Clarkson’s Farm

[bloomen]

Dave200 said:

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

You could earn yourself some Twitter death threats with that attitude.

Pretty funny reading the Tripadvisor reviews. It sounds like an overwhelmingly pointless trip with a large dollop of incredible hassle.

On a good day there'll be a few pots of this and that and everything else has to be bought online. And definitely no sign of the stars.

[popeyewhite]

Dave200 said:

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth

15 or 20 would be reasonable. 5 is pathetic, 45 generous. Most seem to use the farm shop near me as a meeting place and stay a couple of hours.

[FiF]

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Sorry for being behind the times but only just watched episode 4.

Wtaf were the council thinking of with regards to the shop, justifying a very small car park on the grounds that customers only needed 5 minutes to park, go to shop, browse, and another 5 minutes to choose, pay, and leave.

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

If those conditions were imposed on our farm shop that would be tantamount to declaring war. People can spend 10 minutes just discussing the weekend joint prep with the butcher, never mind the browsing. Then go for a coffee, cake and a bit of a sit down.

If you actually believe that it's a reasonable factor for refusal is that it's indirectly connected to whose shop it is plus the comments about people should go to other farm shops then frankly it supports the view that it's not the council don't want a farm shop per se, but that they don't want JC to have a farm shop. Ref Cheerful Charlie's observation in season 1.

Council, can think of another word beginning with C.

[Dave200]

bloomen said:

Dave200 said:

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

You could earn yourself some Twitter death threats with that attitude.

Pretty funny reading the Tripadvisor reviews. It sounds like an overwhelmingly pointless trip with a large dollop of incredible hassle.

On a good day there'll be a few pots of this and that and everything else has to be bought online. And definitely no sign of the stars.

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

[98elise]

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Sorry for being behind the times but only just watched episode 4.

Wtaf were the council thinking of with regards to the shop, justifying a very small car park on the grounds that customers only needed 5 minutes to park, go to shop, browse, and another 5 minutes to choose, pay, and leave.

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

I really don’t get the attraction. If I was passing (literally) and it wasn’t busy I'd pop in for 5 minutes. There's no way I'd specifically visit or queue for anything.

[TheDeuce]

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Sorry for being behind the times but only just watched episode 4.

Wtaf were the council thinking of with regards to the shop, justifying a very small car park on the grounds that customers only needed 5 minutes to park, go to shop, browse, and another 5 minutes to choose, pay, and leave.

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

However... In terms of principle either a farm shop and car park is ok, or it isn't. The fact some farm shops might become particularly busy, for whatever reason, is just part of the chaos of a complex world. In other words, st happens.

And it's "good news!" for other farmers too, the highly public spat with the local council has affected a change to permitted development laws for farms: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/news/jeremy-clarkso...

I imagine the filmed meeting with Rishi at No10 was a result of interest from the planning secretary that has ultimately resulted in the rule change - and Clarksons local council being advised to kindly fk off, hence the farm winning the appeal which now allows them everything they wanted, restaurant and car park included.

Hopefully his next programme will be about the NHS, force some common sense into that clusterfk too!

[TheDeuce]

Dave200 said:

bloomen said:

Dave200 said:

Were it a normal farm shop, this would be fairly close to the truth in my experience. Instead it's a "farm shop" which attracts a load of weirdos who want to queue up for 45 minutes just to browse a fairly mediocre shop in the hope that they catch a glimpse of the back of Caleb's head.

Asking the council to make allowances for the latter is wildly outside of the norm of what they deal with (or want) in a quiet rural hamlet, so hardly surprising that they said no.

You could earn yourself some Twitter death threats with that attitude.

Pretty funny reading the Tripadvisor reviews. It sounds like an overwhelmingly pointless trip with a large dollop of incredible hassle.

On a good day there'll be a few pots of this and that and everything else has to be bought online. And definitely no sign of the stars.

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

Nor me, I avoid the weirdness of flocking to celebrity.

But clearly millions are obsessed with such pilgrimage.

[FiF]

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

[Dave200]

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

[TheDeuce]

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

[Dave200]

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

[TheDeuce]

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

[Mont Blanc]

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

Nor me, I avoid the weirdness of flocking to celebrity.

But clearly millions are obsessed with such pilgrimage.

I don't get it either. Not in the slightest.

I drove past about a year ago, as I was on my way to nearby Churchill. It was exactly as you would expect. A very long queue of Subaru jackets and Zafira VXR owners, all waiting to hand over £48 for a hoodie and £19 for a carrier bag.

I very much like JC and I think Clarkson's Farm is one of the best things on TV, but I cannot imagine what the appeal is in attempting to meet him, get an autograph, or buy anything from his shop.

But clearly I'm autistic or something, as I've never once seen the appeal of attempting to meet any celebrity, ever. But millions clearly do, so it's probably me who is weird.

[48k]

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

It's easy for the facts to get lost in the melee but just to call it out - JC put in _two_ appeals against the council. Appeal A was against the enforcement notice issued by the council, Appeal B was against the refusal to grant planning permission to extend the parking area and create a new storage compound.
Appeal A succeeded in part, but otherwise failed and the enforcement notice is to be upheld as corrected.
Appeal B succeeded subject to conditions.

So it wasn't a complete slam dunk for JC (which I think it came across as in the programme).

It's very nuanced, and worth a read of the 28 page appeal decisions document to try and comprehend what has been decided.

[Dave200]

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

The problem is that there wasn't really scope for "potential positive impact on the local area", which is largely why the point was rejected.

