EXCLUSIVE -Why ELEVEN empty plots worth £73m have been left to rot on London's billionaire's wasteland

Twelve years ago, The Bishops Avenue, London's most expensive road, was in its opulent hey day.

It was an idyllic suburb where celebrities, royalty and the one percent, kicked back in palatial mansions, surrounded by manicured gardens.

How times have changed. Now the once-pristine north-west London street is a dumping ground.

Infuriated residents say it's an 'awful place to live' and even the local MP admits it is a 'ghost town'.

Imposing homes with sports cars parked on gravel driveways have been replaced by weeds, potholes, and many abandoned plots.

How such prime real estate can lay empty has puzzled locals for years.

But the mystery behind the land can be traced back to a shell company and a wealthy businessman living in Dubai, MailOnline can reveal.

In 2013, Birch Ventures Limited (BVL), based in the tax haven of The Isle of Man, bought 11 plots of land in a bundle for £73million - a deal that caused 'Billionaire's Row' to crumble.

The properties included a string of mansions called: Ilkley House, Redcroft, The Georgians, 53 The Bishops Avenue, known as, The Towers, 6 White Lodge Close, Land At The Back Of 6 White Lodge Close and 1-5 Arden Court Gardens.

(Pictured: The Towers was ravaged by a fire, destroying the roof, windows and parts of the building)

(Pictured: White Lodge Close and The Land At The Back of White Lodge Close empty and abandoned)

(Pictured: White Lodge Close, purchased on October 3, 2013, by Birch Ventures Limited)

(Pictured: Empty land where Ilkley House, Redcroft and The Georgians used to be)

(Pictured: Aerial view of the spot where Ilkley House, Redcroft and The Georgians were demolished)

(Infuriated residents say it's an 'awful' place to live and the local MP has described it as a 'ghosttown'

(The entrance to The Georgians, a once iconic mansion, it was demolished but never rebuilt)

(Wealthy owners saw an opportunity to turn the road into a hotspot for barely affordable luxury apartments - but they failed)

(The Towers became derelict and was briefly occupied by squatters)

(The empty plots and lack of development encouraged fewer moguls to move to the decaying street)

(The north-west London street has been steadily losing its charm with the once pristine road becoming a dumping ground for cigarette butts and discarded alcohol bottles)

(There are currently several developments on the road, making it look like a building site)

Ref: EXCLUSIVE -Why ELEVEN empty plots worth £73m have been left to rot on London's billionaire's wasteland Photo Credit-dailymail