One of Britain's most famous estates has won planning permission for a car park in a protected area of a national park - despite outrage from villagers who believe it is a 'Trojan Horse' planning project.

The Beaulieu Estate has been given the green light for a 46-space car park near its iconic motor museum after facing opposition from villagers who campaigned against it.

People from Beaulieu - the most expensive village in Britain - worry the approval 'sets a precedent' for The Beaulieu Estate to make further applications near ancient woodland.

The 46-space car park is only metres away from a 1,000 space car park that The Beaulieu Estate owns in the New Forest National Park, Hampshire.

Locals said they fear that the exclusive estate - owned by Lord Montagu - is planning to secretly carry out a 'developmental creep' in an attempt to 'commercialise' the celebrated area.

Beaulieu residents described the planning application as a 'Trojan Horse', saying that it has been lodged as an individual application, but that it is part of a wider plan.

The village, famous for its motor museum, was recently named by Savills as the most expensive village in England, Scotland and Wales - with an average house price of more than £2million.

The Beaulieu Estate has been in the ownership of the Montagu family for more than 400 years.

The agricultural land at the centre of the planning application is currently used by an education charity to park around 10 cars at a time.

The 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate will soon put in a gravel-surfaced car park to be used as additional parking for events.

A gravel track will also be laid down between an existing track and the new car park.

The car park, currently grassland, is used by the CET (Countryside Education Trust) Treehouses charity, which runs a treehouse study centre and event venue.

Alan Titchmarsh opened the educational treehouse based on Beaulieu Estate land, near the National Motor Museum, in 2008.

At a New Forest National Park Authority (NFNPA) planning committee meeting, Rachel Pearson, agent for the estate, told members the car park will help the education centre to survive.

She said: 'The need for additional parking is real.

'There are no suitable alternatives within the Treehouse site without damaging ancient, natural woodland.

'The proposals will not result in any material intensification of the study centre and its core educational function to offer countryside education to all will remain.'

Wealthy residents of the New Forest tried to stop the 'developmental creep' that they believe the owners of the Estate are implementing.

Beaulieu resident Stephen Rigby branded the application a 'Trojan horse'.

Reacting to the planning application's approval, the 62 year old business consultant said: 'We'll have to wait and see if they really do only use it for educational purposes - that's fine, but that wasn't our main concern.

'Our main concern was whether it sets a precedent and the potential growth for other applications elsewhere on the field.

'No one has a problem with the charity, it's an exemplary charity.'

The father-of-two said that 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 National Motor Museum's 1,000 space car park.

He alleged the parking was for weddings on the site, but that 'they will never get it for weddings, that's commercialisation - so they are claiming it is for educational purposes'.

Mr Rigby continued: 'We were very lucky, the planners did actually put an additional condition which we were very pleased about.

'They suggested that if anything happened to the charity in the future, then it would revert back to agricultural land.

'I did say there's still no business plan that proves need, and scale - does it really need to be that scale, whereas if they use the spaces they have currently got they should take that first, but they weren't interested.

'Our concern wasn't so much about if it was only used for the treehouses, we're concerned if there's going to be creep, if there's going to be extra weddings.  Hopefully it will remain at 12 maximum.'

Mr Rigby said the land the car park is on, Hides Field, has been used for crops and grazing 'going back 500 years'.

He believes the estate has a 'proven record of developmental creep in the area', including the introduction of a 4x4 track, a ropes centre and 'multiple attempted commercialisation events'.

Mr Rigby is also worried about the impact the car park would have on a nearby site of special scientific interest, with the potential of oil spilling into nearby rivers.

He told the planning committee meeting that 'Granting this application will allow further urbanisation of agricultural land in New Forest National Park for commercial purposes'.

Mr Rigby added that 'it is claimed to be for charitable, educational needs' but that the proposals are the estate's 'latest attempt by claiming the need is educational when in fact they only seek to increase the number of weddings at the Treehouses'.

In response, Ms Pearson said the number of weddings held at the site is limited to 12 per year with a capacity of 100 people, and they are 'vital fundraising' for the charitable trust.

During the debate, Cllr David Harrison, who sits on the planning committee, said the plans have faced a 'high level of scrutiny'.

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Totton South in Hampshire said: 'The current parking provisions and accessibility arrangements are unsuitable and can act as a barrier.

'That certainly deals with the issue of if this is necessary. It is supporting the existing use of the study centre.'

Members approved the plans and agreed on including a condition that the car park will return to agricultural land if the educational trust leaves the site.

Reacting to the news online, New Forest resident Adam Maynard said that he 'could be a nimby', but added: 'There is a military tactic called bite and hold, it involves small localised battles to achieve an outcome that on the face of it is overwhelming.

'It [is] not the first bite Beaulieu estates have taken, when they purchased the butcher's shop there was a field to [its] left.... now a car park.'

A spokesperson for the Beaulieu Estate and the Countryside Education Trust previously said the car park 'is intended to serve visitors to the Treehouse Study Centre including those who are unable to walk the existing access route'.