Chadlington is a sleepy, one-street/one-horse kind of town. It's mostly residential, and has two shops and a small pub. Any potential benefit to these local services would be far outweighed by the strain it would put on local facilities to deal with hundreds of weirdos turning up every weekend for a few years to take photos of a farm shop.

Clarkson and co did a very good job of painting what was a quite sensible decision by the council as NIMBYism, and social media did the predictable thing.

[TheDeuce]

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

The problem is that there wasn't really scope for "potential positive impact on the local area", which is largely why the point was rejected.

Chadlington is a sleepy, one-street/one-horse kind of town. It's mostly residential, and has two shops and a small pub. Any potential benefit to these local services would be far outweighed by the strain it would put on local facilities to deal with hundreds of weirdos turning up every weekend for a few years to take photos of a farm shop.

Clarkson and co did a very good job of painting what was a quite sensible decision by the council as NIMBYism, and social media did the predictable thing.

It was of course dressed up for TV. But I think there is a wider issue with councils being unimaginative and 'computer says no'.

There is an order in place to ensure local supply only to the shop - and the shop is busy not just causing traffic problems, but busy selling produce, in addition to trinkets. It's employing local people, selling local produce from other local farms and attracting tourism to other local tourist enterprises.

The village may be a sleepy place, nestled in the countryside, but that's only been the case because that countryside is actually working farms... And now, farms have to work slightly differently. The village and council have to accept that if they expect the farmers to continue to maintain and operate the 99% of their land which will remain as lovely countryside.

[Dave200]

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

The problem is that there wasn't really scope for "potential positive impact on the local area", which is largely why the point was rejected.

Chadlington is a sleepy, one-street/one-horse kind of town. It's mostly residential, and has two shops and a small pub. Any potential benefit to these local services would be far outweighed by the strain it would put on local facilities to deal with hundreds of weirdos turning up every weekend for a few years to take photos of a farm shop.

Clarkson and co did a very good job of painting what was a quite sensible decision by the council as NIMBYism, and social media did the predictable thing.

It was of course dressed up for TV. But I think there is a wider issue with councils being unimaginative and 'computer says no'.

There is an order in place to ensure local supply only to the shop - and the shop is busy not just causing traffic problems, but busy selling produce, in addition to trinkets. It's employing local people, selling local produce from other local farms and attracting tourism to other local tourist enterprises.

The village may be a sleepy place, nestled in the countryside, but that's only been the case because that countryside is actually working farms... And now, farms have to work slightly differently. The village and council have to accept that if they expect the farmers to continue to maintain and operate the 99% of their land which will remain as lovely countryside.

All of which may be true, but it required the council to take a gamble that once Clarkson was done with filming or bored with farming the place wouldn't suddenly become a white elephant. Councils, particularly those in small, rural hamlets, don't like gambling.

[romft123]

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

The problem is that there wasn't really scope for "potential positive impact on the local area", which is largely why the point was rejected.

Chadlington is a sleepy, one-street/one-horse kind of town. It's mostly residential, and has two shops and a small pub. Any potential benefit to these local services would be far outweighed by the strain it would put on local facilities to deal with hundreds of weirdos turning up every weekend for a few years to take photos of a farm shop.

Clarkson and co did a very good job of painting what was a quite sensible decision by the council as NIMBYism, and social media did the predictable thing.

People driving miles to go to a celebs shop to buy some overpriced pap..........weird.

[Red9zero]

romft123 said:

People driving miles to go to a celebs shop to buy some overpriced pap..........weird.

We went last year as we were staying 10 minutes down the road. It was school term time and we arrived 10 mins before opening, so probably queued for 15 mins max, which was probably my limit. The stock is overpriced, but not much more so than every other Cotswold farm shop. Glad I went, not sure I'd bother again though.

[98elise]

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

TheDeuce said:

Dave200 said:

FiF said:

Dave200 said:

I can't imagine the combination of boredom and celeb adulation that would lead me to visit the farm shop, and that's said as someone who really enjoyed the series.

With a regular drive down the A44 heading towards let's say Wallingford area can't even think the mile or so diversion would even be up for consideration, personally. Doesn't make the council view correct or reasonable.

But the council planning process for a small farm shop and food truck (which is what it fundamentally is) doesn't make allowances for major tourist attractions. I suspect they are asking for several multiples of the space and amenities that similar farm shops have asked for or required. It's like trying to force a square peg into the rigid, round hole of local council planning.

Indeed. And now the square peg has won, and the round hole has been reshaped to fit it.

Which was absolutely the right result in the end, but it's quite easy to see why the original request was denied.

I agree, I can see why it was denied initially, based on the system and habits in place. But I also think that it's poor of councillors to have taken such stance and to not have taken into account the wider issues. It's not impossible to imagine an alternative universe where a councillor realised the potential positive impact on the local area, the wider industry and how planning is judged, and could have made it a pilot scheme.

The end result is the same either way, the only difference is that the council now look like a bunch of ineffective, short sighted, miserable, melts.

The problem is that there wasn't really scope for "potential positive impact on the local area", which is largely why the point was rejected.

Chadlington is a sleepy, one-street/one-horse kind of town. It's mostly residential, and has two shops and a small pub. Any potential benefit to these local services would be far outweighed by the strain it would put on local facilities to deal with hundreds of weirdos turning up every weekend for a few years to take photos of a farm shop.

Clarkson and co did a very good job of painting what was a quite sensible decision by the council as NIMBYism, and social media did the predictable thing.

It's not in Chadlington though, and there is a fairly big A road passing it which doesn't go through Chadlington.

Not having adequate parking causes problems on the smaller road the access is on.