Fashion-conscious couple David and Victoria Beckham are following the trend for rewilding, too.

Documents filed with West Oxfordshire District Council they plan to plant a wildflower meadow at their £6million farmhouse on the Great Tew estate.

The proposals are part of a landscaping plan along with new trees and a native hedgerow.

The proposed shade-tolerant wildflower meadow will stretch over 210 metres squared and contain knapweed, water avens, cats ear, toadflax, vetch and sorrel among other flowers.

Last year the Beckhams were granted planning permission to build an outhouse at the Grade II listed country house on the condition the building, which will be used as an office and vehicle storage space, came with a comprehensive landscape scheme.

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Conditions included creation of a new native, species-rich hedgerow with at least six tree/shrub species, supplementary planting and infilling of the existing hedgerow with native species, planting of the wildflower meadow and submission of a five-year aftercare maintenance plan.

The landscaping scheme had to be completed by the end of the planting season immediately after completion of the development or the site being brought into use, whichever is the sooner.

The celebrity couple also had to agree to look after the existing wildlife there.

Another condition was that the building had to provide an ‘attractive environment for nesting birds and bats’.

Planners said: “Before the erection of any external walls, details of the provision of at least one integrated bat box and at least one integrated bird box within the walls of the new building shall be submitted to the local planning authority for approval.”

The Beckhams must also ‘ensure that bats, birds, badgers, hedgehogs, reptiles and amphibians are protected in accordance with The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.’

They are also prohibited from installing any outdoor fixtures which ‘would directly illuminate the bat box or the hedgerow without prior approval to protect roosting, foraging or community bats’.

The Cotswolds mansion near Soho Farmhouse has been renovated a number of times over the past few years and now has its own lake - three quarters the size of a football pitch - with an island, despite the protests of neighbours. 

Some worried the family would be “racing speed boats and shattering the peace”.

In June the couple were given planning permission for a log store - despite fears of the environmental impact.

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An objector tried to block the move, arguing wood burning was not eco-friendly and they should be relying on methods of heating such as an electric heat pump.

They accused the application of 'flying in the face' of the Government's clean air strategy.

During lockdown, Mr Beckham revealed that he and the family had become interested in beekeeping and he now has his own five hives and is making honey.

"Hi honey, I'm home. I love Spring," he captioned the post on his Instagram, showing him dressed in a flat cap.

 

 

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