A black helicopter flies over a gated country estate, while an army of staff ferries in supplies and contractors carry out ambitious construction projects on a mega-mansion.
No, these are not the opening scenes of a future James Bond blockbuster – but a drama that has currently gripped the locals of a tiny village in Wiltshire.
That's because Steve Schwarzman, an American billionaire worth an estimated £32 billion, is noisily finishing up his multi-million-pound renovation of Conholt Park - the Grade II listed estate he bought for £82 million three years ago.
This week the tycoon is reported to have agreed to a ban by Southern Water from using tankers to transport gallons of water into a huge new lake he has created in the grounds, despite some locals being subject to a hosepipe ban.
But it's not just utilities bosses that are raising eyebrows at his audacious plans in rural England.
