Jeremy Clarkson responds to councillors' suggestion for Diddly Squat farm car park problem

Jeremy Clarkson responded to a councillors' suggestion for the Diddly Squat Farm car park problem.

Filming for Clarkson's famous documentary series, Clarkson's Farm Series 3 is underway, and the TV personality is already making amends for it.

Clarkson has taken to promoting the use of public transportation, specifically buses, among fans and to create a car park at a disused airfield with shuttle buses for convenient transportation to his farm.

The English broadcaster wants to create a temporary car park until January 2025 for a considerable number of visitors ahead of the TV show's next season.

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Clarkson had already sought permission for it from the parish councillors, according to reports.

While the specific airfield remains unidentified, the Top Gear star claims to own a portion of a former RAF satellite station situated on his Cotswolds farm.

The disused airfield in question is believed to be RAF Brize Norton which served as a satellite station during World War II, though after its sale in 1953, the majority of the land was converted back to agricultural use.

Although, a portion of the airfield is currently utilised for Airsoft, a popular survival game in Japan.

However, the proposal to transform the 'tourist attraction' Diddly Squat farm into a temporary car park for 70 vehicles stands as the only practical interim measure until a permanent one is found.

Clarkson is apprehensive over the suggested proposal to prohibit parking on the road adjacent to Chadlington's Diddly Squat farm - as it could potentially pose a safety risk.

He is anticipating the decision on his appeal against the denial of planning permission for a permanent overflow car park,

but is concerned that the outcome may arrive too late to effectively address the traffic situation during the upcoming summer period.

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Chadlington parish councillors want to devise an action to manage the influx of fans at the village during busy periods and sent a letter to Clarkson, advising him to encourage his fans to use the shuttle service for the commute.

The letter reads: “The Council feels that if the application is granted it will not be sufficient to cope with the large numbers of cars at popular times and therefore needs to be seen as part of developing a comprehensive visitor management plan as befitting what has clearly become a major tourist attraction.

“To this end, and whether or not this application is granted, the Council is of the view that the owner should be encouraged to develop a comprehensive visitor management plan."

However, Clarkson's agents expressed concern about Oxfordshire County Council's decision to prohibit parking on the A361 and Chipping Norton Road in Chadlington, coinciding with the increased influx of visitors following the release of the second series of the Amazon TV show.

Since The Grand Tour presenter is expecting a good number of visitors during the school holidays in 2023 and beyond, they have also warned that implementing parking restrictions without providing an alternative during the release of the third series could create safety hazards due to increased pedestrian activity and complicated road manoeuvres by drivers.