Jeremy Clarkson has reportedly told the council he no longer wants to open a restaurant at his Diddly Squat Farm – claiming to have been ‘thwarted’ by an enforcement notice.

Late last year, the former Top Gear broadcaster was ordered by West Oxfordshire District Council to shut a pizza café he had been running at his Chadlington farm shop, with officials claiming it breached planning laws and was having a 'significant impact' on the community.

The farm, which starred in Amazon hit series Clarkson’s Farm, has been criticised by some villagers concerned about an influx of visitors parking on verges.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson closes his West Oxfordshire farm shop

Council officers issued an enforcement notice ordering him to remove ‘dining-related materials’ at the farm, although the TV star announced he would appeal the order.

But now, the broadcaster is said to have admitted defeat.

The Mirror said Clarkson wrote in a letter to WODC: “I no longer wish to open a restaurant.” He claimed he had been ‘thwarted by the enforcement notice’, it was reported.

The 62-year-old had originally filed an application to create a 50 cover restaurant, featuring a kitchen, ‘servery area and an internal seating area’ inside a lambing shed at his Diddly Squat Farm in September 2021 but was refused.

Then, last year, the TV star wrote in a newspaper column he had discovered a ‘delightful little loophole’ enabling him to open a pizza café. He found another barn for his venture and notified the council of the restaurant opening.

Oxford Mail: Jeremy Clarkson speaks to villagers at a public meeting to discuss his plans for the farm Picture: PAJeremy Clarkson speaks to villagers at a public meeting to discuss his plans for the farm Picture: PA (Image: Newsquest)

An enforcement notice was issued in the Autumn. WODC said it had tried to work with Diddly Squat Farm’s owner and agents for ‘many months’, investigating alleged ‘planning control’ breaches and advising ‘how the business can be operated in a lawful way’.

A council spokesman told the Oxford Mail in October: “The business continues to operate outside the planning permissions granted and advice has been ignored. The activity has also had a significant impact on the local community."

Under the terms of the enforcement notice, Clarkson was told to remove mobile toilets, tables that would be used by diners and other dining-related materials within six weeks of the notice being issued.

Diddly Squat Farm was also told to stop selling products that do not come from the farm or that are not produced within 16 miles.

The council claimed the ‘nature, scale [and] siting is unsustainable and incompatible with its countryside location within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.

Lawyers for Diddly Squat appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, arguing that the notice should be quashed as a map served by the council was inaccurate.

The allegation that the farm changes breached planning laws was denied. Remedial works ordered by the council would seriously affect the business and its employees, it was claimed.

The farm shop closed on New Year’s Eve and is due to reopen in early February.