Jeremy Clarkson scraps restaurant plan for Diddly Squat Farm

The former Top Gear presenter was ordered by West Oxfordshire District Council to shut a pizza café he had been running at his Chadlington farm shop last year over claims it breached planning laws and was having a 'significant impact' on the community, writes Tom Bevan of SWNS.

Council officers issued an enforcement notice ordering him to remove ‘dining-related materials’ at the farm, although the TV star announced he would appeal the order.

But now, the broadcaster is reported to have admitted defeat - leaving some neighbours delighted.

One said: "It is about time the council stood up to Jeremy Clarkson and his behaviour.

"For too long he has thought he can get away with whatever he wants without any consequences."

Another said: "Rich and entitled. He has to follow the rules like everyone else and grizzles about not being treated differently."

Clarkson's actions have angered some neighbours (Image: PA)

In September 2021 Clarkson, 62, filed an application to create a 50-cover restaurant inside a lambing shed but was refused.

Then, last year, the TV star wrote in a newspaper column he had discovered a ‘loophole’ enabling him to open a pizza café.

He found another barn for his venture and notified the council of the restaurant opening.

An enforcement notice was issued in the Autumn, which told Clarkson to remove mobile toilets, tables and other dining-related materials within six weeks.

Lawyers for Diddly Squat appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, arguing that the notice should be quashed as a map served by the council was inaccurate.

The allegation that the farm changes breached planning laws was denied. Remedial works ordered by the council would seriously affect the business and its employees, it was claimed.

West Oxfordshire District Council said that advice to Clarkson had been 'ignored', with his continued defiance angering neighbours such as Angela Smith, 60, who lives at the entrance to Chadlington.

She said: "I should imagine having the cafe closed will help.

"I've never been up there myself, but I drove past a few times when they first opened and saw all the idiots queuing up in front of the gate.”

Another local, 51-year-old Mary Anderson, said: "Just getting into Chipping Norton has become just mental.

"Okay, if the infrastructure had been put in place to accommodate it - like parking and wider roads, that would not be so bad. But it's just become such a tourist attraction.

"Having worked on a farm for many years a long time ago, it kind of doesn't sit very well that he's playing a farmer and, in my opinion, taking the mickey out of the farming community.

"Jeremy does what Jeremy wants. He makes money wherever he can, and he just seems to fly by the seat of his pants.

"People tell him no, but he just finds his own way to do things. He might live in Chadlington, but he doesn't really live here."

Howard Stuart, a mechanic who lives within sight of Clarkson's house, added: "To be fair it doesn't really fuss me that much.

"It doesn't affect me what he does really, but he should have consulted the local people a bit more.”