Jeremy Clarkson’s neighbour Hamish Dewar has fought back after the farmer labelled him a “moron” and a “busybody” in a row about his farm Diddly Squat. The villager says he won’t back down after the row with the former Top Gear host, despite worries over more attacks against him in the press.
Hamish has expressed his fears that the picturesque village of Chadlington, where the two live, is turning into a tourist attraction.
He claims villagers are too afraid to complain about the “Jeremy Clarkson theme park” out of concerns they “might appear in one of the journalist’s columns”.
Express.co.uk have approached the presenter for comment.
The villager has lived in the sleepy countryside village for 28 years – and says it has now been besieged by tourists and traffic problems.
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The long-term Cotswolds resident said he does not want it to appear as though the whole village is against Jeremy, saying: “A lot of people have expressed their comments and complaints regarding the planning application on the council’s website. But the legal side of it, I’m doing on my own.”
Jeremy’s planning permission application requests the rights to build a 60 seater restaurant, along with a 70 car parking space and gaining an alcohol licence up until 11pm.
The application reads: “It is reasonable for a farm business to investigate ways to replace this income with on-farm diversification to create new income streams or expand existing enterprises.”
Hamish added: “It’s a very beautiful area with beautiful views and this is completely out of character with the surrounding countryside.
“Clarkson got permission to build there for agricultural use and now he wants to change it into a cafe and restaurant without giving it a fair chance to be used for agriculture.”
While Jeremy has been criticised by some neighbours, he has been praised in the agricultural industry for his efforts to promote the sector.
Speaking at Cheltenham Literary Festival last month, author and farmer James Rebanks said the motoring expert has done “more for farmers in one series of Clarkson’s Farm than Countryfile has achieved in 30 years”.
According to property website Rightmove, searches for homes in Chadlington increased by 511 per cent in June – the month Clarkson’s Farm first debuted – compared to the same period in 2020.
