A win for Clarkson as council grants permission to extend Diddly Squat car park
16th June 2023
After lengthy and well-publicized rows with West Oxfordshire District Council, Jeremy Clarkson has finally been granted permission to extend the temporary car park at Diddly Squat Farm, but plans to open a restaurant at the site have been rejected.
Since last year, the TV presented has been stuck in a back-and-forth battle with the local council over extending parking facilities at his Diddly Squat site, featured on the popular Amazon series Clarkson’s Farm.
With the farm shop and cafe becoming a major tourist attraction called on by fans from across the country and beyond, the lack of adequate parking has meant that visitors were often forced to park on adjacent fields and the side of the road, disturbing land and sparking heated disapproval from villagers.
To remedy the situation, the Planning Inspectorate has approved Clarkson’s request to extend the car park and has also approved changes to the use of land. However, proposals to set up a restaurant in an area of the site known as Lowland Barn were turned down.
In a report, inspector RJ Perrins described Diddly Squat as ‘a victim of its own success’, but recognized the need for additional space to accommodate visitors due to the popularity of the site.
Referring to occasions where cars were left on the roadside nearby Diddly Squat, the inspector wrote: ‘I am in no doubt that this has caused a huge inconvenience for those who live nearby.
‘It was clear to me that many people visiting on the day of my final site visit had no regard to the proper use of the highway, with verges being further churned up and traffic having to stop, as visitors walked the middle of the road or cars manoeuvred into tight spaces.
‘From that snapshot in time I am not surprised, as heard in evidence, that tensions have run high between some of those living locally and some visitors to the farm shop.’
He confirmed permission will be granted for an extension to existing parking facilities and ‘to formalise temporary parking and provision of new access arrangements’. The permission has been granted for three years, after which the celebrity is required to restore the site to its previous state.
While some changes to land use have also been approved, the council remains opposed to Clarkson adapting the land ‘to a mixed agricultural and leisure attraction use, comprising cafe, restaurant, gift/farm shop, parking and lavatory facilities’.
The reason quoted by the report is that adding a restaurant, signage, and outdoor facilities such as seating and toilet blocks would negatively impact upon the ‘character and appearance’ of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Moreover, Mr Perrins added the business ‘does not ask for an entrance fee or advertise as a leisure or tourist attraction, it is not comparable to say a Wildlife Park or miniature railway which are reliant upon attracting tourists and paying visitors to be viable’.
While the latest developments represent a clear win for team Clarkson, efforts are ongoing to persuade the council to remove barriers standing in the way of opening a restaurant on the farm. A petition launched by fans to save Diddly Squat Farm from planning injustice is nearing 200,000 signatures, with just under 6,000 required to reach the next goal.
To sign the petition, go to: https://www.change.org/p/save-diddly-squat-farm-from-planning-injustice
