Jeremy Clarkston is having to give up on his plans to run a restaurant out of his Diddly Squat farm after an enforcement notice.
He had opened it in a barn in a field last July despite local resistance, and it led to the local council getting involved. As reported by the Mirror, The 62-year-old broadcaster has admitted defeat in a letter to West Oxfordshire District Council who had ruled it was not in keeping with the rural area.
Jeremy had previously said that he had found a "delightful little loophole" and already has a shop on his property which has drawn fans to the quiet area.
Clarkson – who recently came under fire for 'vile' comments about Meghan Markle in his newspaper column – wrote in his letter to the council: "I no longer wish to open a restaurant," adding he’d been "thwarted by the enforcement notice".
The farm, which Clarkson has owned since 2008 is featured in a documentary series on Amazon Prime Video.
Locals in neighbouring Chipping Norton have celebrated the failed opening, with one calling it "a win for the community".
Michael Benson, of Chadlington, said: "I would like the whole thing shut down. We are just a small village and Diddly Squat Farm is in the wrong place.
"We don’t need a theme park in an area of natural beauty. The new year was ridiculous. You’d spend about 20 minutes trying to get into town."
Neighbour Lucy Walker added: "We have been plagued with traffic since he arrived. He caused massive upset with these restaurant plans. It’s just the arrogance of what he thinks he can get away with."
However, Parish councillor Ann Gate backs Clarkson. She wrote to the district council on behalf of "quietly supportive local residents" to say he has "used his celebrity status to highlight the difficulties of the farming community".
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