David and Victoria Beckham have won a planning battle to install extensive lighting around the lake of their £6.15million farmhouse-style mansion in the Cotswolds, despite objections from a neighbour who accused them of turning the countryside into "Miami or Florida".
Permission granted for lake lights
The couple have been granted permission to install the lighting, which one objector compared to "Blackpool illuminations", alongside a hot tub and fire pit on the Grade II-listed property. They have also been allowed to use non-motorised boats on the stretch of water, which their planners called a "pond".
The kidney-shaped lake is 4,170 square metres, with an island of 122 square metres.
Neighbour's objections dismissed
James Worthington, who filed a string of complaints against planning applications linked to the Beckhams' home, accused the couple of introducing "suburbia-style" features. In a detailed letter of objection, he wrote: "Yet what is proposed is more akin to Miami or Florida, not Great Tew. If I am not amiss, this pond 'lake' is in the countryside in a rural setting.
"Festooned lighting hanging along a 'proposed bridge'... spotlights, is this really Great Tew or have I mistaken this area for Blackpool? If the applicants want to live in suburbia, then why come to an area like Great Tew?"
However, it emerged that Mr Worthington has been "working away from the UK since 2019" and gave an address in Perth, Western Australia.
Ecology team and planning officer approve
The lighting scheme was approved by the ecology team, despite some initial reservations. In a letter, they questioned "the need for the spotlights at either end of the boardwalk across to the island, as there are also downlighters on posts," but added: "But I don't necessarily have a major issue with these, now that the spotlights lighting up the trees have been removed."
They brushed off Mr Worthington's complaint that the lights were a "source of annoyance to people" and "harmful to wildlife".
Planning officer Nathan Harris disagreed with the objections, stating: "Given the rural location of the site and the nature of the amendments proposed, officers do not consider that the revised landscaping or lighting details would result in any material adverse impacts on the amenity of neighbouring occupiers."
He added: "The submitted lighting scheme has been specifically designed to minimise light spill and ecological impact, and no objections have been raised by the Council's Ecologist following submission of the amended plans."
