Overview
- West Oxfordshire District Council refused the revised application, the second rejection since 2022, citing harm to the Little Tew Conservation Area.
- Officials said the proposal would urbanise the rural landscape, fail to enhance its setting, and cause a high level of “less than substantial” harm with claimed benefits not outweighing it.
- The scheme sought a six-bedroom house on a 4.37-hectare greenfield site near Soho Farmhouse between Banbury and Chipping Norton.
- Plans detailed features such as a Pantheon-inspired domed entrance hall, gun room, wine store, stables, solar panels, and a newly excavated lake.
- Residents and the Little Tew Conservation Group filed sustained objections to design, heritage and environmental impacts, and Burkle has said he will only complete the land purchase if he secures consent.