Nicholas van Hoogstraten, the controversial property tycoon who began building the vast Hamilton Palace in 1985, has told reporters why the project was abandoned midway through construction and left in a deteriorating state for decades.
Van Hoogstraten, who recently changed his surname to von Hessen, and his son Max said design problems identified as construction progressed, combined with legal and business distractions, were the main reasons work stopped in the late 1990s. The 100‑acre estate near Uckfield in East Sussex has long attracted local anger and media attention, with neighbours calling the site "an eyesore" and dubbing it "the biggest slum in Britain."
In interviews with national newspapers over the past week, Max van Hoogstraten said there were "major issues" with the building that went beyond aesthetics. He told the Express that an incorrectly positioned column compromised sightlines across the facade and that a servants' staircase was too narrow and winding to be practical for carrying heavy trays. Fixing such defects, he said, would have required close, on‑site oversight.
Those construction concerns coincided with what the family described as a tumultuous period in van Hoogstraten's life. The elder van Hoogstraten faced criminal proceedings in Britain, and his commercial interests in Zimbabwe were under strain following land reforms in that country. "A number of things came together, and it was a project you needed to be on‑site every day for," Max said.
Van Hoogstraten was convicted at the Old Bailey in 2002 of the manslaughter of a business rival, Mohammed Raja, but that conviction was later overturned on appeal. In a separate civil judgment, a High Court judge later found on the balance of probabilities that van Hoogstraten had been involved in commissioning violence against Raja and awarded the family damages. The tycoon's long history of controversial behaviour and legal disputes has fed local unease about the unfinished estate.
Neighbours and local residents say the site has become a magnet for anti‑social behaviour and drug use, and they have raised repeated safety concerns. Local accounts and recent visits by reporters describe rusting scaffolding, building materials left on roofs and grounds that residents say are frequently breached despite gates and security measures. Wealden District Council said the property is not in a densely populated area and directed questions about alleged dangerous structures to the council's reporting mechanisms. The council added that reports of anti‑social or unlawful behaviour are a matter for the police.
Van Hoogstraten and his son said the estate is guarded, has staff on site and that parts of the grounds are maintained and used for hunts, but they acknowledged trespassing and vandalism have been persistent problems. They said work has not resumed in earnest but insisted the project will eventually be completed, offering no timetable.
The property, sometimes compared in scale to royal residences, was started in 1985 and remained unfinished more than 40 years later. Ownership records indicate the estate is held by Messina Investments, a company run by four of van Hoogstraten's eldest children. Members of the family have previously told the press that they were placed in control of their father's business interests while he served a prison sentence in the early 2000s.
Van Hoogstraten has been a polarising public figure for decades. He made his fortune in property and was described by a judge in earlier proceedings as a "self‑imagined devil". He has faced convictions and civil judgments related to violent episodes and has been criticised over the conditions in properties he has owned. He has also spoken publicly about his large landholdings in Zimbabwe, which he acquired from the 1960s and 1970s and which include agricultural estates and, he says, mining interests.
The tycoon has acknowledged close ties with Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe and has said his attention to those holdings intensified during the period when Hamilton Palace works stalled. Land reform and political violence in Zimbabwe during the late 1990s and 2000s displaced and, in some cases, led to the deaths of white farmers; van Hoogstraten said some of his Zimbabwean interests were under threat at that time.
Local reaction to the family’s renewed comments was mixed. Some residents say the ruined appearance of the palace has blighted the rural landscape and called for stronger local enforcement to prevent trespass and make the structure safe. Others said the site might be put to community or commercial use if the owners ever chose to sell.
Van Hoogstraten has previously dismissed suggestions that the building was crumbling, saying it was constructed to last and that the visible scaffolding was part of routine maintenance until final completion. He has also courted controversy with public remarks disparaging neighbours and commenting on social issues including homelessness and migration.
Planning records show the estate comprises multiple buildings, some of which also remain partially constructed and scaffolded. Reporters who visited the area in recent years said there were intermittent signs of activity such as diggers or vehicles, but the family says those movements have not amounted to a resumption of comprehensive building work.
As of this month, the van Hoogstratens say the palace remains their property and that they will not entertain offers to sell, despite what they described as interest from potential buyers. They gave no dates for when construction might restart. Local authorities said they would investigate any formal reports about the safety of the structure and reiterated that policing issues of trespass and anti‑social behaviour lie with the police.