Is the battle for Diddly Squat Farm over? Jeremy Clarkson and the angry villagers finally agree on something… but how long will the truce last?

Jeremy Clarkson hasn't had the best relationship with his nearest neighbors since launching his Diddly Squat farm.

From complaints about cars blocking the roads to repeated rows with local planners, the former Top Gear presenter has had a row with residents of the Cotswold village of Chadlington.

But a truce has now broken out with many residents of the quintessential English village wholeheartedly agreeing with his view that new homes are being built across the country without much thought to how schools and health services will deal with an influx of people.

In his latest newspaper column, Clarkson, 63, slammed developers who are building mini-estates without adding extra resources for all the new residents.

He cited the expansion of the market town of Chipping Norton, about two miles from his farm in Chadlington, as an example of how the population has more than doubled from when he lived in the market town 30 years ago.

But while there has been an explosion in the number of new homes and the population has increased to almost 10,000, essential infrastructure facilities such as doctors' and dentists' offices and even schools have not been added.

Residents of Chadlington, who spoke out in criticism of Clarkson and his hugely popular TV show set on the Diddly Squat farm, said he was right to attack the overdevelopment of rural villages.

“I think he hit the nail on the head,” Anna Quayle said.

'If you are going to build more homes, the other resources must also be built. It's all fine that fifty new houses are being built, but where will the children go to school?

'Here it takes a month to get a doctor's appointment. There are 18,000 people on the list.

'I don't often agree with Jeremy Clarkson, but in this case he's right.'

Tim and Becky Wootton, who have lived in Chadlington for 11 years, said Clarkson was talking sense.

'There has to be a balance. Everyone accepts that new homes need to be built, but the other resources that come with population growth need to be included, Becky said.

Her husband Tim added: 'More thought needs to be given to what makes a village a place where people want to live. There must be facilities for them. Our nearest doctor is in Chipping Norton, but you will have to wait a month for an appointment. I would say Clarkson is right.”

In his newspaper column, Clarkson admitted that he has a plot of land at the Diddly Squat farm that could build 50 homes.

But in another sign of an attempt at peacekeeping with Chadlington residents, he said he had no intention of putting the houses on the land. Instead, he said it will be barley fields.

He even acknowledged that he had 'p******ed' villagers with his farm shop as thousands of people flocked to the site, and that he had no intention of making matters worse.

Clarkson wrote in The Sunday Times: 'If you are reading this in the village of Chadlington, where the field is located, you have nothing to worry about. I've pissed you off enough with the farm shop, so I'm not going to make matters worse by putting a herd of what my grandfather called 'jitters' in your midst. Instead you get barley.

Michael Jones, 75, who was waiting for a bus in Chadlington, home to 800 residents, said more houses needed to be built without much care and attention to the impact this has on small villages.

He said: 'I think everyone agrees that more houses need to be built. No one disputes that, but more thought needs to be given to the impact they have on the villages.'

Another resident who admitted she was not a big fan of Clarkson reluctantly accepted he was right to speak out about the overdevelopment of some areas.

“Jeremy is right about this,” she said.

'He can have a big mouth, but when it comes to housing and agriculture, he is spot on.

'It's all very well that the government says it wants to build new houses, but you can't just have the houses without all the other amenities that follow with an increase in population.'

Another resident who has lived in the village for more than 20 years said Clarkson had the audacity to complain about overcrowding.

“I think it's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black,” he said.

'The success of his TV show has put places like Chadlington in the spotlight and brought so many more people to the village.

“They are tourists and while shops like his might benefit, it has made the roads busier.”

Villagers' sudden affection for Clarkson may be due to the fact that his farm shop is closed until next month and the road leading to Diddly Squat is deserted of traffic.

With the third series of 'Clarkson's Farm' airing on Amazon on May 3, the hordes of fans flocking to buy 'cow juice' or 'bee juice' will once again disrupt the peace of the village.

Many tourists also travel the short distance to Chipping Norton, where Clarkson laments the decline of the town, with local shops making way for large supermarkets such as Aldi.

One store owner said it was brave of Clarkson to speak out, claiming residents had little say in the growth of their city.

“So little thought has been given to the facilities that will be available to people moving into the new homes,” said one long-standing shop owner who asked not to be named.

“Clarkson is right. Chipping Norton has changed, and I wouldn't say for the better. There is certainly more money in circulation and the houses that do go on sale are snapped up by people from outside the region who use them as weekend homes.

“Even if you're a local person, they're out of the price range for most people.”

While Clarkson was unhappy that supermarket chains have replaced local stores, others were happy that they had chosen to locate in the city.

Father-of-two Darrell Broome said he couldn't afford to buy food from local shops as Aldi was a 'lifesaver'.

The 47-year-old roofer said: 'Of course I want to support the locals, but the prices are just too high.

'We come to Aldi because it is affordable. I'm sure many others feel the same way.'

Another shopper leaving Aldi said: 'There is clearly demand for the supermarkets otherwise they would be empty.'