One of Britain’s most famous estates has been criticised by villagers for trying to push through a ‘Trojan Horse’ planning project in a protected area of a national park for ‘commercial purposes’.
Residents of Beaulieu, the Hampshire village known for the National Motor Museum, have accused the Beaulieu Estate of secretly carrying out a ‘developmental creep’ to build a car park for private events near ancient woodland in the New Forest.
The site, which is currently grassland and has a proposed capacity of 46 parking spaces, is located only metres away from a much larger car park owned by the Beaulieu Estate.
The existing site has 1,000 parking spaces, leading locals to accuse the estate of submitting a ‘Trojan Horse’ application.
Residents have alleged the plans have been lodged as an individual application but that they are part of a wider plot to ‘commercialise’ the grounds.
The agricultural land at the centre of the application is currently used by the Countryside Education Trust (CET), which runs a treehouse study centre and event venue, to park about ten cars at a time.
The 9,000-acre estate is trying to create a gravel surfaced car park to be used as additional parking for events.
It has also been proposed a gravel track be laid down between an existing track and the new car park.
Alan Titchmarsh opened the educational treehouse based on Beaulieu Estate land in 2008.
The planning application states that the trust’s treehouses are used to host ‘a limited number of weddings’ in order to ‘fund the trust’s work’.
Explaining the need for the car park, it says: ‘While school groups can be dropped off by coach, access for the trust’s other audiences is limited.
‘People need to walk up from the National Motor Museum car parks, which is not ideal for families with buggies, the elderly, or the infirm.’
However wealthy residents are fighting to stop the development and hoping the plans will be rejected at an upcoming planning meeting.
Local villager Stephen Rigby said the limited number of parking spaces are intended for people who are unable to walk the couple hundred of metres up an incline from the museum’s 1,000-space car park.
The business consultant, 62, from Beaulieu, said: ‘What they’re doing is a Trojan horse, they’re using the charity, it’s a very good charity, they say it needs the space for parking.
‘And this is where the objection comes in – we can’t understand why the charity is going from ten parking spaces to 46 spaces.’
The father-of-two said there was no evidence the treehouses needed additional parking.
He alleged the estate actually wanted to get planning permission to change this part of the grounds, Hides Field, so that they can then eventually change the use of the it.
‘That’s what they want, the parking is for weddings, they will never get it for weddings, that’s commercialisation so they are claiming it is for educational purposes,’ he said.
Mr Rigby said the land the car park is on has been used for crops and grazing ‘going back 500 years’, and claimed the application was made for the estate to ‘diversify activities, away from the current agricultural use of Hides Field, with no proven economic or community benefits’.
He added that the estate has a ‘proven record of developmental creep in the area’, including the introduction of a 4×4 track, a ropes centre and ‘multiple attempted commercialisation events’.
Of the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA), which has the responsibility of considering the application, Mr Rigby said: ‘They’re only looking at it as an individual application, saying there’s not a problem because it’s quite small and it’s a piece of scrap land because it’s used as a car park.
‘Any agricultural land can be [for a time]. They haven’t bothered to investigate what’s going on further.’
Mr Rigby is also worried about the impact the car park would have on a nearby site of special scientific interest (SSSI), with the potential of oil spilling into nearby rivers.
There are also fears among locals that there will be increased light pollution, traffic and noise which will ruin the ‘tranquility’ of the area in favour of commercialisation.
Local resident Andrew Dykes said in his objection: ‘The council will be aware that Hides Field is in close proximity to an SSSI, the particular value of which is that the water catchment area of the stream running from Hartford House down past Boarmans is particularly free of contamination.
‘The proposed car park lies within that catchment area and oil and other residues from parked cars will inevitably seep into the water table, leading to damage to the SSSI.
‘The proposal will inevitably lead to noise, visual intrusion and nuisance and if it is to be used at night will badly affect light pollution in the immediate area.’
Another villager, Christina Dykes, said: ‘At the Beaulieu Parish Council Planning Committee meeting an employee of the Beaulieu estate suggested that the facility would be used to park “burger vans” for example for the Beaulieu Wilderness Day which is due to take place in May 2026.
‘This also suggests an intention to use the proposed car park for the estate.
‘The Wilderness Day is expected to host 500 people which will have a great effect on the tranquility and amenity of Hartford Wood. Such use is dramatically different in degree to simple parking.
‘Beaulieu Museum has ample car parking nearby. In the museum grounds there is parking for about 1,000 cars.
‘To support this car park would create a precedent which will allow more usage of Hides Field for commercial activities thus potentially destroying its natural environment and encouraging a “creep” of activity which we ask the NP[A] to prevent.’
A fourth resident, Ewa Bielecka, said: ‘The current car park application ignores previous undertakings guaranteeing not to increase development in the locality, not changing the use of the site and not to operate after darkness. “Dark evening use [is] inappropriate for the location.”‘
Another, Paula Blackeby, added: ‘I can only surmise that the Beaulieu Estate have made the planning application on their own behalf in attempting to obtain permanent parking on Hides Field.
‘The estate’s application is symptomatic of their continuous developmental spread into agricultural land, often obtaining planning permissions for small areas then later expanding use based on the initial small precedent.’
A decision is due to be taken on Tuesday, April 21.
Lord Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 65, is the fourth Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, and he assumed the role after the death of his father Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu in 2015.
The estate has been in the ownership of the Montagu family for over 400 years.
In a joint statement on behalf of the Beaulieu Estate and Countryside Education Trust, a spokesperson told the Mail: ‘The Beaulieu Estate has applied for planning permission for a small gravel car park to support safe and appropriate access to the Countryside Education Trust’s Treehouse Study Centre.
‘The Countryside Education Trust is a small environmental education charity that has been working on the Beaulieu Estate for over 50 years.
‘Its purpose is to connect people with the countryside through education and inclusive access to nature.
‘The car park is intended to serve visitors to the Treehouse Study Centre including those who are unable to walk the existing access route.
‘The application is subject to the New Forest National Park’s planning process and has been prepared in line with relevant environmental and access considerations.
‘The Beaulieu Estate will continue to engage constructively through the planning process on this matter and will abide by any decision reached by the planning authority.’
Beaulieu was recently named by Savills as the most expensive village in England, Scotland and Wales – with an average house price of over £2million.
And in 2020 the estate agents said it was the most expensive village in Hampshire as it revealed the priciest villages in each county across Britain, with houses in some areas reaching more than £1million.
These spots contained the priciest average property prices during the five years prior, according to the exclusive data.
Beaulieu was crowned the most expensive village in the county, with an average property price of £1,179,408.
