000 and ordered to serve a three-month suspended prison sentence.
If the palitial property is not knocked down in 18 months, he’ll face fines of up to £500 a day, French media reported.