Jeremy Clarkson Wins Fight Against Council After Clarkson’s Farm War
Finally, the time has come when Jeremy Clarkson can say we’ve got parking at Diddly Squat Farm Shop. The Grand Tour Presenter had been in a battle with the West Oxfordshire District Council for months over building a parking area at his farm shop.
The problem started when Clarkson had just opened his farm shop to the public for the first time. The response was tremendous that customers flooded the parking area and created two-hour-long queues just to get in!
Initially, the council had refused to grant permission for a car park since it claimed that the area was of ‘outstanding natural beauty.’ Consequently, the customers were forced to park on the side of the road which inconvenienced local residents living nearby.
Despite having a car park with 70 parking spaces, it wasn’t enough. Such was the popularity Clarkson’s Farm had garnered. They were then forced to open another car park with a capacity of 100 cars on the grass in the nearby field.
The West Oxfordshire District Council however rejected his plans of having an extra car park and a restaurant. Clarkson appealed against the decision of the council. Eventually, the planning inspectorate finally granted permission to build it on June 14 for three years following which, the site would need to be restored.
Speaking on the matter, councilor Andy Graham said:
“We are grateful for the clarity that this decision gives us and we look forward to working with Mr Clarkson and the Diddly Squat Farm team for the benefit of the West Oxfordshire economy and residents.
We offer constructive pre-application advice to all businesses and residents and will be happy to work with Diddly Squat on any future plans.
Our door has always been open and will remain open. We are also pleased with the decision made by the Planning Inspector to grant a temporary car park at the site.
There is no doubt that in many ways Diddly Squat Farm has had a really positive impact, both locally and nationally, but it needs to operate within planning law and policy to make sure the activities on the site are carried out in a way that limits the impact on the AONB, the environment and local area.”
There has been no comment from Clarkson yet on the short 3-year period of allowance from the council. My guess is that we might be able to see his reaction in the next season of Clarkson’s Farm. Let’s wait to watch it!
