Batty reason David and Victoria Beckham can build posh home office

By Tom Bevan via SWNS

David and Victoria Beckham have been granted planning permission to build a new office at their £6m ($8,281,050) home — on the condition they share it with birds and bats.

The celebrity duo submitted an application build an outhouse at their Grade-II listed country house in the Cotswolds.

The outdoor building, which will be used as an office and high-tech vehicle storage space, will be designed to have two open frontage bays and an open roof structure to provide an "attractive environment for nesting birds and bats."

The planning application has now been approved by West Oxfordshire District Council as long as the celebrity couple look after the existing wildlife there.

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."

England footballer David and fashion designer wife Victoria 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 hedge-row without prior approval to protect roosting, foraging or community bats.”

The new structure, which replaces an old outbuilding, will be designed with a traditional gabled form.

It will be made using a timber post and beam frames with pillars supported on staddle stones.

Buggies and quad bikes are listed as examples of the vehicles and garden machinery that would be stored there.

In earlier correspondence from the council to the couple, regarding the plans, it was noted that several measures to enhance native species in the area would need to be followed.

The council's biodiversity officer, Esther Frizell-Armitage, said in a letter this included adding several specific biodiversity enhancements, which include planting at least six different tree species to create 'native' hedgerows around the new development.

It was also noted that the Beckhams must have 'a five-year aftercare maintenance plan' and there must be "no external lighting" that could harm wildlife.

The Cotswolds mansion, which is estimated to be worth around £6.15 million, has been renovated a number of times over the past few years.

Features of the countryside estate, located close to the private member's club, Soho Farmhouse, include a huge football pitched, decked out with a spectator stand, an outdoor pool, and a sauna.

It is also said to contain a wine cellar, a plunge pool, and an enormous garage, fitted with flashy cars and a motorbike.

The Beckham family are said to bounce between their Oxfordshire home, a £31 million mansion in London, and a £19 million penthouse in Miami, Florida.