“I’ve driven my share of oligarchs,” said a taxi driver at Weybridge station, “a few of them were quite nice and chatty.” The demand for airport trips for Russian billionaires has waned in recent years, however, “because they are not living in the houses anymore”.
Those that do remain are based exclusively in one location in this part of Surrey – St. George’s Hill, a 964-acre gated community with its own golf and tennis clubs. This week the private estate was thrust into the spotlight when it was reported Vladimir Putin’s daughter was a resident and that “tensions were rising with the local community”.
When MyLondon visited St. George’s Hill to ask about the alleged friction we were greeted by two security guards who immediately radioed their manager. When he arrived he asked to photograph our ID “so they could see who was making inquiries” and then directed us to an email address.
READ MORE: The London mansions owned by Russian oligarchs from ‘Billionaire’s Row’ pad to estate almost size of Buckingham Palace
But there wasn’t any obvious sign of tension or, for that matter, Putin’s daughter. The only vehicles coming in or out of the estate belonged to building contractors, so clearly the Russian billionaire’s desire to renovate English homes was alive and well in Surrey.
A short drive to the local town of Weybridge revealed a place with all the right facilities for wealthy Russian ex-pats and their families to relax. Amongst the supermarkets and charity shops, that are found in many a small rural town, are high-end boutiques, expensive salons, grand country pubs and restaurants that wouldn’t look out of place in Knightsbridge.
When MyLondon asked one store owner about the Russians of St. George’s Hill their face tightened and they warned they “couldn’t give out customer information”. They did say the relationship between oligarch families and the community was good. The children attended local schools and they weren’t afraid of spending money in the local places.
An ex-worker of an Italian restaurant in Weybridge said they had regular customers from St. George’s. Russian families, who would order champagne and the most expensive specials from the board. They were always polite and respectful, they added.
An employee in a different shop pointed out that just because they were compatriots didn’t mean they were responsible for Putin’s actions in Ukraine, before warning a colleague that people speaking to the media could be sacked. But there are others who do have concerns about the influx of oligarchs in this small town.
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‘Distorting local politics’
According to Liberal Democrat councillor Robin Stephens, Russian money has “distorted” the area’s local politics. He said: “We all know about the national story, Conservatives have received more than £2 million [from Russian donors], but it but it’s about this happening locally as well. The local party here received £25,000 pounds from Dmitry Leus.”
Mr Leus, who was recently involved in a controversy with Prince Charles , is a former Russian banker, born in Turkmenistan, who has denied having any connection to Putin. He made president of the Runnymede and Weybridge Conservative Association, an honorary position not involved with the day-to-day running of the organisation. When the donation was revealed much of the focus was on the fact it was in minister Dominic Raab’s constituency .
But Stephens said the sum had a serious impact on the battle for local council seats. He added: “£25,000 pounds for local party association is a lot of money. You could leaflet an entire area, for probably a few £100s. They’ve been pumping out an incredible amount of literature locally because they’ve got this this this pot of money that is very unusual for a local party to have.”
‘Most people don’t know there’s such a large Russian community’
(Image: GL)
If national media reports are to be believed then a quarter of the homes in St. George’s Hill belong to people from the former Soviet Union. Cllr Stephens believes that this presence went largely unnoticed.
He added: “Until came out in the press I don’t think most people would know that there is such a large Russian community here. There aren’t Russian shops, there’s nothing to indicate there’s a big Russian community. They’re so private, that probably most people don’t even know they’re here,” he added.
The privacy should never be cause for suspicion, but with greater scrutiny than ever before of Russian ownership of expensive British property places like St. George’s Hill can expect more media attention for a while yet.
Do you live next to a Russian oligarch? Contact zak.garnerpurkis@reachplc.com with your stories
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