Jeremy Clarkson told to shut Diddly Squat Farm's dining areas

2 years ago 24

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Jeremy Clarkson has been ordered to shut his farm's café and restaurant after a council claimed his business breached planning laws.

Mr Clarkson has appealed an enforcement notice for Diddly Squat Farm after West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) took action in August.

A restaurant opened in July, months after two applications were rejected.

The farm, in Chadlington, is featured in the Amazon Prime Video documentary series, Clarkson's Farm.

WODC ordered the farm to undertake a catalogue of measures within six weeks of it serving the notice on 11 August.

They include removing all mobile toilets, all tables that would be used by diners and "landscaping materials".

It said there was "unlawful" use of the farm and said its "nature, scale [and] siting is unsustainable and incompatible with its countryside location within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty".

The council said the farm must also stop selling products other than those made on the farm, those made within a 16-mile (25.7km) radius of it, or others that the council has allowed.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Mr Clarkson's farm shop has been popular with visitors - like these photographed in August - since it opened in 2020

But agents working on the farm's behalf denied it breached planning laws, and said some of the requirements were "excessive".

It also said that a map served by the council is wrong and that the notice "should be quashed in its entirety as a result".

The agent added the proposed six-week period to undertake ordered work would be too short.

They said that would have a "serious and detrimental impact on the business and livelihoods of those employed at the site" and that six months would be a "more reasonable timeframe".

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Long queues of visitors formed at Mr Clarkson's farm in the summer

Papers served by the Planning Inspectorate show it has accepted Mr Clarkson's appeal as valid and that representations must be made in coming weeks.

The former Top Gear presenter reportedly found a "delightful little loophole" and opened the restaurant in the summer, according to The Sun.

He said he had found another barn and notified WODC of the restaurant opening.

At the time, the council said that it was looking to ensure the venue was "compliant with local and national planning law".

An application to extend the farm's car park was rejected in May.

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