When neighbours fall out.
Viscount Charles Dupplin, chairman of Hiscox’s art and private client division, is dabbling in local politics, it emerged this week.
Dupplin is standing for the Court of Common Council in the Lime Street ward. His goal? To reform the rules governing property development. The reason? Hiscox’s London office stands next door to the site where the tallest building in the city, the Pinnacle, is under construction.
Hiscox has already taken legal action against the developers of the site, following complaints from staff that they might be injured by heavy machinery.
The insurer alleged that the demolition work had caused its building to vibrate significantly, and that the site workers had smashed holes and leaked water into its offices.
The company had also asked the Corporation of London to have contractors to the site, Keltbray and Mace, removed from the Considerate Contractors list.
But despite winning a number of injunctions regarding site access, the insurer warned staff in January they could still expect “quite a bit of bang and wobble” from next door.
Now Dupplin, who says that 70 staff have suffered illness as a result, is aiming to “take the issue up from the inside”.
Unfortunately to get there he’ll have to beat four other candidates, including Yasha Beresiner, a global expert on paper currency.
