Pimlico residents vent anger as Montenegro embassy takes over house

Residents living in central London's grandest borough reacted with outrage after the Embassy of Montenegro moved into a rented townhouse in their street.

Neighbours living in the street in Pimlico, City of Westminster, say they became aware of the embassy around eight months ago when the Montenegrin flag suddenly appeared.

The embassy was subsequently given retrospective planning approval, a decision which locals plan to challenge as they say it makes "no sense", the BBC reports .

David Simpson, who lives in the property next door, addressed councillors during Tuesday's meeting.

He said: "You are aware of the level of local opposition to this planning application.

"Not a single person has spoken in favour of giving permission and every local Westminster councillor and organisation opposes it."
Nevertheless, the local authority gave approval for the property to be used as an embassy, and explained its reasoning that "significant, wider social public benefits" could flow from "supporting positive diplomatic relations."
Recommending approval, a planning officer for City of Westminster Council wrote: “Whilst the site is within a predominantly residential area and would result in the loss of a family-sized dwelling, given the small-scale and low impact operation of the proposed embassy...

the proposals are not considered to result in harm to the character or function of the residential street...”
A embassy spokesman said: "We are committed to being a respectful and considerate presence in the neighbourhood.

"The embassy has followed all required procedures and we remain fully open to constructive dialogue with neighbours to address any concerns and ensure a positive relationship with the local community.

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"Our operational setup is designed to ensure minimal disruption, consistent with our experience at previous premises."
The application also pointed out that as Montenegro is a small country, there will be few visitors to the embassy, while events will be limited to 15 people.

"The spurious reason given is the public benefit of improved diplomatic relations when there are plenty of other places suitable for an embassy in central London which tick all the planning boxes."