Blair's moving in? There goes the neighbourhood

Tony Blair's new neighbours gave him a warm welcome today - except, that is, those who said that having him living there would be "a nightmare".

Alison Lloyd, whose mews house overlooks the rear of the Blairs' new property, was overjoyed with the news that the Prime Minister would be moving in.

"It's the best possible news," she exclaimed. "There will be no more problems with burglary and security will be fantastic, I would imagine."

That was not everyone's view, however. "It's a nightmare," said one angry resident. "Mr Blair has such a reputation for untruthfulness you would not want him in your neighbourhood, let alone your square. If he wants a house with plenty of space why doesn't he move to Basra? There's lots of empty houses there."

The barrister, who did not want to be named, added: "There's quite a lot of anger about his move. We like the fact that this place is not Belgravia - it's centrally located and close to the park but low key. Now we are going to have a bit of Islington here. I'm livid about it." He went on: "My sister also lives in the square, a couple of doors down from the house. It's a real nightmare for her because she fears it will affect her when she comes to sell. Who wants to live next to the Prime Minister?"

Millionaire entrepreneur Eric Mouilleron, 41, said: "I fear the disturbance. This is a calm square in central London - something that is very rare. Since the news came out its been hectic here. I hope it calms down. This is a lovely place to live and Mr Blair has bought one of the nicest houses in the best part of the square."

Interior designer Mrs Lloyd said news of the purchase had sparked much conversation of soaring property prices in the area.

"This used to be the forgotten part of London," said Mrs Lloyd, 43. "If you consider how big the house is and how centrally located it is, the Blairs have got a bit of a bargain.

"Notting Hill is a more popular area but that's just because of the film. They have shown excellent judgment buying here but we're all wondering if this is the start of a local boom. There has been a lot of talk about house prices going up on the back of this."

Ever the good neighbour, she added: "I'm just looking forward to the day when he pops round and asks for a cup of sugar."

Another resident is Julian Hirst, managing director of corporate finance for broker Durlacher - and chairman of the Hyde Park ward Conservative Association.

He said: "Mr Blair will get a very warm welcome from everyone in the square. We're not the type of people to let political differences get in the way of good neighbourly behaviour. In fact I look forward to him moving in as as soon as possible - perhaps sometime in 2005."

There should be plenty of opportunity for local residents to meet their new neighbour (as long as Mr Blair's security detail gives it the go-ahead).

One neighbour said: "We all tend to know each other and this is not, as has been said, an ostentatious or securityobsessed area. We have parties in the garden every year where all the residents get to know each other."

She said the previous owner of the Blair house, Roger Bevan, had been on the garden committee and speculated that Mr Blair might want to follow him.

"I don't think anybody will be fazed by it," she added. "There are a lot of successful people here but everybody is quite low profile."

The Prime Minister's new neighbours include Mark and Marion Schofield, who used to run an online condom shop called Mr Condom, Madonna's record producer William Orbit and Paul Oakenfold, the millionaire DJ and composer of the Big Brother theme tune who lives in Los Angeles and lets his home.

Some residents warned Mr Blair of the loud music which is to be heard coming from the studio in Orbit's ?4 million house.

One said: "Sometimes you can hear the noise of the drum machine or an electric guitar resonating around the square as he works on a tune. It fills up the whole square and echoes around. It can be quite annoying ... I am not sure the Prime Minister will appreciate it much."

Or, on the other hand, perhaps the former lead singer of Ugly Rumours would like to join in.