Jeremy Clarkson plans new barn for Diddly Squat Farm

The former Top Gear presenter wrote in his Sunday Times column he would make a lot from selling the farm but he enjoyed owning it

Jeremy Clarkson has cited "urgent need" in his latest planning application for development at his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire.

He wants a new 36m-long (118ft) agricultural building for storing crops at the site in Chipping Norton Road, near Chadlington.

The TV presenter has been involved in previous planning disputes with West Oxfordshire District Council in a bid to expand his facility, which features in the Amazon Prime Video show Clarkson's Farm.

Proposals for a 70-space car park for the farm shop and a restaurant have both been rejected. The council's planning committee will consider the latest application in due course.

The district council has previously rejected development proposals at the farm, including one for a 70-space car park

The plans state the farm has an “urgent need for additional storage” and the barn’s absence was significantly impacting the price obtained by Clarkson for his produce.

“The current grain store is not of an appropriate design for its purpose and in any case is too small to support the farm’s arable operations which produces up to six different crops, with four main crops,” it added.

The structure would be 36m (118ft) long and 18m (59ft) wide with a height to the timber building’s ridge of eight metres (26ft) and a dark blue and black coloured roof with cement fibre sheeting.

The application also addresses how the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty would be maintained, stating "the applicant is eager to work sensitively within it”.

Writing in his Sunday Times column in October, Clarkson said he could earn "far more" from selling the farm than from "growing bread and beer and vegetable oil".

But he went on to say he enjoyed owning it and it could be passed on to his children tax-free.