Beckham toy castle comes under siege from planners

REAL Madrid and England soccer star David Beckham has been told by his local council to apply for planning permission for a play castle built in the grounds of his home.

Council officials wrote to Beckham, 29, and his wife Victoria, 30, after being told that the wooden structure had been built in the grounds of the couple’s home in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.

A spokeswoman for East Hertfordshire District Council said yesterday that officials expected the Beckhams to make an application for retrospective planning permission sometime in the near future.

She said: “We were informed that the structure had been erected in the grounds of the Beckhams’ home.

“We have visited the problem and advised Mr and Mrs Beckham that because the structure is over four metres high, it will require planning permission.

“They have been advised to apply for retrospective planning permission.

“We haven’t received that application yet but we are expecting to do so in the near future.”

She said the application would not be dealt with by the council’s planning committee but a decision would be made by a planning officer. Copies of the plans would be sent to Sawbridgeworth Parish Council, whose members could make comments on the proposals. The play castle is a wooden construction which contains a mock tower, drawbridge, slides and rope swings.

The couple have two children - five-year-old Brooklyn and two-year-old Romeo. The council spokeswoman added: “We were not aware that the structure was being built. We became aware when we saw a photograph of it in a Sunday newspaper.”