Grand Tour’s James May finally finishes £3m London home after five-year renovation
GRAND Tour's James May has finally finished work on his £3million London home after a five-year renovation project.
The TV star, 58, knocked down his old house in West London to build the mega mansion that will store his fleet of supercars.
As well as his own home, James is said to have combined a neighbouring property to build the larger pad.
Construction is almost finished on the grand design, with photos revealing the new structure and garage that will store his sports cars and 40 motorbikes.
His vast collection of motorbikes, a Porsche 911, limited edition Ferrari 458 Speciale, Fiat Panda and a Rolls-Royce will be given pride of place in the property.
The presenter is said to have moved out of while the work is ongoing – but he could be allowed back in by the end of lockdown.
It is claimed he demolished the home bought in 2000 and a neighbouring house he purchased five years ago for £310,000 to combine them.
Neighbours praised how the TV star has gone about the planning and build-up to the building work back in 2019.
One told : "I couldn't wish for a better neighbour than James. He is a delight and has involved us all at every step of the way.
And his next-door-neighbour Cathy Lewis added: "James has been really good and given us lots of information.
"This will be really good for our street, will be a big improvement on what was there before and the designs are sympathetic to the area.
"We know it will take a long time with a lot of disruption, but so far, the builders have been great. The new house will look fabulous."
The planning permission was given to May in 2016, but he has made adjustments since then as he took in residents' views on the project.
It is said he has gone to great length to make sure the new house will fit in with the area, in which there are some houses from the 1840s.
The plans were approved as a change of use of one property from commercial use to residential, demolition of the properties to rebuild into one two-story building with a garage on the ground floor.
One of the builders said: "This is a massive job. It will take more than a year to finish, but we are making good progress. We are trying hard to be nice to the neighbours and James is a delight to work for."
May will move into the finished mega-home with his partner Sarah Frater - who he has been with since 2000.
Sarah is an art critic and is good friends with May's co-host Richard Hammond's wife Mindy.