Were councillors right to refuse Jeremy Clarkson's farm restaurant? Here's what you think

Jeremy Clarkson’s plans for a restaurant at his Diddly Squat Farm Shop were turned down on Monday.

Seven out of 10 councillors on West Oxfordshire District Council’s planning sub-committee vote against the restaurant plans

The TV presenter and author attended the meeting with his land agent Charlie Ireland.

Read again: See inside Witney's newest pub

He told the BBC the refusal meant a “very bad day for farming”.

Mr Clarkson, whose hit show Clarkson’s Farm has brought countless visitors to Chadlington and Chipping Norton, applied to convert his lambing shed into a 60-seat café or restaurant and 70-space car park.

The restaurant, which would serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, between 8am and 3pm, and 5pm and 10pm, would use some of the beef raised on the farm.

CHRISTOPHER DAY: “I suspect most of the objections are to do with the huge increase in traffic that Clarkson’s shop has bought to the area, on narrow country roads that were never designed for those volumes, resulting in clogged roads, extra pollution and making it hard for the locals to get anywhere.

“There was a letter in last week’s Oxford Times from a pensioner whose bus to hospital was delayed in the traffic, causing him to miss his appointment.”

ADRIAN GIDNEY: “Grant it, anyone can build anything anywhere almost these days. This is a case of ‘we don’t like celebrities of his ilk in our neck if the woods, lets oppose all he wants to do’.”

JOHN WALKER: “It creates jobs. If you don’t like it you don’t have to go. Where’s the problem.”

SARAH WILLIAMS: “I think people need to get a life!

“It’s bringing trade to a lifeless village and promoting British farming.

“A guy is trying to do something amazing for the country and promote British farming but too many people are jealous!

“I’d guess that he’d look at sourcing even more local produce for the restaurant which would again enhance the local trade.”

Read more: Oxford United confirm Kidlington Stadium plans

OXFORD MAIL READER: “The Toff Parish council nimbies won then, more keen on their house prices than a top notch restaurant serving local produce in their area.

“I suspect he will appeal and win.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “You don’t know much about the area, do you. 1000+ homes are scheduled to built on the east side of Chipping Norton, and very near Chadlington - and this is in addition to other new homes, shops and businesses built in the past few years.

“This is not so much about house prices as about Clarkson’s attempt to get round the planning restrictions that are appropriate to that particular site. It’s not as if he is only selling locally farmed or manufactured produce, and I’m certainly not convinced that Chadlington benefits very much (if at all) from the influx of cars and tourists.

“Comparing Clarkson’s farm to other local farms is really missing the point, as his trade comes from his celebrity status and not from what he farms or is available to other local farmers. I suspect other farms would be likely to be able to open shops and cafes - it’s just that they don’t tend to make a profit, and several farm shops have closed down in the past few years.

“Personally, I now avoid going anywhere near the village for fear of being stuck in an unavoidable traffic jam. I did not often shop in the local Chadlington butchers or in the excellent village deli, but I did occasionally. They have now lost my trade, and I’m sure others have also taken their trade elsewhere.”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “There’s six roads into the village, so fairly easy not to get stuck in a traffic jam I’d have thought?”

OXFORD MAIL READER: “Six roads? There’s one main road through the village, with a diversion round a housing estate. Also one road past JC’s farm which turns into the main road through the village.

Read more: Schools closed due to Covid-19

“Traffic queues sometime spill over onto the A road, and can stop people getting onto the other routes into the village. Buses also get held up if deciding to travel there by bus.

"Unfortunately tourists park really badly on local roads, and the narrowness of the roads makes turning round very difficult. I now try to avoid Chadlington, especially the road past JC’s farm.”