A councillor who voted against Jeremy Clarkson's planning application for a restaurant says he has received vile abuse 'from all over the world'.

Dean Temple, who represents Chadlington on West Oxfordshire District Council, is on the planning committee which features on Clarkson's Farm Season 2.

He said: "As the local councillor you can imagine I have an inbox that can only be described as a cesspit. I’ve had abuse from all over the world. 

"On the messages I have received I have tended to ignore those that are aggressive, nasty or contain outright allegations of 'corruption', 'backhanders' and 'you just don’t like him'. 

"Those that have asked genuine questions I have tried to engage with and offer my own point of view while explaining the finer points of planning law." 

Mr Temple said he at first tried to explain the decision online.

"Some have suggested I made the mistake of being honest from the start, both when the original decision was made and then again when the show was released, by putting out a statement to try and say what happened," he said.

"But it’s difficult to explain in a few posts a decision that encapsulated hundreds of rules and regulations, very often seemingly saying the opposite thing."

Surprisingly Mr Temple said he did not blame Mr Clarkson but his fans.

He said: "I believe Jeremy has behaved in a very fair and honest way. 

"The episode that showed the decision had two councillors speaking in favour and two against. And it showed that the vote was indeed quite close. 

"He had an opportunity with his social media presence and an international show to use his influence to make life very difficult for us councillors but he has not. 

"He has behaved like a gentleman and I personally consider him to have gone up in my estimation."

He added: "While the show, like most reality shows, borders the line between entertainment and factual, in this part he was fair and balanced.

"Sadly some of his fans haven’t followed his example which is not his fault."

Clarkson's Farm Season 2 which is on air on Prime Video chronicles Mr Clarkson's long-running planning disputes with the council.

After its launch the council put out a statement insisting it had a legal responsibility to make sure planning policy is followed correctly and had worked with the owners and planning agents of Diddly Squat for over two years to try to reach a positive outcome.

The statement received a backlash on Twitter and was described as 'absolute waffle' by one poster and 'a vendetta' by another.

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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