Former PM David Cameron is going 'green' with plans for a huge vegetable patch
Former PM David Cameron is going 'green' and has submitted plans for a huge vegetable patch at his home near Chipping Norton.
The Tory politician and his wife Samantha want to replace a 'dilapidated' greenhouse and build a new area to grow their own spuds and carrots - after ‘becoming more green-fingered’ in recent years.
His latest planning battle comes weeks after the couple won a six year fight for a swimming pool where neighbours feared they would create a 'tacky Benidorm' resort in his garden.
The application to West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) outlined how much 'greener' Cameron has got since stepping back from front-line politics. The vegetable garden would be made up of oak beams and brick to form ten raised beds.
His representatives wrote: "The applicants have become more green-fingered and would like a dedicated area for greenhouse, garden tools and garden machinery.
"The proposals create a coherent and discreet arrangement of new outbuildings, a relocated greenhouse,and a vegetable garden that together enhance the practical use and enjoyment of the applicants’ property.
"The outbuildings are modest in scale, constructed from sympathetic materials and carefully sited behind existing structures and woodland to ensure minimal visual impact on the wider village and conservation setting.
"Overall, the scheme makes sensitive and efficient use of an under-utilised part of the garden while strengthening the property’s character and amenity. The proposed siting for the greenhouse and outbuildings makes use of an under-utilised area of the garden, with better orientation to the sun and more privately placed.
"The existing greenhouse would be demolished and a new greenhouse proposed on the east of the site.
"The vegetable garden... is the main rationale of this application. A grassed path between the beds would serve access throughout the new planting beds."
The application says the site is largely obscured from view by the wooded area to the north.
No public comments have so far been submitted for the plans that were registered with the council last week.
"The proposed development has been carefully considered and designed to respect the constraints of the site. It would provide enhanced facilities for the applicant to maintain their land and grow their own food and plants whilst preserving the historic value of the site and not harming the National Landscape or amenity of neighbours,” the application says.
Cameron, now a member of the House of Lords, will be hoping for a quicker resolution than his pool, which he first submitted plans for back in 2020.
Lord Cameron withdrew the original scheme after neighbours feared the village could be turned into a holiday resort ‘like Benidorm’, but revived the bid in December last year.
Despite one neighbour again complaining of the potential for 'rowdy' pool parties, WODC approved the scheme last month.
Council officials said they considered the neighbour's concerns but could not ‘assume unreasonable behaviour’ under planning laws.
Lord and Lady Cameron are part of what was once known as the 'Chipping Norton set', featuring the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, Elisabeth Murdoch, and Rebekah Brooks, who all live in or around the town.
A decision on the current application will be made at a later date.