A Cotswolds man has complained about plans to install pond lighting at Sir David and Victoria Beckham’s home, comparing it to the bright lights of Miami and the Blackpool illuminations.
The Beckhams plan to install the lighting at their home in Great Tew, near Chipping Norton.
However, neighbours are concerned about the impact it will have on bats, light pollution, and the surrounding area.
James Worthington said in a comment on the couple’s application: “If I am not amiss, this pond ‘lake’ is in the countryside in a rural setting with field etc, around Maplewood Barn.
”Yet what is proposed is more akin to Miami or Florida not Great Tew. Festooned lighting hanging along a ‘proposed bridge’… spotlights, is this really Great Tew or have I mistaken this area for Blackpool?"
Mr Worthington further questioned the placement of planned “wall lights”.
He added: “If the applicants want to live in suburbia, then why come to an area like Great Tew? What about the poor foraging and commuting bats?”
He warned that the lights could become “a source of annoyance to people” and “harmful to wildlife”, potentially undermining “enjoyment of the countryside or the night sky”.
Sir David and Lady Beckham have been contacted for comment regarding the pond lighting plans.
This is not the first time that the celebrity couple have fallen foul of their neighbours over their plans for their £6 million Cotswolds home.
In November, they were accused of “abusing” the planning system in order to make significant changes to the property.
Planning documents show angry submissions made to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) arguing that the Beckhams had “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 the three listed barns for £6,150,000 in 2016, the couple 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”.
They also applied to change and extend an existing lane to make a second entrance to their Chipping Norton home, as well as to make “improvements” to the kerb and gates at the entrance.
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