It’s not the first time the former Top Gear host, who took over The Farmer’s Dog pub in 2024, has locked horns with his local authority
Jeremy Clarkson in new row with council with 300 jobs at risk on Diddly Squat farm
It’s not the first time the former Top Gear host, who took over The Farmer’s Dog pub in 2024, has locked horns with his local authority
Jeremy Clarkson is embroiled in a fresh row with his local council over plans to revamp the car park outside his Cotswolds pub – which he warned could place 300 jobs at risk.
The Clarkson’s Farm presenter, 66, has revealed he recently clashed with West Oxfordshire District Council over a planning application to install hard surfacing over the car park ahead of the winter.
It’s not the first time the former Top Gear host, who took over The Farmer’s Dog pub in 2024, has locked horns with the Oxfordshire authority.
In 2022, Clarkson faced a setback after the council rejected his planning application to build a new restaurant in the area.
Then last year, he was told he would need to overcome several hurdles in order to obtain planning permission to improve parking facilities outside the pub.
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Writing in the Sunday Times over the weekend, Clarkson revealed that over the summer he was offered a large amount of hardcore – crushed materials that can be used as gravel – to surface the field he uses for the pub’s car park.
The TV host said he hoped to place it before the winter months, before rain makes the field muddy.
“Urgency, however, is not a word that’s fully understood by local authorities,” he wrote.
“So I’m sitting here today, with the rain falling, and we can’t get permission. We’ve rung. We’ve begged. We’ve pleaded.
“We’ve explained that if we don’t do the work now, we will lose the hardcore and, all winter, our customers will be dragging tons of mud onto the roads. And all we get back is silence.”
He said there were similar problems facing the shop on his Diddly Squat farm, where he is currently waiting to hear from the council about what he is allowed to do with it.
“Nearly 300 people are employed by my various enterprises these days,” he said. “And all of them want to know if their jobs are secure. So too do the owners of all the cafés, antique shops and guesthouses in the area who rely on Diddly Squat’s popularity for much of their business. And all we can ever tell them is: “We don’t know.”
“There’s no doubt that the planning system in this country is broken, and I suspect it’s because far too many people are invited to have an opinion on each application.
“When we wanted the restaurant, we even had to ask the police what they thought. And then you have to ask the Environment Agency and Historic England and Natural England and the parish council and your local water company and the highways department and the county council and they’re all going to chime in, because if they don’t, they’re admitting their jobs are pointless.”
“We cannot allow the current system to go on. We cannot allow so many ill-informed people to have the ability to stop projects.”
A representative for West Oxfordshire District Council said: “The planning application is currently under consideration and remains within the statutory determination timeframe. We have been in contact with the applicant’s representatives and continue to keep them updated. As this is an ongoing planning application, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
It comes after Clarkson made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Party conference last month, where he blasted Labour for “relentlessly attacking” British farmers and accused Labour of making it impossible to set up a business in Britain.
The TV host revealed he had considered setting up another pub but had abandoned the plans due to government policy.
Taking a swipe at Labour, he said: “Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now?”
Clarkson has long been associated with the Conservative Party. He was close to former prime minister Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, as they live near each other in the Cotswolds.
