In the Sussex countryside near Uckfield, an unfinished mansion known as Hamilton Palace has been left to decay for decades. The property, reportedly larger than Buckingham Palace, has never been completed despite construction starting in 1985.
The mansion was commissioned by business tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, who became a millionaire at age 22 and was once estimated to be worth £800 million. Van Hoogstraten, now living in Zimbabwe, has said completing the £40 million property is not a 'top priority'.
Local residents have expressed frustration over the state of the site, calling it a 'death trap' and a magnet for anti-social behaviour. One resident said: 'The place has become a magnet for kids with nothing better to do. Youths who get in there could be killed.'
Van Hoogstraten has a controversial history, including a 2002 manslaughter conviction that was later overturned. He was also jailed in 1968 for ordering a grenade attack. Despite complaints, he has dismissed critics as 'peasants'.
Wealden District Council stated that the palace is not in a densely populated area, but locals accuse the council of being 'scared' of the tycoon. The property remains incomplete and uninhabited, a crumbling monument to a billionaire's unfinished dream.
