Future Matters

The New Forest - A special place

What makes the New Forest special?  Why is it special to you?  Is it the beautiful landscape or the rare and diverse wildlife?  Is it the tranquility and sense of wildness so unusual in the south?  Or is it the distinctive towns and villages and strong local communities?  Are there particular local problems that need to be tackled?

The New Forest is many things to many people. Below we highlight just a few of the area's distinctive characteristics to inspire your thoughts about the issues we face and the options for tackling them.

The people

• Around 174,500 people live in the area covered by this consultation (2001 census). About 34,000 of those live within the National Park boundary.
• New Forest District, with a population of 171,500 has the second highest population among non-metropolitan districts in England.
• Recent population projections indicate that the area's population numbers will peak in 2006. Although 4,000 new homes could be built under proposals in the South East Plan, by 2026 there would be 7,500 fewer people living here.
• Yet there could be 8,000 more single-person households – mostly middle-aged and older people.
• By 2026 the school-age population is expected to fall by 5,000 to 16,500 while the number of residents over 65 will rise by around 14,000 to more than 54,700.
• Nearly a quarter of the population is over 65.
• Economic activity rates in the New Forest are lower than for Hampshire as a whole with 47% of the population economically active compared with 52% for Hampshire.
• In the next 20 years, it is predicted that this figure will fall to 44% while the figure for Hampshire will remain above 50%.
• Almost 18,000 people commute into the New Forest each day to work, while almost 31,000 commute out of the New Forest.

The place

The New Forest National Park

• England's newest and smallest national park, it covers an area of 56,651 hectares (just under 219 square miles).This is 73% of the area covered by this consultation.
• More than half (56%) of the Park is of national or international value for nature conservation.
• It forms the largest continuous expanse of heath, valley mire and pasture woodland in lowland Europe.
• Extensive opportunities for outdoor recreation are provided across the Open Forest.
• The landscape is still shaped and maintained by free-roaming ponies and cattle, part of the ancient pastoral system of commoning.
• There are also important private estates, farmland, villages and 42 kilometres (26 miles) of unspoilt coastline.

Towns and villages

• The majority of people live in the towns and larger villages that surround the National Park – Totton, Marchwood, Hythe, Holbury, Blackfield, Lymington, Milford-on-Sea, New Milton, Ringwood and Fordingbridge.
• Totton has the largest population while Lymington has the largest commercial centre.
• Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Sway are the main settlements within the National Park.
• In the last 15 years the rate of new house-building was reduced and further reductions are planned up to 2026.While this reduces the development threat to the area's sensitive environment, it makes it more difficult to provide sites for affordable housing and for development that would create more local jobs.
• There are 37 conservation areas, including the historic centres of Lymington, Ringwood, Hythe and Fordingbridge.

The Avon Valley

• The Avon Valley is of international importance for wildlife, particularly for wetland birds and the quality of its chalk river habitats.
• Together with the western downlands, it is also of high archaeological importance, with many known prehistoric and Roman sites.
• To the north of Ringwood are significant areas of sand and gravel workings, most of which are gradually being transformed into lakes.

Downland parishes

• The rolling open chalk downlands in the north-west of the area are part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• Martin Down is nationally protected for the exceptional richness of its chalk grassland plants and butterflies.

The coast

• There are 64 kilometres (40 miles) of coastline, most of which has national or international nature conservation designations.
• The soft fossil-bearing cliffs at Barton are of international geological importance.
• Coastal erosion in Christchurch Bay and the north-west Solent shore is a major issue.
• Much of Southampton Water is dominated by urban and industrial development. The Fawley petro-chemical complex is visible for miles around.

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