Clarkson ploughs on with farm restaurant
JUST when locals thought Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t create any more chaos in their sleepy corner of the Cotswolds, his bid to build a 60-seat restaurant on his Diddly Squat farm has been given a huge boost.
The Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, chronicling the presenter’s first year on his 1,000-acre plot during the pandemic, was a heartwarming success among viewers – but not among his neighbours.
Since Clarkson opened Diddly Squat Farm Shop to sell his produce, locals have been furious at the huge traffic jams bringing the country lanes around Chadlington to a standstill as fans flock to snap up his meat, milk, veg, honey and beer. Many see his latest plan – to convert a lambing shed into a restaurant with 70-space car park and an overflow in an adjoining field – as a step too far.
But the 61-year-old star is celebrating after two of his biggest objectors – the council and the police – both backed down last week, clearing the way for approval.
After Clarkson tinkered with the layout of the site, Oxfordshire County Council said it now has no objections and believes the restaurant won’t have any significant impact on traffic. And Thames Valley Police said it is ‘pleased to see that improvements have been made to the design in terms of access, cycle parking and bin stores’.
But locals are up in arms. One, Carole Shadbolt, said: ‘The entrance has become a local black spot.
‘The car park becomes a quagmire
in rain, which understandably visitors do not want to walk over. They decide instead to park on the verge.
‘You then get cars on either side of the road, excited visitors not paying attention, not realising it’s an ordinary road, running across, giving the finger to locals, many of whom object, and causing a type of simmering road rage between both.’
At least there will be some respite this month and next as the farm shop will be closed, apparently to allow for filming of the second series of Clarkson’s Farm.
When it comes to becoming a farmer, it seems that nothing can stop Jeremy from ploughing on…