Major refurbishments have been approved at a billionaire’s country house in Wiltshire.

Conholt Park was built in the late 17th century close to the Hampshire border and is an estate of approximately 2500 acres.

It was purchased in 2022 for £80 million, by Steve Schwarzman, the chairman and CEO of Blackstone.

This most recent application is the second phase of major refurbishments on the Grade II listed property and focuses on the restoration and alteration of the Grade II listed courtyard.

Wiltshire Times: The buildings form a three-sided courtyard that is open on its southeast side, facing the northwest elevation of the house.The buildings form a three-sided courtyard that is open on its southeast side, facing the northwest elevation of the house. (Image: Adam Architecture)
This outdoor area includes stables, cottages, a coach house and a garage workshop.

The work on the stables will include the restoration of the historic horse stalls and a new events space.

The three staff accommodation units will be merged back into one unit contained within a cottage, and some previously modernised elements will be changed.

The application states: “The coach house and the north-western range of the stables have recently undergone conversion and alteration in some areas without listed building consent or planning permission.

"Additional unauthorised landscaping and building has been undertaken on their north-western side.

"The changes are insensitive to the historic building and its setting.”

Wiltshire Times: The application provides an internal view of the stables.The application provides an internal view of the stables. (Image: Adam Architecture)
Conholt Park was originally developed as an agricultural estate, and it is thought that deer were hunted on the estate from the 1720s.

According to the application, in the 1850s, it became a shooting estate, which from 1991, was developed into “one of the finest shooting estates in the south of England.”