One of George Michael's former homes is to undergo a huge renovation after falling into disrepair - and the finished result could be worth £10 million.
The Careless Whisper singer died in 2016 at the age of just 53, triggering an outpouring of grief from around the world. Now, nearly a decade later, plans have been submitted by his sister Yioda Panayiotou, 62, to totally transform his Hampstead property, which planning docs describe as being uninhabitable.
George bought the property in 1987, around the time his solo career took off after Wham! disbanded. The property is located in a conservation area, and will be restored to what Yioda's architects, BB Partnership, describe as a "habitable" condition.
An artist's impression of how the house will look after it has been renovatedThe plans include removing a water tank, and installing an entirely new roof with solar panels, replacing the exterior cladding - which is in a serious state of decay - with modern white laminate. According to the Mail, the plans also include converting two garages into living quarters "with a more traditional house frontage" which will "reinstate the character of the house".
There will be newly installed decking around the main house which wraps around to a bedroom at the rear. The plans also include raising a window on the upper ground floor so it has a better view of the house's garden. A garage will also be extended so it can house a "large SUV".
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The property will also see its garage transformed into habitable living quarters
The property is currently covered in scaffolding ahead of the worksThe plans have been approved by Camden council. Planning officer Daniel Pope said: “Given the nature of the work and the distance away from neighbouring properties...the proposal is not considered harmful in terms of loss of privacy, outlook, implications to natural light, artificial light spill, or impacts caused from the construction phase of the development."
It's estimated that when works have completed, the pad could be worth £10m, in line with other properties in the exclusive area. The Hampstead house fell into disrepair after George moved to nearby Highgate. However, it was at his mansion in Goring-on Thames, where George passed away. On Christmas morning, his partner Fadi Fawaz went to wake up George but instead found his lifeless body in bed.
The property's rotting cladding will be replaced, this picture was part of the planning applicationIn a statement at the time, Fadi said: "We were supposed to be going for Christmas lunch. I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed. We don’t know what happened yet. Everything had been very complicated recently, but George was looking forward to Christmas, and so was I."
George's death was initially recorded as unexplained but not suspicious by police after an initial post mortem came back as inconclusive. It wasn't until weeks later in March that George's friends and family finally got to lay the singer to rest when the official finding into his cause of death were delayed while the coroner examined the toxicology test results.
As part of the plans, it will get brand new decking
The planning application showed instances of neglectGeorge's former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley spoke to the Mirror at the time about the strain of waiting for the coroner to release George's body for burial was having on his loved ones. "We've not had closure," said Andrew. "It's difficult for me, it's difficult for everyone. It's a limbo period and we need to be able to move on."
At the hearing in March, a coroner ruled that George died of natural causes from dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle, which causes the muscle to become stretched and thin over time, which affects how blood can be pumped around the body.
In some cases, it can be an inherited disease, but other causes of dilated cardiomyopathy include viral infections, uncontrolled high blood pressure, excessive drinking or existing problems with the heart valves. George's former partner Kenny Goss said that he believed the pop star's body simply 'gave up'. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror at the time, Kenny said: “I can’t say for sure but I think his body just gave up. All these years, it was just weak."
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