Jeremy Clarkson is locked in a fresh planning dispute with West Oxfordshire District Council over his newly acquired pub, The Farmer's Dog in Burford, as he awaits approval to lay hardcore on the grass car park to prevent it from turning into a muddy winter swamp.
The 66-year-old has been embroiled in a series of highly publicised battles with the council since 2022, which became the central storyline of his Amazon Prime Video series when he first opened the Diddly Squat Farm Shop and repeatedly clashed with planners over what he was allowed to sell.
Strict sourcing rules and the 16-mile radius
The council enforced strict rules, requiring all goods to be sourced within a 16-mile radius of the farm. As a result, land agent Charlie Ireland was forced to heavily monitor goods and audit produce origins, which ultimately prevented Clarkson from selling non-local merchandise, including his own books.
At the time, Clarkson's representatives hoped to have the restrictions lifted by asking the council for an increase of 30 radius. In its objection, Gill Hill, clerk to Chadlington Parish Council, said: "Much of this could not be considered as being 'in the locality.'"
Hill added: "The large increase in area, within which goods can be sourced and sold, is unreasonable and is likely to result in undermining the viability of existing shops in the village, namely Chadlington Quality Foods, Chadlington Butchers and The Cafe De La Post. Our concern must be to support the existing shops in the village. These facilities are essential to many, particularly those who rely on being able to walk to them."
Restaurant plans rejected and reopened
In late 2021, Clarkson clashed with the council over plans to convert one of his lambing barns into a restaurant. He held a chaotic meeting with locals at the Memorial Hall in Chadlington, where he announced plans to turn the building into a rustic restaurant serving meals for £60 for two and a kitchen serving his own beef.
By January 2022, the council's Uplands planning subcommittee officially rejected the application, arguing the restaurant would spoil the area's designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and cause light pollution. As for his plans to expand the car park, the WODC cited that the site sits within the protected Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Clarkson was able to bypass the row after claiming to have found a regulatory loophole, using Permitted Development rights (Class R) to open an eatery in a different barn, and officially opened his restaurant in July 2022. By August 2022, the council hit back and served an enforcement notice, ordering the immediate closure of the restaurant and café, stating that the land's dramatic change of use was "visually intrusive" and harmed the tranquillity of the Cotswolds. Clarkson was forced to shut it down and look to appeal.
Car park appeals and the new pub
After being prevented from operating on Diddly Squat Farm, Clarkson pivoted his strategy and, in August 2024, purchased and reopened a historic, licensed pub on the nearby A40, naming it The Farmer's Dog. As a result of the show's popularity, millions of fans flooded the Cotswolds to visit the farm shop and restaurant, creating heavy traffic, flooding local narrow lanes and creating a safety hazard.
To tackle this, Clarkson applied for a formal, expanded car park, but the council rejected the application. He subsequently launched a double-fronted appeal against both the car park refusal and the restaurant enforcement notice. A formal hearing with a government Planning Inspector took place in March 2023, and one month later, the Inspectorate backed his car park appeal, granting temporary three-year permission to alleviate highway traffic.
With the timeline getting close and his Prime Video commissioning the show through season six in 2027, Clarkson applied in April to have the temporary parking appeal extended until December 2030, which he won, with the council granting permission until December 31, 2029.
Hardcore supply and job fears
Now, having taken over The Farmer's Dog in Burford, Clarkson was gifted a massive supply of hardcore over the summer and applied for urgent permission to lay it down to prevent the grass car park from becoming a muddy winter swamp. He revealed that despite begging and pleading with the council, the delayed approval would result in cars dragging tons of mud onto public highways, and claimed that the council responded with complete silence.
This latest gridlock, paired with pending approvals on his farm shop, has led Clarkson to state that nearly 300 jobs across his rural enterprises are trapped in jeopardy.
