Ali Ansari was sanctioned by the UK government for links to the Tehran regime but these matters are not within the council’s remit reports David Floyd

Looking down The Bishops Avenue with tall trees lining the road — The Bishops Avenue – David Howard / Bishops Avenue south end – CC BY-SA 2.0

Barnet Council says it did not carry out due diligence checks on a Bishops Avenue property owner linked to the Iranian government as this is not part of its remit as a planning authority.

Several national newspapers have run stories in recent days concerning Ali Ansari, a businessman sanctioned by the UK government in October for ‘support to hostile activity’ by the government of Iran.

The Daily Mail claimed on Monday that Ansari had been given the “green light to build 33 luxury flats” on the Finchley street labelled ‘Billionaire’s Row’ due to the prevalence of large properties with wealthy owners, while The Observer highlighted several other properties on the street connected to the businessman.

While it is true that Ansari’s company Birch Ventures Limited did receive permission for a 33 flat development on The Bishops Avenue, this decision was taken in September 2023, over two years before Ansari was sanctioned.

However, even had the measures been in place at the time, Barnet Council has confirmed that checking the background of applicants does not fall within its role.

A spokesperson told Barnet Post: “The local planning authority does not carry out due‑diligence checks on applicants. The planning system requires the council to ensure that applications meet formal national and local validation requirements, and that proposals are assessed solely against planning policies and land‑use considerations.

“Planning permission runs with the land and decisions are made on the impacts of the development itself, not on who owns the land or an applicant’s personal, financial or political associations, which fall entirely outside the scope of the planning decision‑making framework.”

The spokesperson also said that neither officers nor councillors were aware of the links between Ansari and the Iranian regime when considering applications from his company.

In the Daily Mail story, a lawyer for Ansari is quoted denying that the businessman is connected to the current leadership in Iran and saying that he plans to challenge the government’s sanctions.

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