It looks like an alien spaceship – and plans for it to land in the verdant grounds of a country estate favoured by the celebrity set have got locals up in arms.
South African tech billionaire Koos Bekker is riling neighbours in Somerset with his proposals to erect a so-called ‘succulent ecosphere’ in the grounds of his exclusive retreat The Newt, near the village of Shepton Montague.
If approved, the colossal dome will house a collection of succulent plants from his homeland – but those living nearby are distinctly unhappy about the close encounter.
‘It would be a huge blot on the landscape,’ said one unhappy couple in a complaint to Somerset Council. Another mutters: ‘I don’t want no domes.’
A resident of the nearest town, Castle Cary, complained to me: ‘Why do we need the domes so close? Why do the poor residents of Shepton Montague have to put up with them?’
Mr Bekker has also faced an objection from Somerset Council’s own ecology service, which is concerned with loss of ancient woodland and ‘priority habitat’.
A critical letter to the planning department says: ‘I cannot see any justification for their loss.’
An investment and internet tycoon, Bekker and his wife Karen Roos – a former editor of Elle Decoration South Africa – are proud champions of flora.
Billionaire Koos Bekker is riling neighbours in Somerset with his proposals to erect a so-called ‘succulent ecosphere’ in the grounds of his exclusive retreat The Newt, near the village of Shepton Montague.
If approved, the colossal dome will house a collection of succulent plants from his homeland – but those living nearby are distinctly unhappy about the close encounter
The Newt – where rooms start at £900 a night – was headline sponsor of the Chelsea Flower Show from 2022 until last year, where they created a garden showing off those South African succulents which wowed visitors.
In 2024, Bekker opened a posh cafe at Castle Cary station, but locals were flabbergasted by the prices – £8.40 for a bacon butty and tea – and they lambasted it as ‘too gentrified’.
Margot gets ahead on Henry VIII play
Fresh from Wuthering Heights, Margot Robbie is going back even further in time, to Tudor England.
The Barbie star is producing a new play named 1536 – the year in which it is set – as it transfers to the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End in May after a sell-out run at the Almeida in Islington last year.
I am told the staff are beside themselves with excitement at the prospect of a visit from Margot, who’s called the play ‘fearless and witty’.
Its about three women in Essex whose lives are disrupted by rumours spreading from the court of Henry VIII.
Margot, 35, set up production company LuckyChap Entertainment to create better roles for women – so where better to start than with all the disgruntled (or beheaded) women Henry left in his wake?
Margot Robbie attends the Wuthering Heights Photocall at Spencer House on February 4
Violet is seeing red
I recently reported that aristocratic Lady Violet Manners threw a tantrum because Keir Starmer was booting her chums out of the Lords.
Now Labour have struck again – this time where it really hurts: the trail hunting field.
‘It’s a disgrace,’ she stormed.
‘The economic impact of stopping trail hunting is seismic,’ adding, rather less loudly: ‘I don’t have the numbers to hand…’
Lady Violet Manners attends the National Gallery’s Summer Party on June 15, 2023
Dame Jilly first to pop open the champers
Dame Jilly Cooper’s characters were always cracking open the champers first thing, and so, it seems, was Jilly – even till the end.
Rivals actress Katherine Parkinson was reminiscing to me about the late novelist at the Royal Television Society Awards last week.
‘We all adored her on set. Jilly used to come in and by 11 the champagne would be flowing,’ Parkinson blushed, before adding a little spoiler for the next series: ‘You will be seeing a lot of me and Danny Dyer.’
You heard it here first…
Sir Ian ditches Gandalf robes
Sir Ian McKellen has ditched his Gandalf robes for… well, not a lot by the look of things. The actor, 86, posted this image (below) of himself sporting a beret and swilling a glass of fizz by way of promotion for his upcoming film, The Christophers, about a fictional artist called Julian Sklar.
Sir Ian McKellen, 86, sports a beret and a glass of fizz by way of promotion for his upcoming film, The Christophers
Spotted…
- Industry star Marisa Abela strolling with her husband near De Beauvoir Deli in London.
- Oscar winner Jessie Buckley pushing her pram near Millfields Park in Hackney.
- A bespectacled James Norton with ‘outstanding hair’ at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
- Actor Paul Mescal in minuscule shorts emerging from Gympods in Dalston.
- And his Beatles co-star Harris Dickinson on a Weaver Line train in London
