£31.5million London mansion: David and Victoria Beckham expands fittings

 

Old pad: The Beckhams reportedly sold Beckingham Palace, pictured, for £11.5million - a tidy £9million profit

David and Victoria Beckham's plans to refurbish their new £31.5million mansion have hit trouble after a rich neighbour complained they are damaging the historic character of their leafy London boulevard.

For 18 months the couple, said to be worth a combined £210million, have spent £5million improving the palatial west London home - an inner-city replacement for their sprawling Hertfordshire estate 'Beckingham Palace'.

But at least one neighbour is upset about plans to install air conditioning in five rooms, including in the new gym and wine cellar. 

One resident has written to the local council and said he 'totally disagrees' with the plans, which 'will affect the historic character of the Victorian house of the streets, my house included'.

MailOnline understands that the complainant is worried about air conditioning units being attached to the mansion, because of the visual impact and the humming noise. 

His letter said: 'The council must identifed (sic) our deep concerns about all adverse impacts on living conditions from noise, vibration, dirt, pollution and dust from construction and from associated traffic, in addition to concerns about impacts on drainage, on appearance and landscape, on structural stability, and on historic buildings.'

This included the enlargement of the lower ground floor wine cellar and the installation of a retractable cinema screen. They also want to re-configure two bathrooms while removing a third-floor guest bathroom to form an extended bedroom and sitting room.

When ready, the home will have six-bedrooms, a gym, study, office, playroom, cinema and large drawing room.

These photos submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council in October 2014 show the mansion needs refurbishing since it was last updated in the 1990s

The first floor will belong to David and Victoria, and boast a huge bedroom, an even bigger dressing room and an en-suite bathroom.

The house will include rooms for hairdressing, manicures and make-up, as well as separate rooms for 40-year-old Victoria’s shoe collection. 

Staff and security will have access to a tunnel which will take them unseen to a second property.

The couple have already installed a sound system so that music can be played in every room, and which can be controlled by a phone or computer. They are planning on adding specially designed waterproof plasma TVs in every bathroom. 

Their children Brooklyn, 16; Romeo, 12; Cruz, ten; and daughter Harper, three, will take over the second floor of the house which has three bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms.

The lower ground floor includes a study, a gym and massage room, three service rooms and a small garden and there is an underground garage where David can keep his fleet of cars.

David and Victoria reportedly sold their Hertfordshire home, known as Beckingham Palace, for £12million. However, they also own homes in California, Dubai and a £2.6million holiday home in the South of France. The Beckhams bought the 12-acre estate just three months after their wedding in 1999 for £2.5million. 

Family: David Beckham takes a selfie of himself and his children (L-R) Brooklyn Beckham, Romeo Beckham, Cruz Beckham and Harper Beckham, before Victoria's event at New York Fashion Week. All the children will have huge amounts of space in the mansion

They submitted a fresh application for air-conditioning in February, with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council expected to make a decision on it in the next three weeks.

The Beckhams will also be installing underfloor heating at the home.

Photos submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council in October 2014 show it needs redecorating.

But estate agent Becky Fatemi, who runs Rokstone, believes when the project is finished it will be a brilliant family home.

An artist's impression of what it might look like inside the Beckhams' home

She said: 'The Beckhams' home has got very grand proportions, it is a trophy home. You don't get that many coming up for sale as many of these homes have been turned into flats.

'With planning on a home like this it is perfectly normal to take this long.

'The work will probably cost around £500 - £600 per sq/ft so it will cost around £5 million to do.

'When the work is done, it will be a brilliant home for a family.

'There are good schools in the area, there is the park and the Westfield is nearby.

'I am sure when the work it is complete, it will be in good taste and they'd look to get £4,000 per sq/ft for it.'

This would value the property at £42 million.

David and Victoria bought the home in September 2013 with the grand property dubbed Beckingham Palace II.

The Beckhams are spending £5million on building work before they move into their new London home, pictured, but a neighbour has complained over plans to install air conditioning