Clarksons Farm slammed for misleading viewers over planning meeting

Clarkson's Farm: Trailer for season 2 of Prime Video series

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Amazon Prime Video released the second season of Clarkson’s Farm in February which saw Jeremy Clarkson continue his venture in running his own farm in the Cotswolds. During the eight-part series, viewers saw the 62-year-old clash with his local council. However, officials involved in the planning meeting have criticised the way it was portrayed on the show.

In the second series, the former Top Gear wanted to open a new restaurant on Diddly Squat Farm along with a farm track.
However, West Oxfordshire District Council made it no easy feat for the TV star as they threw out his proposal at a planning meeting.

During the fifth episode of the show, which broke Amazon viewing records, Jeremey was devastated by the decision and stormed out after his restaurant was refused by officials.

It wasn’t long before viewers took to social media to call out the council as they accused members of the board of having a vendetta against Clarkson.

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However, since the episode aired Oxfordshire council has hit out at the show for misleading viewers as they defend their decision of the rejection.

The authority told Daily Mail Jeremy and his representatives hampered their own chances on the proposal by refusing to work with its planners.

Stating the show didn’t accurately represent what had happened, a spokesperson said: “The planning meeting shown in Clarkson’s Farm ran for well over an hour but was covered in a matter of minutes in the show.

“This meant that a lot of discussion from the meeting was missed, including a lot of very relevant legal planning advice and discussion that informed the decision taken by councillors.”

The spokesperson added the argument over “dark skies” that was shown in the episode was a small fraction of the overall discussion and wasn’t the reason behind the refusal.

They continued: “Officers and councillors have to make some difficult decisions based on national planning-related laws and guidance alongside local policies.

“Most applications have their pros and cons – as was obvious with the decisions for Diddly Squat Farm in Clarkson’s Farm.”

Officials highlighted the council did recognise the benefits for local farmers and the economy which was mentioned by Jeremy.

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They added: “But the proposals did not meet other planning requirements.

“Ultimately, having heard the whole case as opposed to edited highlights, the councillors voted to refuse planning permission.”

The spokesperson revealed a lot of information was not included throughout the second series of the hit Amazon Prime Video series which warped viewers’ perspective and lead on a narrative suggesting a vendetta against Jeremey.

Another example officials highlighted was the refusal of a farm track which was also featured on the show.

They continued: “The show omitted the fact that Diddly Squat Farm had applied retrospectively for work that can only be applied for in advance meaning the council had no choice under law but to refuse it.

‘Also, it was suggested that West Oxfordshire District Council had put cones along the road outside the farm which was not the case.

‘We would like to be clear that we treat each application fairly and objectively regardless of the individuals involved with the submission. This is also the case with the Diddly Squat Farm.”

Clarkson’s Farm is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

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