SOHO Farmhouse has been granted permission to build 20 single bedroom farmhouse huts on the site of a former camping field and five-a-side football pitch.

The exclusive 21st Century country club within the Great Tew Estate comprises numerous buildings, cabins, farm buildings, gymnasium, restaurants and walled garden cottages.

It has become the place for stars to organise their parties, Meghan Markle is said to have had her bridal shower there and David and Victoria Beckham - who live two hundred yards away are regulars.

Planning officer Stuart McIver reported that the proposed development was sufficiently far away from neighbours not to impact them and no objections were made by neighbours or the Parish Council.

With regard to highway safety, he reported that Farm Camp, a camping field with bell tents, “has been at full capacity and in operation since 2016”.

He said: “It is considered that there will be no material increase in either guest or staff, peak or daily traffic generation as a result of permitting a permanent year round use of this nature, and thus no additional impact on Tracey Lane, or the surrounding road network.”

Oxfordshire County Council Highways raised no objections subject to condition.

The club is currently applying to enlarge an existing natural mill pond and install infrared sauna pods and four new hot tubs in and around the landscape.

A planning statement says the existing wellness facilities are centred around the mill ponds, with the pools and gym on the lower mill pond and the spa facilities on the upper mill pond. Located between the gym and spa is a small island where members and guests currently have access to a sauna, steam room, two hot tubs, an ice house and outdoor showers.

This is commonly known as ‘Steam and Sauna Island’.

"This development proposes enhancements to the existing wellness facilities to align with other Soho Health Club facilities at hotels around the world and therefore guest and member expectations."

The statement says Soho Farmhouse has near 100 per cent occupancy for overnight stays and a healthy waiting list for local membership to its gym, pool, spa and wider leisure facilities.

Meanwhile "the investment by Soho House and Co. of over £100m to date has directly created over 400 jobs within West Oxfordshire and many hundreds more through the local supply chain for goods and services".

The proposed improvements to the wellness facilities will create an additional 16 full-time jobs.

The statement adds: “It is not anticipated that the development proposals will result in any increase in guest traffic using Tracey Lane given that it is to cater for the existing membership; it will however result in a small increase in staff traffic, with potentially an additional 16 vehicle movements to the site each way per day."

It says the updated Travel Plan for Soho Farmhouse, which was approved by Oxfordshire County Council in October 2019, "has achieved its objectives of reducing staff travel by single occupancy car, and of directing member and guest travel away from minor routes through local villages."

In 2016 the Daily Mail reported that neighbours in the surrounding Great Tew area have complained about having their rural idyll ruined by ‘arrogant Londoners’.

Celebrities using private jets to cut journey time to Soho Farmhouse are partly responsible for a 20 per cent rise in traffic at Oxford Airport, said the Banbury Guardian in 2019.