Jeremy Clarkson closes controversial restaurant at Diddly Squat farm in the Cotswolds

Jeremy Clarkson has reportedly closed a controversial restaurant at his Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds, following a long-running row with planners.

The former Top Gear star opened it in a barn last July, following the success of his documentary series 'Clarkson's Farm' on Amazon Prime.

Fans flocked to his farm shop, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, to buy items like cow and bee 'juice.'

But the opening of the restaurant, in a field at the 1000 acre site, prompted protests from locals in the village of Chadlington, who complained it caused heavy disruption and traffic jams not in keeping with the quiet rural surroundings.

It was closed after an enforcement order from Cotswold council officials, but the 62-year-old broadcaster initially vowed to fight the decision, saying no planning rules had been broken.

But now, the Sunday Mirror reports that Clarkson has admitted defeat in a letter to West Oxfordshire District Council; "I no longer wish to open a restaurant," he's said to have written, adding he'd been "thwarted by the enforcement notice."

He had previously spoken about being thwarted by the 'jealous locals', who he labelled 'the red trouser brigade.'

But many local people felt the influx of visitors made life intolerable, with residents saying they've been 'plagued' by heavy traffic.

In making the enforcement notice in August, WODC said that the parking, toilets, traffic, along with the dining, installed by Clarkson’s farm was “visually intrusive and harmful” to the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“The unlawful use of Diddly Squat Farm by reason of its nature, scale and siting is unsustainable and incompatible with its open countryside location,” the local council stated.

Talking about planning, Clarkson told the programme: "Without knowing it, West Oxfordshire District Council is writing a fantastic script and every farmer in the country will go 'That's exactly what's happening'.

"You know, these, how can I put it, not terribly bright people in planning departments, just don't understand what they're messing around with.

"And I'm seeing the results. I was told to change the traditional green tin roof on my shop to much more expensive slate.

"I was told I couldn't sell milk that was coming from five miles away from a woman who's desperately, desperately worried about her future as a dairy farmer because of TB and so on.

"I haven't been allowed to build a farm track, I haven't been allowed to build a car park even though the locals are saying there's too many people parking on the road.

"It just goes on and on and on and the council's answer to everything is 'no'."

The second season of Clarkson's Farm will air in February