The Beaulieu Estate, which owns 9,000 acres of land in the New Forest, is seeking planning permission to create a gravel-surfaced car park for additional parking for events. The proposed car park would have 46 spaces and is located near ancient woodland, according to multiple reports. The estate already operates a car park with 1,000 spaces, but the agricultural land at the centre of the application is currently used by the Countryside Education Trust (CET) to park about ten cars at a time. A gravel track is proposed between an existing track and the new car park.
The planning application is linked to an educational treehouse venue on Beaulieu Estate land, which was opened by broadcaster and gardener Alan Titchmarsh in 2008. According to the planning application, the trust's treehouses host a limited number of weddings to fund the trust's work. The application also states that access for the trust's other audiences is limited, requiring walking from the National Motor Museum car parks.
Local villager Stephen Rigby has raised objections to the plan. According to Daily Mail - Home, Rigby described the proposal as a 'Trojan horse', alleging that the estate is using the charity to obtain planning permission for commercial purposes. He said the limited number of parking spaces are intended for people unable to walk the incline from the museum's car park, but argued there was no evidence the treehouses needed additional parking. Rigby also alleged that the estate ultimately wants to change the use of Hides Field, though the exact location of the proposed car park relative to ancient woodland remains unclear. The Beaulieu Estate has not publicly commented on the allegations, and the outcome of the upcoming planning meeting is unknown.