One of Britain’s most successful businessmen whose restaurants can be found in almost every high street has sparked a furious row with his neighbours – after unveiling a nearly two-year project to demolish his almost brand new £9million house.

Ham & High: Adam Kaye's current homeAdam Kaye's current home (Image: Archant)

Adam Kaye, whose family’s restaurant empire includes Prezzo, Ask, and Zizzi chains, has applied for a second time to bring a wrecking ball to his current three-storey home in Hampstead.

Perched on the edge of the Heath, the six-bedroom property – coming complete with indoor swimming pool and sauna – was built in the early 2000s.

But Mr Kaye, who has lived at the property for 13 years, says he dislikes the layout and describes it as “badly developed”. He also told Camden Council he needs a new home due to “high living and maintenance costs” caused by an “inefficient choice of materials during the construction”.

But his solution to spend 20 months knocking the house down and erecting a completely new one has seen previously good relations with his neighbours turn sour.

Many are fed up with what, for some, has felt like a near-constant redevelopment of houses in the leafy residential area.

With neighbouring houses dating back to the 1800s, Mr Kaye’s home is one of the newest. A stream of objections has been sent to the council, urging it not to allow demolition.

Pensioners Martin and Jan Levy, who live opposite Mr Kaye, wrote: “We were living here when the present house was constructed. It was a difficult time with noise and dust. We are 10 years older now – the new house will be another traumatic time for us.”

Anita Elias, a neighbour of Mr Kaye’s, has lived in the road for 40 years. The 73-year-old said: “It’s going to make people’s lives a misery for the next two years. I only recently had to suffer building work from another neighbour, which left my house literally shaking.”

Others added that construction would make their lives “hell”, that the design “stuck out like a sore thumb” and that mechanical plants, to be installed on the roof, would see the sound of tweeting birds replaced by a “humming house”. The presence of the River Westbourne running underneath also prompted fears over flooding.

Residents thought they had won a victory against it being knocked down when Mr Kaye withdrew a February application “due to concerns expressed by Camden Council”. But in July, the application was lodged again with some minor design alterations.

It comes as many residents in Hampstead continue to complain about their roads being blighted by development. On December 1, the community will get the chance to grill Camden Council’s cabinet member for planning, Cllr Phil Jones, at a “Quality of Life” meeting held at the former church St Stephen’s in Rosslyn Hill at 7pm. It will discuss concerns around basements, pollution, noise, and more.