Former Top Gear presenter turned farmer Jeremy Clarkson has been ordered to shut down his restaurant and cafe by local council officials.
Clarkson has become an unlikely champion of rural living with his Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm, which sees him facing the challenges of farming on his huge pile of Cotswolds land in Gloucestershire, UK – after owning it for 14 years without raising a finger.
The series that debuted in 2021 proved a hit, as Clarkson described both the delights and horrors of farming. As part of his plans, the presenter opened first a shop selling his produce then a restaurant called Diddly Squat, a venue that has proved popular as fans of the show from faraway turned up and queued to visit, but also caused traffic jams and local unrest. The council moved to shut it down, saying the infrastructure of the restaurant is “unsustainable and incompatible with its open countryside location.”
Previously Clarkson said he had found a loophole that would allow him to keep the place open, but now he has been served with an enforcement notice to quit selling any food to be eaten on the farm, and to remove the dining tables and chairs. The council added that the parking and toilets facilities were “visually intrusive and harmful.”
Clarkson is appealing, but no date is yet set for the hearing. The second season of the hit show is expected in early 2023.
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