Furious neighbours have accused David and Victoria Beckham of “abusing” the planning system to make significant changes to their £6m Cotswolds home. Planning documents submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) reveal that residents claim the couple have “drip fed” more than 30 applications instead of submitting one master plan, in a bid to “make sure they get what they want”.
Since buying three listed barns for £6,150,000 in 2016, the Beckhams have added a new driveway and gates, an additional garage outbuilding, a tennis court, a treehouse, a security hut, an extension to the garage outbuilding, and a landscaped pond and “beach”. Their latest application seeks to change and extend an existing lane to create a second entrance, along with “improvements” to the kerb and gates.
One neighbour labelled the application a “joke”, noting that the couple had already “laid the road, installed gates, laid an electricity supply to the gate ... planted trees, [and] installed post and rail fencing” before seeking permission. Another accused the council of failing to require a master plan, allowing incremental approvals. “I hope this time the Council will act,” the neighbour wrote, adding that it was “unfair to those residents who abide by planning legislation”.
A further objector questioned the need for a second access road, stating: “The house already has one perfectly serviceable access road so why is another stretch of tarmac laid through the woods deemed a good idea.” They urged the council to reject the application. Representatives of the Beckhams and WODC have been contacted for comment.
