Jeremy Clarkson has helped cut red tape for British farmers.
After his spout with the West Oxfordshire District Council over his desire to convert a barn on his Diddly Squat farm into a restaurant made headlines, the UK government have now passed a new so-called Clarkson’s Clause law that will allow farmers to transform their unused buildings into homes or shops without applying for planning permission.
In a statement on Gov.uk, Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety Lee Rowley said: “Farmers are the lifeblood of communities, and these changes give them the freedom to grow their businesses, and plan for their futures.
“This is all part of our Long-term Plan for Housing to deliver more homes for rural communities and reform the planning system, removing unnecessary barriers to development.”
Secretary of State Michael Gove added the policy would prioritise the “broader health of our farming economy”.
Speaking with the BBC’s Farming Today, he said: “The broader health of our farming economy and rural England matters more than an individual who worries that what was once a barn has become a home.”
Earlier this month, the former ‘Top Gear’ presenter, 64, released the third series of his hit Amazon Prime show ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ which follows Jeremy’s struggles as he tries to turn a profit from his Diddly Squat Farm while the industry continues to suffer from surging prices.
‘The Grand Tour’ host admitted he has had sleepless nights over the challenges of making money on his farm.
According to the Daily Mail, he said: “Last year before the harvest we had to lay out £108,000 on diesel, fertiliser sprays, and the seed itself.
“That’s fine if the weather is okay because you’re going to make that money back. But you have a hell of a lot of sleepless nights when you know that one rainstorm could wreck the lot.”
Jeremy conceded “everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong” after the council forced him to close his restaurant due to complaints from locals about traffic.
He continued: “On top of all of this, there was the pretty little restaurant that we opened earlier in the summer to sell the food we’d grown and reared on the farm.
“But after just six weeks, the council served us with an enforcement notice telling us it had to close. With the restaurant shut down we could no longer afford to keep all of the cows.”
