George Michael's sister bids to restore singer's £10m London mansion to its former glory: Star's only living sibling plans to chop down garden trees and refurbish parts of building after it fell into disrepair
George Michael's sister is bidding to restore the late singer's £10million London mansion after it fell into disrepair following his death.
Yioda Panayiotou, who is the Wham! star's only living sibling, is planning to chop down trees and refurbish parts of the property in upmarket Hampstead.
Photos published by MailOnline last year revealed the multi-million-pound home was in a state of ruin.
Scaffolding, however, has now been erected all around the house and works appear to be underway, images on Camden Council's planning portal show.
George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi, back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years.
But the site was later abandoned as the singer chose to split his time between his country home in Goring, Oxfordshire, and a mansion down the road in Highgate.
His sister Yioda inherited the Hampstead home as part of George's £98million fortune following his tragic death on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.
She previously vowed to restore the property to what her architect described as a 'habitable' condition.
George Michael's first superstar home — acquired in 1987 - is being treated to a dazzling revamp by his only surviving sister, Yioda Panayiotou
George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi , back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years
Pictures submitted to Camden Council's planning portal show works underway at the property
Now landscape designers have submitted plans to fell or heavily prune nine trees that have become a 'threat' to the home, documents show.
This would involve flattening a 'leaning' eight-metre high tree and an 11-metre evergreen thuja tree that is 'growing within close proximity of the building'.
Developers have also asked for permission to fell a 13-metre mature Leyland cypress due to its location near the property.
Yioda's team also wants to cut back the branches of a large tree that are hanging over garages at the site.
It comes after permission was sought last year to remove a water tank from the roof, as well as replacing the roof in its entirety, along with the crumbling cladding.
There were also plans to convert two garages into living quarters 'with a more traditional house frontage' which would 'reinstate the character of the house'.
New decking is to be installed around the main house so that it wraps around to a bedroom at the rear.
New photos show scaffolding erected around the outside of the multi-million-pound home
Pictured: George's home in Goring, Oxfordshire, where he died on Christmas Day 2016
Built to a futuristic design in the mid-1970s, the house was ransacked in George Michael's absence in 2002
George bought the pad, which is around the corner from celebs such as Harry Styles and Lewis Capaldi , back in 1987 and lived in it for a number of years
The window on the upper ground floor will be raised so that it enjoys a fuller view of the garden.
The £10million property, which was built in a futuristic design in the mid-1970s, was ransacked in George's absence in 2002.
Raiders stole jewellery, designer clothes and paintings, as well as family heirlooms bequeathed to the Wham! star by his beloved mother, who died of cancer in 1997.
It was previously revealed that George was embroiled in a planning battle to stop a developer knocking down a mansion at the bottom of the property's garden before his death.
Plans were submitted to Camden Council to replace a 16-bedroom Arts & Craft home with eight 'large and prime quality' flats complete with an underground car park.
In August 2016, law firm Russells, which acted on behalf of the singer, wrote: 'The development will have a negative impact on the character of the local community.
Photo submitted to Camden Council's planning portal shows works underway at the mansion
The window on the upper ground floor will be raised so that it enjoys a fuller view of the garden
Yioda is intent on restoring the property to what her architect describes as a 'habitable' condition, and seeks to remove a water tank from the roof
'The proposal's size and much increased footprint together with the loss of trees and green space sets an undesirable precedent for future development which will have an adverse impact on the area and is out of keeping with surrounding improvements to local buildings.
'It will be visually overbearing. The underground car parking is excessive as the property clearly already benefits from off street parking facilities.'
