Nicholas van Hoogstraten, the polarising multimillionaire property investor also known as von Hessen, has said structural and design faults together with legal and overseas business distractions were the main reasons work on his vast Sussex mansion was abandoned in the late 1990s.
The project, commonly referred to as Hamilton Palace, began in 1985 on about 100 acres near Uckfield and is estimated to have cost around £41 million to date. The partially finished building has been surrounded by scaffolding and unused materials for decades, drawing complaints from neighbours and media attention after becoming a focus for anti‑social behaviour and drug use.
Van Hoogstraten and his son, Max, told the Express that two practical flaws in the design — the positioning of a column that interrupted key sightlines and a narrow, winding servants' staircase deemed unsuitable for carrying heavy trays — were among the reasons construction stalled. Max van Hoogstraten said the project required on‑site supervision "every day" and that a combination of those construction issues, his father's high‑profile legal case and threats to his land holdings in Zimbabwe led them to halt work.
"A number of things came together, and it was a project you needed to be on-site every day for," Max said, according to published reports. Van Hoogstraten, speaking from a Sussex hotel he owns, said he had intended to finish the palace but that attention was diverted by an Old Bailey prosecution and by property disputes overseas.
Van Hoogstraten was tried at the Old Bailey in 2002 and initially convicted of the manslaughter of business rival Mohammed Raja; that conviction was later overturned on appeal. In civil proceedings, Raja's family was awarded damages after a High Court judge in 2005 found, on the balance of probabilities, that van Hoogstraten had been involved in recruiting two men linked to the killing. A further order for legal costs was made against him in 2016.
The businessman, who made his fortune as a landlord from the 1960s onward, has a long record of controversial remarks and conduct that has drawn criticism from tenants, neighbours and the press. He has acknowledged substantial business interests in Zimbabwe dating back to the 1960s and has said he spends much of his time on the African estate he purchased as a young man. Van Hoogstraten has also acknowledged ties with figures in Zimbabwe during Robert Mugabe's rule and said the land reform programme there disrupted some of his holdings, prompting him to focus attention overseas.
Local residents and businesses have frequently described the site as an eyesore and raised safety concerns. Neighbours have reported rusting scaffolding, loose materials and youths breaking into the grounds to drink and use drugs. Some locals have called the property "the biggest slum in Britain," while others have suggested the derelict buildings could be repurposed for housing or commercial use to benefit the local economy.
Van Hoogstraten and his family, however, say the grounds are maintained, that the estate has security and staff, and that trespassing has been an aggravating problem. He and his son said they had refused offers from prospective buyers and expected the project to be completed eventually, but they did not give a timetable. The property is understood to be owned by Messina Investments, a company run by his four eldest children.
Wealden District Council said last year that Hamilton Palace is not in a densely populated area and that any concerns about a dangerous structure should be reported for investigation. The council added that anti‑social or unlawful behaviour is a matter for police enforcement.
Van Hoogstraten has previously dismissed criticism of the palace's condition, saying the scaffolding was part of routine maintenance and that the building was constructed to last. He has also made public comments opposing the use of the property for homeless accommodation or for asylum seekers, remarks that have been met with local and national criticism in the past.
Hamilton Palace remains a landmark of controversy in East Sussex: partly completed, wrapped in scaffolding and the focus of ongoing local concern about safety, trespass and the future use of a substantial site in open countryside. Van Hoogstraten and his family continue to assert their intent to finish the project, while local authorities and residents continue to press for reassurance on security and public safety.