Jeremy Clarkson is once again locking horns with local planning authorities – this time over the car parks at his Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog.
The move reignites a series of development disputes that have come to define the Clarkson's Farm star’s rocky relationship with council regulations.
Clarkson, who took over the pub in Chadlington in August 2024, is seeking planning permission to expand customer parking to accommodate surging visitor numbers.
But despite his attempts to keep the upgrades low-key, officials from West Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council have raised red flags – again. Among the concerns? Traffic volumes, flood risks, visibility splays, and even the direction of a swinging gate.
Planning history repeats itself
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is.
Clarkson has become somewhat of a magnet for planning controversies. In 2022, he opened a restaurant at Diddly Squat Farm by exploiting a planning loophole meant for farmers’ markets – a move that stirred local outrage and legislative pushback.
After facing pressure to shut it down, he later won a planning appeal in 2023 to retain car parking facilities at his farm shop after complaints about traffic and environmental impact.
In fact, Clarkson’s battles became so notorious that MPs eventually tightened permitted development laws – directly in response to his tactics.
Clarkson vs council — the pub edition
Now, the saga continues. The car park at The Farmer’s Dog, which holds up to 170 vehicles, has come under scrutiny not only for traffic but also due to its proximity to a 1,400-year-old Anglo-Saxon burial site.
Some residents are urging the council to shut down the car park entirely over fears the historical site could be damaged.
Oxfordshire County Council, while not objecting outright, warned that if the car park is not deemed a lawful established use, an entirely new planning application would be required – adding another bureaucratic hurdle for the presenter.
Their recommendations include:
- A Traffic Management Method Statement
- Adjusting the access gate to open inward
- Maintaining visibility splays at car park exits
- Conducting a flood risk assessment
The argument for expansion
Clarkson’s planning agent argues that the work falls under permitted development rights and insists the surfacing is minimal.
According to the application, the changes are designed to relieve congestion, protect the landscape, and prevent overflow parking on public roads – a problem that previously plagued his Diddly Squat Farm Shop.
Back then, fans parked for miles along single-track roads, causing chaos for local residents. It’s a scenario Clarkson appears desperate to avoid repeating.
“Maximising the availability of parking within the site is a priority,” his team wrote, warning that without improvements, overspill parking could damage the scenic beauty of the Cotswolds.
