THE owner of Dunsfold Park has hit back at allegations that the BBC has been filming at the park without planning permission. Two weeks ago The Herald reported claims by some nearby residents that the BBC was filming motoring programme Top Gear at the park despite the fact that planning permission for the last series of Top Gear had expired in April. But this week Jim McAllister, chairman of The Rutland Group, which, along with The Royal Bank of Scotland, owns Dunsfold Park, said the protestors had got their facts wrong. In a statement, The Rutland Group said: "Top Gear has filmed eight very successful series at Dunsfold Park since they started in 2002 and it has the highest audience ratings of any programme on BBC2. "They operate on a temporary planning permission, which is renewed as the programme requires. The consent was due for renewal in April 2006 and Dunsfold Park Limited submitted an application for the renewal of the permission at the beginning of March 2006, two months before the anticipated commencement of filming by the BBC. This application was received and registered by Waverley Borough Council in March. "Five weeks after the registration of the application, Waverley Borough Council required that it be resubmitted due to a technicality regarding one of the forms that accompanies the application. The application was then resubmitted, as requested. "One of the technical documents to accompany the application was an acoustic survey, to update the survey report that accompanied the original 2002 application. "One of the findings of the report confirming the 2002 findings was that any noise generated by Top Gear's filming, or other track activities at Dunsfold Park, was less than the standard background noise generated by aircraft traffic from Gatwick. "Dunsfold Park and Waverley Borough Council are currently in discussions regarding a different, unrelated noise abatement matter. This is not, as some parties have recently implied in the press, related to Top Gear in any way "In response to the Top Gear opposition, vocalised by a small local group called The Dunsfold Aerodrome Group, the community at large has responded with a petition of almost 1,000 signatures in support of the programme, which has been submitted to Waverley Borough Council. This petition clearly shows strong support from local people for Top Gear. Many local businesses have also reported a major boost to their trade from the filming of the programme and wish it to continue. "Dunsfold Park Limited has an open-door policy in relation to all activities on the site and its management is available at all times to address any points or queries that people may have." Dunsfold Park was a second world war aerodrome built in 1942. Dunsfold Park Limited is a joint venture company owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland and The Rutland Group. The company bought the airfield from BAE Systems, which manufactured the Hunter, Hawk and Harrier jets at the park. The aerodrome is now designated as a private unlicensed airfield. Dunsfold Park is now home to around 90 businesses, and is also used as a film and TV location, the most famous current user being Top Gear.