Jeremy Clarkson applies for temporary car park on his Diddly Squat Farm after council order

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The Clarkson’s Farm presenter has applied to build temporary parking on his Diddly Squat Farm to ease traffic in the area after his original plans were blocked by the council in Oxfordshire.

Jeremy Clarkson has applied to build a temporary car park on his Diddly Squat Farm after his original plans were blocked by the local council. The new application comes after West Oxfordshire District Council warned over dangerous parking nearby.

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The new application has been submitted after the Clarkson’s Farm presenter appealed the council’s decision to close his farm restaurant, after complaints from local residents on queues and congestion from Diddly Squat visitors.

The application letter reads:  ‘’Application for planning permission for a temporary change of use of part of agricultural field measuring 60 metres by 32 metres to provide car parking for adjacent farm shop until 1st January 2025, including provision of temporary limestone chipping surface.

‘’Whilst there is an application for a permanent car park currently at appeal, the decision on that may be some time away. The proposal includes scraping back the topsoil to form a bund around the temporary parking area and the laying of a landscaping fabric and limestone chippings to form a temporary top surface, that is suitable for cars yet porous.’’

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The Grand Tour presenter then goes on to explain how the local council recently resolved to approve “No Waiting At Any Time” restrictions in the area, which coincided with the release of the second season of Clarkson’s Farm. He added: ‘’As a result, there are anticipated to be significant numbers of visitors to the site when the shop re-opens - particularly during the Easter and Summer holidays in 2023 and into 2024 if a third series is released (it is currently being filmed).”

Fans of Jeremy Clarkson have claimed that the West Oxfordshire District Council are “not supporting Diddly Squat Farm becoming a successful local business by making a planning decision based on bias towards Jeremy Clarkson”, and a change.org petition in support of Clarkson has gathered over 160 thousand signatures as of March 14.

In his cover letter, Mr Clarkson states that a short term car park would help with traffic in the area: “This application therefore proposes a temporary change of use of one area of land to the shop adjacent to facilitate safe and convenient parking to meet this short term demand. It would use the existing site access and allow parking away from the highway for about 70 cars in 4 rows with manoeuvring space in between.

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‘’The area will be provided with a temporary hard surface to ensure debris is not tracked onto the highway. The appearance of the parking area would be fitting for the rural area and would not be overly formal, and clearly reversible.”

A petition to keep Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm restaurant open has gathered over 150,000 signatures.A petition to keep Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm restaurant open has gathered over 150,000 signatures.
A petition to keep Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm restaurant open has gathered over 150,000 signatures. |

Oxfordshire County Council said in a tweet last week: "If you’re visiting Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chadlington from tomorrow, please park safely and considerately.

"Don’t park on the A361. It’s just too dangerous. And please avoid parking on the verges of the narrow Chipping Norton Road as it causes damage."

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Season 2 of Clarkson’s Farm is available now on Amazon Prime. You can sign up to watch all of the episodes here.

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

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