Beckhams facing battle for upgrades at Cotswolds home

Posh Spice and David Beckham have submitted plans to build a new oak balcony at Maplewood Barn, in the 44th application they’ve made since renaming the home they bought a decade ago.

In that time David and Victoria Beckham have been embroiled in numerous rows with neighbours and accused of ‘drip-feeding’ development there.

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And the latest scheme has raised accusations of ‘hypocrisy’ after they had previously accused a neighbour wanting a balcony at their London home of spoiling their privacy.

Victoria Beckham (Image: SWNS)

Documents submitted on behalf of the Beckhams said the latest scheme involved replacing the “Crittall-style screen and doors” and installing an “oak balcony to the western elevation.”

They wrote: “The proposed replacement Crittall-style screen and doors, together with the new oak-framed balcony to the west elevation, have been carefully designed to consider the character and significance of Maplewood Barn and its listed setting.

“The works are to the modern west range constructed as part of the approved barn conversion and will not result in the loss of, or harm to, any historic fabric associated with the original Grade II listed buildings.

“The replacement glazing will match the existing design, proportions, and colour, ensuring visual continuity with the existing barns, while the oak balcony introduces a simple and sympathetic addition that reflects existing timber detailing within the development.

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“Given the small scale of the proposals, and their location within a later addition to the dwelling, it is considered that the works preserve the special architectural and historic interest of the listed buildings and their setting.”

A planning document image linked to the proposed balcony at David and Victoria Beckham’s home in the Cotswolds (Image: SWNS)

No public comments have so far been submitted but it comes six years after the Beckhams fought a furious planning battle with neighbours at their Holland Park home in London over renovation plans – including their desire for a balcony.

In 2020 they eventually lost the battle to stop the neighbour drastically updating a posh property close to their £31million townhouse.

The celebrity couple had expressed concerns that the neighbour’s architect was creating a whole new patio area including a balcony on the first floor, which may have overlooked their back garden.

Amended plans were approved when a council officer’s report dismissed any privacy fears.

It’s the latest in a string of upgrades to the couple’s Cotswold home near Great Tew since they bought the sprawling property in 2016 (Image: SWNS)

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At the time they stated: “There are no concerns with the impact of the proposal on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers in terms of light, sense of enclosure, noise or privacy.”

The couple have also been involved in multiple rows over work at their Grade-II listed country house at Maplewood Barn, near Great Tew in Oxfordshire

Since buying the three listed barns for £6,150,000 in 2016, they have added a new driveway and gates, an additional garage outbuilding, tennis court, treehouse, security hut, extension to the garage outbuilding and a landscaped pond.