Public enquiry launched: Can Top Gear track be saved from demolition?
Despite approved council plans to bulldoze the Top Gear test track, there may still be hope to save the famed circuit.
FEAR not Top Gear fans, there is hope for the life of the famed test track yet.
Plans to bulldoze the Dunsfold Aerodrome to make way for a mass housing development may have been halted, after strong campaigning from those in favour of saving the motoring show's world-famous test track sparked the need for a public inquiry into the development.
Waverley Borough Council approved plans in December to build 1,800 homes on the site of the former WWII airfield in Surrey, which, since 2001, has hosted hundreds of Top Gear's vehicle tests, as well as the popular segment Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
However, local residents have since argued that local infrastructure cannot handle the extra population.
Bob Lees, Chairman of Protect Our Waverley, said he was "delighted" with plans made by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to take the dispute to Westminster.
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"We, and the thousands who protested against this proposal, are delighted," Lees told The Telegraph.
"It is absolutely right that an independent view be taken of this application.
"The site was found to be unsustainable in 2008 and is still unsustainable."
Following the shock planning announcement in December, the show's fans hit back at the attempt to remove one of the country's most recognisable motoring venues.
"At the end of World War Two, there were over 250 airfields in the UK and some of these have become motoring venues, like Dunsfold," Keith Lane said on the 'Top Gear Fans' Facebook page.
"However, many of these venues have now been re-purposed as housing. Eventually, there will be none left at all.
"There are now very few remaining for motorsport use, so it is vital that no more are built on. Stop all future redevelopment before it's too late."
The track is still being used in filming for Top Gear's 24th season, hosted by Matt Le Blanc alongside motoring journalists Chris Harris and Rory Reid, with the show expected to continue work at the site "for the foreseeable future".