He may have had a torrid week in the spotlight thanks to his long-standing links to sex scandal-hit David Walliams - but closer to home Simon Cowell has had some good news.
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Cowell → have → news
The TV mogul has been given permission to develop his £8million Cotswold farmhouse to include a ‘party barn’ where he can entertain his A-list friends and family, the Mail can reveal.
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Mail → give → friends
Cowell has been dragged into the scandal because he employed Walliams for a decade as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent - where he was said to bring vulnerable young girls as his guest.
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he → drag → guest
Cowell who eventually sacked Walliams for vile off-mic comments about contestants is thought to have been stung by being linked to the fallen star six years after he stopped speaking to him.
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he → sack → him
So news that his long wait for the green light to make changes to his Grade II listed country home will no doubt be welcome after a testing period.
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wait → make → period
Cowell bought the property three years ago and submitted the application almost two years ago - and it was finally approved last month, we have learned.
Simon Cowell - pictured here in an Instagram photo he shared alongside his fiancee Lauren Silverman and their sons Eric, 10, and Adam, 18 - is allowed to to build his new extension
Cowell filmed himself outside his Cotswolds home last October, singing happy birthday to himself in a video which he shared on Instagram
According to an application submitted to West Oxfordshire Council, Cowell’s agents said the proposal was for a series of ‘internal and external alterations to the East Wing’ of the property said to include a space for socialising as big as a new build house.
There would also be changes to a master bedroom suite, bath/dressing room, connecting lobby, and a music/games room.
Music mogul Simon, 67, moved to west Oxfordshire more than four years ago after buying the estate with fiancée Lauren Silverman, 49, and their two sons following a spate of break ins and their now sold £45 million former home in Holland Park, west London.
Neighbours in the leafy Cotswold enclave near Great Tew include David and Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The five bedroom property is made up of a main house from the 19th Century and outlying cottages and has a large garden, gym and beautifully manicured gardens.
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property → buy → garden
Simon regularly posts updates on his social media profile from inside the lavish house and the grounds can be seen in the background.
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grounds → post → background
Last year he uploaded a clip of himself there to promote his Netflix talent show Simon Cowell: The Next Act.
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he → upload → show
The Syco founder also posted video of himself with his beloved Yorkshire Terriers, Squiddly and Diddly as he sat in an armchair at the house.
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he → post → house
Behind him, white double doors could be seen and a view of a huge garden with a trimmed lawn, hydrangea bushes, and a tall leylandii tree hedge could be seen
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view → see → lawn
There is also a wild swimming pond and an indoor pool and the couple’s boys Eric, 11, and 19-year-old Adam who is Lauren’s child from a previous relationship can be seen in pictures playing with the dogs in the garden.
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who → be → garden
Locals say Simon and his wife Lauren are also often seen riding around the country lanes on their bicycles – she has posted an image on her social media - and they often pop into the local deli for a coffee and bite to eat.
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they → say → coffee
They have become firmly established in the local Cotswold set and last year Simon and Lauren hosted a glamorous high society fundraising event for Great Ormond Street Hospital in nearby Great Tew estate.
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Simon → become → estate
Among those there were Princess Eugenie, her sister Princess Beatrice and Jeremy Clarkson – who oversaw a fundraising auction which raised more than £1 million- and his partner Lisa Hogan.
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which → be → million-
Building agents have told planners there are now no mammal burrows within 100m of the site
Speaking of his home in the Cotswolds, Simon said in a recent interview: ’It's brilliant and everything you want is here.
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you → tell → interview
I go on my electric bike, I have remote-control cars, a drone… it's about being outside, whether you walk or bike-ride, and I love the little villages.’
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I → go → villages
Lauren added that the family spends valuable time away from their electronic devices thanks to country living.
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family → add → living
She said: 'We do things with the kids that don’t involve computers or phones or tablets when we’re here.
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we → say → computers
We're outside or doing things other than being consumed by the screen, so it’s healthy and wholesome.'
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it → do → screen
Because of its listed building stays Simon’s planning agents had to submit a heritage plan and assured councillors the project would reflect traditional Cotswolds building and use local materials.
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project → list → materials
They wrote in the statement:’ Far from introducing a new approach to the treatment of the listed building, the proposals represent a continuation of the process of sensitive adaptation that has characterised the evolution of… (the house) throughout its recent planning history.
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that → write → history
‘The proposals represent a carefully considered package of internal and external alterations designed to enhance the usability of the East Wing whilst respecting the significance of the listed building.
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proposals → represent → building
‘The scheme does not involve any extension to the building and does not increase its footprint or volume.
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scheme → involve → footprint
'The principal changes comprise the reconfiguration of existing accommodation together with a limited number of alterations to external openings.
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changes → comprise → openings
'The proposals have been developed having regard to the building's evolution and the extensive conversion and reconstruction works previously approved and implemented on the site.’
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proposals → develop → site
Simon also posted video of himself with his beloved Yorkshire Terriers, Squiddly and Diddly inside his home in west Oxfordshire
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Simon → post → Oxfordshire
Simon's five bedroom property is made up of a main house from the 19th Century and outlying cottages and has a large garden, gym and beautifully manicured gardens
It concluded: ’For the reasons set out within this statement, it is respectfully concluded that the proposals represent a sympathetic and proportionate form of development that successfully balances the continued residential use of the property with the preservation of its heritage significance.
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that → make → significance
‘Accordingly, planning permission and listed building consent should be granted.'
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permission → list → ?
Two years ago, it emerged that the grounds were infested with moles that had left hills and holes all over the eight acre grounds resembling Swiss cheese but they are thought to have disappeared now.
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they → emerge → cheese
But a self-assessment biodiversity form completed by the developers says there are ‘no mammal burrows within 100m’ and that ‘no habitat removal is proposed’.
The plans were rubber stamped by the council last month with no objections received however they stipulated builders must follow three specific conditions.
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builders → complete → conditions
These were that work started within three years, construction materials would be locally sourced and as specified in the plans and that it would be in keeping with the locality.
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it → start → locality
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