I’ve been watching the TV show Clarkson’s Farm, and for anyone who hasn’t seen it but has even a passing interest in the countryside or farming, may I respectfully suggest giving it a watch.

It offers a genuine glimpse into what farming is really like. Agriculture isn’t just picturesque fields with sheep and cattle lazily wandering about. It’s demanding, unpredictable, and, to borrow Jeremy Clarkson’s own words, “bloody hard work.”

When Clarkson decided to take on running a farm, he had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into. From buying a Lamborghini tractor too big to fit through the shed doors, to not knowing how to attach or operate half the equipment he purchased, it was a steep learning curve from day one.

And then came the challenges with the local planning department—rule after rule, obstacle after obstacle. “You can’t do this because you don’t have that,” or “You can’t build here because someone in the village says it will spoil their view.” It’s a familiar story for many UK farmers.

Let’s be realistic: without the Guardians of the Land—yes, I’m borrowing from Guardians of the Galaxy here—we wouldn’t have the countryside we all take pride in, with its carefully maintained hedgerows, rolling fields, and livestock keeping the landscape alive.

How many farmers across the UK have faced the same frustrations with planning departments?

Those departments need to recognise that farming requires flexibility. Without cooperation, farms will shrink or disappear over time. Farmers don’t submit planning applications for new buildings on a whim. They do it because they need these structures to keep working the land, to earn a living, and ultimately, to put food on everyone’s table—including the tables of those working in planning offices.

So, dear councils… It’s time to work with farmers, not against them.