Jeremy Clarkson admitted he could be made “very rich” by turning land at Diddly Squat Farm into a housing estate.

The former Top Gear host had pointed to a piece of land that he does not class as "open countryside" and could be used to build new homes at the Chadlington farm. 

Despite the land in question being in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) it is surrounded by houses on two sides and a road.

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Mr Clarkson estimated that 50 homes could be built on the land.

However, he alleviated concerns nearby residents may have by saying he is not going to “make things worse” by building a block of homes.

Writing in his Sunday Times column, he said: “I’ve p****d you off enough with the farm shop, so I’m not going to make things worse by shoehorning a flock of what my grandfather called 'ticky tackies' into your midst.

“You’re getting barley instead.

“But what about farmers who don’t have columns in The Sunday Times and quiz shows on ITV and a successful farm shop to keep the wolf from the door?"

Even though Mr Clarkson does not intend to build homes on his farm he did confess the extent of housing development in Chipping Norton in recent years has been “phenomenal”.

Oxford Mail: Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington (Image: PA)

He said: “When I moved to Chipping Norton about 30 years ago, it was a small market town with a population of 5,800.

“Today it’s still a small market town but the population has skyrocketed to 9,400."

He added that Chipping Norton “used to be great” pointing to the fact that the town no longer has a police station, a host of local shops have now closed down and there is a lack of places to work.

Traffic in the town also seems to be an issue according to Mr Clarkson who said he “never used to even look” when pulling onto the A361 Burford Road because “nothing was ever coming”.

“Now I have to wait so long for a big enough gap in the traffic that sometimes I need a shave,” he said.

Diddly Squat Farm is closed for the winter as fans wait eagerly for Clarkson's Farm to return for a new season on Amazon Prime.

Season three will not be the last either.

It was confirmed in November that the show will return with season four being given the green light by Amazon.

Fozia Khan, Amazon Studios’ head of unscripted in the UK, said producer Expectation was about to begin shooting season four “very soon”.