Jeremy Clarkson fails to get approval for Cotswolds restaurant | Jeremy Clarkson

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In his old life, Jeremy Clarkson admitted he might have been ready to pave the British countryside – but the former petroleum chief insisted he was a changed man.

As a farmer, he was trying to do his part to save the countryside by converting a recently built lamb shed into a restaurant serving locally produced food on his Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds, he told Planning Subcommittee officials in the small Oxfordshire town of Whitney.

Clarkson told planners that the conversion, along with the 70-square-meter car park, was simply a “diversification of the farm business.” But they did not agree.

Pointing out that a prominently located restaurant could cause “significant damage” to the designated area of ​​scenic beauty, council members rejected the plan on Monday.

It might not be the end of it. Outside the council house, Clarkson said it was a “bad day for farming” and vowed to appeal. The changed man jumped into a Range Rover and took a quick swipe at a council official, comparing him to comedian Eric Morecambe – “but not funny.”

Ultimately, win or lose, the saga will, no doubt, be swallowed up by the audience of his Amazon Prime reality show, Clarkson’s Farm.

The hugely popular show is seen as a mixed blessing in the region. It brought business, with fans queuing for hours for a chance to buy produce or souvenirs from his farm shop in Chadlington Village. But it also caused an unwelcome commotion in this most picturesque and peaceful scene, as well as traffic chaos.

Appearing before the West Oxfordshire County Council’s Highland District Planning Subcommittee, the former Top Gear host began thanking members for his hosting and said he found the experience “nervous”.

He said that the planners had come to grips with the fact that his plan to convert the penthouse built in 2020 into a restaurant was in an area of ​​outstanding natural beauty — and they agreed it was.

But he told the committee, “The reason is that farmers keep it, and farmers take care of the woodlands, the hedges, the streams. They keep it beautiful. The farmers won’t be able to do that much longer because of the precarious state of their money. We have been asked as farmers to diversify and that’s exactly the proposal; it’s Diversification of agribusiness.”

Clarkson said his farm will provide beef to the restaurant while others in the areas will provide other locally produced foods. He said that the local farmers were happy and that someone told him recently in tears that she would have been out of business without the support of his farm shop.

The TV star slammed the misspellings in the council officer’s report before admitting: “At my old job, I might have paved over the countryside, but I’ve moved on from that and I don’t want to do anything like that.”

Clarkson was asked why he stopped trying to use the sheepfold. He replied that he “put his toe” in the water and found that raising sheep was futile. He was merging his flock with his neighbour’s flock.

There was some support for his cause. One council member, Alex Bustan, noted that the nearby caravan park was already a “stain on the landscape,” so another might not hurt much. He agreed that farmers needed all the help they could, or else the world would have been headed toward water and food wars.

Local ward councilor Dean Temple said people in the area had two career options: farm worker or service work, “Downton Abbey-style.” But most of these jobs have disappeared and anything that helps with recruitment would have been welcome. But he said he had to vote against the plan “with a heavy heart” because of its impact on Jamila.

There were 56 letters of objection and 13 letters of support. Attorney Charles Strain, addressing the meeting on behalf of a resident, claimed that the lamb shed was a “Trojan horse” for the restaurant. He said Clarkson had a “general disregard” for planning rules and claimed his behavior was “shameful,” adding: “It’s referring to a ‘give me an inch and I’ll take a mile’ attitude.”

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