US billionaire's mansion plans approved on appeal

A US billionaire's plans to build a country house in the Cotswolds have been approved by the government after an appeal.

Ronald Burkle, the man behind the Soho House private members' club, wants to build on 4.37 hectares of farmland in Little Tew, Oxfordshire.

His proposals were rejected by West Oxfordshire District Council for the second time in October 2025, before the businessman appealed to the government Planning Inspectorate.

Following a five-day hearing in September, the Planning Inspectorate reversed the council's decision and granted the proposals full planning permission.

According to planning documents, the new property would include a gun room, wine store, stables, gardens, a swimming pool and pool pavilion, a solar farm and a new lake.

During a previous public consultation on the plans, locals criticised the proposals - with one saying it was "of truly outstanding grotesquerie".

Planning for the development was first rejected in December 2022, with those behind the proposals submitting updated plans in July 2024.

Those were then again rejected by the council in October 2025, with the authority saying the plans were "adversely urbanising and transformative in the landscape".

It added that benefits, including boosts to the local economy "would not outweigh the identified harm to the heritage assets, the landscape character and setting of the village".

But overturning that verdict this week, the Planning Inspectorate ruled that the proposal "accords" with the council's development plan "as a whole".

It also adjudged that the development would not impact nearby protected areas or the historic estates at Great Tew and Heythrop.

In granting permission, the inspectorate suggested the property could go on to become a "future heritage asset" for the area.

Little Tew is situated roughly halfway between Banbury and Chipping Norton, and sits in the north-eastern section of the Cotswolds.

The area has proven popular with high-profile public figures looking to relocate to the countryside in recent years.

Over the last decade, David and Victoria Beckham, US chat show host Ellen Degeneres, and most recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have all settled nearby.

Burkle's new property will be just miles away from Soho Farmhouse - part of the international chain of private members' clubs he acquired in 2012.