​Found off the A40, The Farmer’s Dog was bought by the former Top Gear and Grand Tour host for around £1m and was opened in the summer of 2024. With a row rumbling over Mr Clarkson leasing a nearby field to use as an overflow car park, he was given planning permission by West Oxfordshire District Council last month. This was for a permanent 170-space car park and the ‘formalising’ of staff parking at The Farmer’s Dog in Asthall. Cars parked on the new sheeting in the overflow car park. (Image: Newsquest) Now, protective sheets have been placed across the ground of the overflow car park to combat the wet weather’s muddy effects on the field. Cars have been directed to park here via signs on the B4047 near the entrance to the pub and its regular car park. This all comes after a retrospective planning application was submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council in September 2025. This sought permission to retain the use of the land as a temporary car park to serve the restaurant to the north west. Jeremy Clarkson at his Cotswolds pub The application said: “The Farmer’s Dog started trading just over a year ago and has proven to be very popular. “There is parking on site, but in order to deal with the level of demand, alternative arrangements were made to ensure the safe movement of vehicles and people to and from the site. “Initially, the use proceeded under the temporary use rights, which allowed the land to be used for 28 days in a calendar year. “However, those days have been exceeded and as such an application has been invited by the Local Planning Authority to regularise the temporary use.” Cars parked on the new sheeting in the overflow car park. (Image: Newsquest) Asthall Parish Council said in its last planning meeting in December that it met with locals and sent concerns to the district council. Minutes said the concerns included “support for a heritage input concerning the surfacing of the car park, police input, the actual number of parking spaces needed and the fact that it is for temporary use”. In a letter submitted on the planning portal, the parish council said it “understands the need to provide appropriate parking” for the pub “if parking on verges with the associated traffic congestion is to be avoided”. Cars parked on the new sheeting in the overflow car park. (Image: Newsquest) It added: “The council feels that the actual site of the entrance should be determined with input from traffic police to ensure safety. “Similarly, the council are concerned for the safety of pedestrians crossing the road from the car park, given the speed that cars can travel along that stretch of road.” The retrospective planning application is yet to be decided, with the West Oxfordshire District Council website stating the application expiry date was on December 23. The closure of the overflow car park would have a significant impact on the pub, which depends almost entirely on d