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JCB billionaire lord to build in Cotswolds despite strong objections

West Oxfordshire District Council approved a landscape observatory on land owned by Lord Anthony Bamford and Lady Carole Bamford near Chipping Norton, proposed by the Daylesford Foundation to showcase regenerative farming.
Designed to be sympathetic, the proposed observatory is a multi-use building on an elevated site near Chipping Norton, featuring a function room, bar, archive, and green pergola terrace using local and traditional materials.
The Cotswolds National Landscape Board argued the plans risk harming the area's beauty and adding a 'lit' element, while Simon Joyce, CNL planning officer, reported they "would not conserve and enhance the landscape and scenic beauty of the National Landscape" and maintained objections after adjustments.
High-Profile Bamford involvement has made the project attract wider notice as Lord Anthony Bamford, long-standing chairman of JCB since 1975, and the Bamford family through Daylesford raise public interest.
After adjustments to the plans, the foundation, Daylesford representatives said they addressed light-pollution concerns with mostly daytime events and 'sensitive products could be selected', but the Cotswolds National Landscape Board, through Mr Simon Joyce, reiterated its objection in a new letter.

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