Clarkson's Farm

Jeremy Clarkson Officially Drops Restaurant After Clarkson’s Farm Council Battle

The Grand Tour host Jeremy Clarkson has written to his local council to confirm he “no longer wishes” to open the restaurant at his Diddly Squat Farm.

The restaurant was shut down last August after Clarkson found a loophole to open it temporarily, which is thought to be included in the upcoming season of Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm.

Clarkson has now written to the council dropping the plans for the restaurant. He also explained in the letter his ideas behind the plans. He wrote:

“On the farming front, I had read about something called mob grazing. This is a highly ecological way of rejuvenating the soil, using the muck from hens and cows, rather than chemical fertilisers.

“The problem was that if I sold the cows in the conventional way, I’d lose about £200 on each one. So I decided that to make a profit, the beef should be cooked and served in a restaurant, which I’d create by converting our lambing barn.

“Permission for this was refused. And our attempts to get round the problem by using permitted development rights, and opening up in our so-called Lowland Barn were thwarted by the enforcement notice we are appealing.

“As a result of this, I’ve had to sell most of the cows I bought. And now I’m back to using chemicals. I no longer wish to open a restaurant.”

Although the former Top Gear host does not want to open the restaurant anymore, he is still pursuing his application to have on-site parking. He continued in the letter:

“We do not wish to expand the on-site businesses any further. We are perfectly happy with what we have. A little shop, and the lambing barn, which can be used for lambing in the spring and as a place for people to sit in the summer while they have food and a glass of our own beer from the mobile van.

“Then they go home with a little something they bought in the shop. Contrary to some of the claims being made, I do not want to turn Diddly Squat Farm into Disneyland. It is, after all, where I live.

“But we really do need on-site parking. It’s vital. And lavatories.”

Clarkson continued to defend the Diddly Squat Farm, he wrote:

“Diddly Squat Farm is a good thing. The TV show about it was extremely well received and has an unusual five-star rating on Amazon Prime.

“Farmers, especially, loved it and even gave me an award for highlighting their problems.

“I’m proud of what we have done here and I’m extremely proud of Lisa for what she’s achieved at the shop, in sometimes very trying bureaucratic circumstances.

“I just hope and pray that sensible decisions can now be made, so that it continues to benefit not just us, but so many other businesses in the area.”

Clarkson’s appeal for the on-site parking is set to go before the National Planning Inspectorate in March.

The ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ host decided to try out farming when his farmer decided to retire in 2019, and it so happened that he was in contract with Prime Video to have his own show. So, Clarkson’s Farm was created. The hit farming show is set to have season two released on 10th February and season three has been confirmed with filming already under way.

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