Hand-in-hand, David and Victoria Beckham ponder the future while strolling the neatly manicured grounds of their sprawling Cotswolds estate.
It’s one of the pivotal moments in a new Netflix documentary charting Victoria’s rise to prominence with The Spice Girls and subsequent reinvention as a haute couture designer and owner of her own globally renowned fashion empire.
But it inadvertently provides one of its most notable revelations as the couple admire their distinctive kidney-shaped lake – a man-made fixture that courted its fair share of controversy among locals after planning papers were initially submitted ahead of its construction in 2020.
Indeed, the telling presence of another man-made fixture – this time a private beach – has attracted the attention of West Oxfordshire Council.
It’s understood that council officers have launched an investigation into the 1,000 square foot sand bank after receiving a complaint that it broke a planning agreement.
A source told The Sun: ‘Neighbours think it is totally out of character for the surrounding area and they are very twitchy around adhering to the rules.’
David and Victoria Beckham’s private beach has attracted the attention of West Oxfordshire Council after it was spotted in scenes from their new Netflix documentary series (pictured)
Bordering their enormous lake, the beach was visible between a wooden jetty and a safari tent as the couple sat tearfully discussing Victoria’s ambitions and their future together
Bordering their enormous lake, the beach was visible between a wooden jetty and a safari tent as the couple sat tearfully discussing Victoria’s ambitions and their future together.
Yet when the kidney-shaped lake was installed, the rules were extremely specific to ensure it would ‘sit well in its rural context’.
Detailed notes and diagrams at the time said the surrounding area should be landscaped like an ‘organic parkland’, with wildflower meadows and native trees, and scrub and other plants to provide a habitat for nesting birds, small animals and insects.
The council is now investigating concerns that the beach is not consistent with what was agreed.
West Oxfordshire District Council confirmed: ‘A report of a planning breach has been received and will now be investigated.’
The safari tent near the beach was made by a firm owned by the couple’s mogul friend, Guy Ritchie.
The film director was once ordered to remove similar tents around lake at Ashcombe House in Wiltshire after they were spotted in a trailer for his Netflix series Gentlemen.
Initial plans to install their lake – a stretch of four metre deep water spanning 3000 square metres and surrounded by an array of wildflowers and trees – were initially blocked due to the potential impact on local wildlife.
It’s one of the pivotal moments in a new Netflix documentary charting Victoria’s rise to prominence with The Spice Girls and subsequent reinvention as a haute couture designer
But it inadvertently provides one of its most notable revelations as the couple admire their distinctive kidney-shaped lake
A 2020 report read: ‘The loss of the grassland will potentially impact on protected and priority species including amphibians (including great crested newts), reptiles, mammals and ground nesting birds…
‘The grassland may also show botanical interest.’
At the time, the lake was the latest in a long-line of accoutrements to be built at the Cotswolds estate after they were previously awarded permission to install a secret underground tunnel, wine cellar and ‘super garage’.
The planning application stated that surrounding trees will include ‘Hazel, Oak, Honeysuckle, Bramble, Sycamore, Wayfaring trees Yew, Hornbeam, Birch, Hawthorn, Crab apple, Wild cherry and Sorbus’.
The Heritage Impact Statement included in the submission stated that: ‘The proposed lake (or large pond) will be broadly kidney-shaped and will be situated in the southern half of these grounds, in the lowest-lying part of the site.
‘It will be approached and encircled by a mown grass path which will wend its way through newly created gently sloping grass meadowland.
‘This will be distinct from the formal lawn closer to the house, which will extend as neatly mown grass down to the northern edge of the lake.’
The Beckhams did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s understood that council officers have launched an investigation into the 1,000 square foot sand bank after receiving a complaint that it broke a planning agreement
