Furious St George’s Hill locals stage protest demanding Russian oligarchs including sanctioned Oleg Deripaska leave their Surrey village dubbed the ‘Beverley Hills of Britain’
- Weybridge, Surrey, is the country’s most expensive private development
- The ‘Beverly Hills of Britain’ is home to at least 100 Russian oligarchs
- Sanctioned billionaire Oleg Deripaska has a house in the exclusive enclave
Angry residents have demanded Russian oligarchs to leave an exclusive private village in Surrey, which has been dubbed the ‘Beverley Hills of Britain.’
St George’s Hill in Weybridge is the country’s most expensive gated development, and is now home to at least 100 Russian oligarchs, one of whom – billionaire Oleg Deripaska – has been placed on the Government’s sanctions list.
The exclusive enclave for the super-rich is even believed to be the British home of one Vladimir Putin’s own daughters, although there has been no official confirmation.
Last week, more than 150 residents of Weybridge gathered near the gated village and demanded the Putin-linked oligarchs should leave
As anger mounts over Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, locals want an end to the ‘dirty Russian money’ used to buy some of the most exclusive mansions
Last week, more than 150 residents of Weybridge gathered near the gated village and demanded the Putin-linked oligarchs should leave.
The protest was the second in a fortnight, with at least 300 attending the first demonstration earlier this month.
During Sunday’s demo, some protesters wore T-shirts and jumpers in the yellow and blue of Ukraine’s flag, and waved placards demanding an end to the war which has left 3.5m fleeing their homes as refugees.
Spread over 964-acres of land with a value of £3billion, St George’s Hill was previously home to actress Kate Winslet, singer Tom Jones and the Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
But over the past two decades, more than a quarter of the 430 mansions inside St George’s Hill have been bought by Russian oligarchs, and it is rumoured that Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria Faassen, 36, own a home inside the village.
But as anger mounts over Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, locals want an end to the ‘dirty Russian money’ used to buy some of the most exclusive mansions inside the estate.
Deripaska was sanctioned by the Government, and as a result, his £18m art deco mansion inside St George’s Hill called Hamstone House was frozen
Earlier this month, metals tycoon Deripaska was sanctioned by the Government, and as a result, his £18m art deco mansion inside St George’s Hill called Hamstone House was frozen.
The eight bedroom property, spread over eight acres, comes with its own swimming pool, gym, sauna and a tennis court, and was where wartime prime minister Winston Churchill planned the D-Day landings.
Deripaska had put the property up on the market for £18m, but within hours of the sanctions being imposed, estate agents Knight Frank took it off their website.
Vicki Macleod, 68, has lived in Weybridge for over 30 years, said more of the oligarchs in St George’s Hill should be sanctioned.
She said: ‘We are hoping that the Government will apply sanctions swiftly to oligarch supporters of Putin in the UK.’
Lesia Scholey, 53 – a mother-of-three of Ukrainian origin and one of the organisers of the protest – said: ‘Russian presence here is a security risk. Not only have we had the poisonings of Litvinenko and the Skripals, but also some suspicious sudden deaths of oligarchs here on St George’s Hill and elsewhere in Surrey.’
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