Controlled burning

The New Forest National Park Authority supports careful use of controlled burning as part of a range of measures to manage and maintain the distinctive and diverse landscape of the National Park.  

All burning of gorse and heather should follow the Government’s heather and grassland burning code and not take place outside the season which in the New Forest is 1 October to the end of March.  Burning has been used as a tool by people to manage vegetation for thousands of years.

The mosaic of different habitats that make up the New Forest National Park – ancient woodland, open heath, mires, lawns, saltmarsh coastline, picturesque villages – is highly valued by local people and visitors alike.  This diversity is one of the special qualities of the National Park that the Authority works to conserve.

Invasive species such as scrub and gorse would quickly would shade out and replace the more highly valued heathland plants and animals which depend on open conditions if methods such as controlled burning were not used to maintain it.  Several rare species like the Dartford Warbler depend on the rotational burning of gorse to produce the dense vigorous growth they prefer.

While areas that have been burnt can appear unsightly in the short-term, controlled burning is an important tool for maintaining the landscape that people know and love as ‘the New Forest’ in the long-term.

Heathland areas are subject to controlled burning only once in a generation – about every 25 years – and nature recovers surprisingly quickly.  Burning revitalises many of the plants on the heaths – removing old growth and allowing a nutritious flush of new young growth for animals and wildlife to graze.  It also provides thick cover for nesting and shelter.