Jeremy Clarkson's farm restaurant plan opposed by planners

The TV presenter whose runaway hit show Clarkson's Farm has brought countless visitors to the area has applied to open a new 60-seat café or restaurant and 70-space car park at Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, near Chipping Norton.

The application will be considered by West Oxfordshire District Council's Uplands Area Planning Sub-Committee on January 10 and has been recommended for refusal by officers.

Council planning officer Joan Desmond concluded that: “By reason of its siting, design, scale and location, the proposed development would not be sustainable and would not be compatible or consistent in scale with the existing farming business or its open countryside location.”

She reported that the plans would be in conflict with several policies of the West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2031 and advice in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which sets out the Government’s planning policies.

“By reason of its design, scale, siting and nature of the use within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the proposed development would have a visually intrusive and harmful impact on the rural character, scenic beauty and tranquillity of the area,” she said.

Some 53 letters of objection have been received, including representations from solicitors Leigh Day.

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One comment says that the lambing shed "has never been intended to support the wider farming operations of Diddly Squat Farm. Its purpose was as a filming location, and now a restaurant."

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Those in support say many residents positively look forward to the addition of a restaurant to the local amenities, that work in two of the local shops in Chadlington and local business has improved because of the visitors to the shop.

One said: "Given the remoteness of location and there being a set number of covers a restaurant can manage at any point in time, all objections regarding increased traffic are a fallacy. With use of online reservations, a change of use to a restaurant will regularise visitors and be a positive to those concerned a change of use will increase disruption."

Chadlington Parish council said the application is “extremely divisive" and a vote at a meeting on November 8 to decide on whether to 'object' or 'neither object nor support' the proposed development was inconclusive.

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They submitted a list of issues and concerns of those objecting and comments from those in support of the application.

A report to councillors that will be considered at the meeting from the council's Business Development Officer supports the application from the economic development perspective.

It considers that "the café/restaurant is a sensible 'next step' in farm diversification to sustain the business by increasing income and mitigating against falling subsidies. At the same time there are benefits to the local economy through the use of local producers and processors along with attracting visitors who spend money with other local businesses in the area".

A planning statement from the applicant says "the proposal also seeks to improve the parking provision at the site, to formalise the temporary parking that occurs on the adjacent field and ensure there is in future no parking on the adjacent public highway and that the safety of users of the highway is secured."

Oxfordshire County Council has no objection "since an improved access arrangement is now proposed".

The amended proposals will see the creation of a one-way system in and out of the proposed 70-space car park, which is backed by an additional ‘overflow’ car park field.

The new design will also include a separate entrance driveway, along with a bike parking space, in an effort to appease locals.

Senior Transport Planner Tim Peart reported: "The addition of an in/out arrangement will improve the efficiency of the access arrangement, preventing blocking of the highway."

He said it considered there was sufficient capacity at the site to meet parking demand with an overspill area for peak times and as visitors will be required to pre-book the application "is unlikely to lead to a significant impact on traffic".

Planning reference 21/03159/FUL on the WODC portal.