Sarah Beeny wins eight-year planning battle over ‘mini-Downton Abbey’ farmhouse

Sarah Beeny has won an eight-year planning battle to retain her Somerset farmhouse, dubbed ‘mini-Downton Abbey’. Bought for £3 million in 2018, the property was extended without planning permission. After her retrospective application was rejected in 2024 and an appeal failed in February 2025, Somerset Council approved a revised proposal allowing the farmhouse to remain.