Villagers defending Jeremy Clarkson’s farm shop have described it as the “crown jewel” of sustainable living as they pleaded with their local council to allow his expansion plans. A two-day Planning Inspectorate meeting continued on Wednesday to consider proposals by the 62-year-old former Top Gear presenter to extend the car park on his Oxfordshire farm plot to accommodate 70 vehicles.
The plans are opposed by West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) on the grounds that it would encourage more visitors to Diddly Squat farm – which sits between Chadlington and Chipping Norton – adding to traffic problems. WODC has also said allowing more vehicles would further disturb the tranquility of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Chadlington resident Hilary Moore described tourists attracted to the farm as “motorheads” who drive slowly on surrounding roads to “show off their cars”. On Wednesday, Annabel Gray, 32, who works on a catering trailer at Clarkson’s farm, said this description was “unfair”, and she had “witnessed local people” adding to traffic issues by driving slowly too.
