Australian mogul James Packer faces a showdown with residents of a tranquil English village over plans to build a polo centre.
Packer wants to construct a STG20 million ($A35.76 million) polo centre for his team, Ellerston, in Selham, southern England, Britain's Daily Telegraph and The Times reported on Thursday.
When his representatives outlined the proposal to villagers last month, some residents protested.They recalled disruption caused by earthmoving equipment on the tiny roads around the village when his father, Kerry, built polo pitches nearby in the 1980s.
One villager said: "Many people feel we are just too small to accommodate a STG20 million ($A35.76 million) polo centre. But his father got his own way 20 years ago, and money talks. We expect history to repeat itself."Another said people were worried "good agricultural land" would be converted into electrically heated polo fields in "a terrible waste of the lovely English countryside".
"This village is the perfect peaceful retreat, way off the beaten track and has been for hundreds of years. All that is under threat now."Others welcomed the move.
Polo Times magazine editor Yolanda Carslaw said many thought Packer had lost interest in the sport after missing last season."People will be pleased to have him back on the scene," she told The Times.
Local pub manager Paul Tadhunter told The Telegraph the development would be good for business.The local council has not received a formal development application.
