Beckhams upset new neighbours with major DIY plan

David Beckham could find himself deeply unpopular with his new neighbours over plans to give his new West London mansion a major makeover.

The Beckhams paid £31.5 million for the detached home in Holland Park in September 2013. They have spent the past 18 months drawing up plans to transform the home into a fine family residence.

But the couple have come across a stumbling block after their next-door neighbour wrote a strongly worded letter objecting to plans for air-conditioning.

Plans for home development Credit: Charles Brice Ltd/Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Beckhams want to install air-con in five rooms, including the luxury gym and large wine cellar on the lower ground floor.

The disgruntled resident "totally disagrees" with the plans, which "will affect the historic character of the Victorian house of the streets, my house included".

Credit: Google Street View

The Beckhams have hired designer Rose Uniacke to oversee the project. Plans for "internal alterations at all levels" were approved in February this year.

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.

Photos submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council in October 2014 show a fixer-upper needing plenty of decoration. But estate agent Becky Fatemi, who runs Rokstone, believes when the project is finished it will be a brilliant family home.

First floor plans Credit: Charles Brice Ltd/Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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

  • In the 1930s it was a boarding house for single ladies before being converted into a flats in the 1940s

  • During the 1960s it was awarded Grade II status

  • In 1989, it was returned to a single family home and renovated before being sold for £3.45 million in 1992

  • During the 1990 renovation, a lift was built, a full-length swimming pool was installed in the basement and the first floor was re-ordered to accommodate a billiards room

  • However, these changes were reversed a decade later with the pool filled in and replaced with a family room and gym

  • The property was sold in 2005 to a Guernsey-based company which sold it to the Beckhams eight years later