A US billionaire’s dream of creating a grand English country estate in the tradition of 18th Century landscape designer Capability Brown is facing a backlash from neighbours convinced he is tapping into their water supply.
American financier Stephen Schwarzman bought the magnificent Conholt Park in Wiltshire – described as one of the finest shooting estates in southern England – for £82million three years ago.
He has funnelled millions of pounds into transforming the 2,100-acre estate’s parkland by building a huge lake that will hold more than nine million gallons of water.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr Schwarzman, dubbed the most powerful man on Wall Street, is under fire from neighbours who believe he is using a borehole to extract groundwater to fill the lake.
This, they allege, could lead to water shortages at their own properties because they rely on a shared aquifer.
