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Beckhams can keep tree house
Showbiz
13:30 07 April 2005
The Beckhams have been told they don't have to tear down a £120,000 tree house - as long as no one moves into it.
England football captain David and former Spice Girl Victoria were awarded retrospective planning permission to keep the two-storey structure by council officials - on the condition that the children's play area was not used for 'permanent habitable occupation' or a 'separate unit of occupation'.
The superstar couple built the 16 foot-high play area in the grounds of their Hertfordshire mansion - dubbed Beckingham Palace - last year because they claim they are unable to take children Brooklyn, five, and two-year-old Romeo to parks after a series of high-profile kidnap threats.
But the 29-year-old soccer ace and his pop star wife, who gave birth to the couple's third son, Cruz, six weeks ago, were faced with a threat to remove the fort - which also includes complete a portcullis, drawbridge and a tower - because they didn't secure planning permission which is legally required in the UK before building works can start.
The celebrity pair - who have a combined fortune estimated at over £50 million - also secured permission for a lavish brick Wendy house.
A source said: "It is big enough for a family of four and will cost at least £100,000 to build."
(c) BANG Media International
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