Blair lays down plans for his state-of-the-art retirement house

13 April 2012

With his long goodbye from power growing ever shorter, Tony Blair's thoughts are turning to life after Downing Street.

And it seems he has grand designs for his retirement.

Plans submitted to Westminster City Council this month show how the Prime Minister and his wife Cherie want to turn their London townhouse and an adjacent mews property into a palatial new home.

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The mews house, believed to have cost the couple £800,000, will provide an almost ready-made rear extension to the £3.65million home they bought in Connaught Square, West London, in 2004. There will be a two-storey connecting building, topped by a secluded sun terrace with views across to Hyde Park.

It will be the perfect spot for Tony to catch a few rays away from prying eyes when he has a bit more time on his hands.

The building work, which could cost £100,000, will provide extra space for the Blairs and their children - possibly including a nanny flat - offices and accommodation for the inevitable security presence.

The Prime Minister is also showing he can be just as green as David Cameron, who employed an eco-architect to spearhead the transformation of his Notting Hill home, complete with rear extension, spacious basement, solar panels and a wind turbine.

The Blairs will not have a wind turbine, perhaps because of criticism that they fall far short of top efficiency in a city. But there will be four solar panels on the roof of the mews property.

They should trap enough sun to provide an effective energy supply.

The Blairs had coveted the mews house ever since they bought the main one, not least because it will solve a major security problem.

The main house has only one entrance and that is on to a public street - a security nightmare. But the mews opens on to a narrow rear street which could be blocked off when necessary.

The plans, submitted on March 13, reveal more of how security will be addressed. Two new CCTV cameras would be installed on the main house, and experts believe it will be fitted with panic alarms and motion detectors.

There could also be a self-contained operations base for detectives. Former premiers continue to receive round-the- clock protection, as they are seen as prime targets for terrorists.

Despite owing around £4million in mortgages on the four properties they already owned, the Blairs borrowed even more to buy the mews house - once a stable block for their townhouse.

The extra cost of the rebuilding will once again raise the question of just how they can afford their property investments.

While both are high earners - with even more potential once they leave Downing Street - they have been able to borrow the equivalent of 25 times the Prime Minister's salary.

The plans to link the two houses have been submitted under the name of Simon Templeton, an architect who was the most recent owner of the mews house.

The planning application is viewable on the council's website but detailed plans are not visible online for security reasons.

Which leaves just one question - where will the Blairs live while the builders are at work? Or is Gordon Brown in line for some bad news?

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