NFNPA Local Plan Update CP September 2026
Summary
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New Forest National Park’s Regulation 19 draft Local Plan review explains how the plan guides planning decisions and must be updated to reflect current evidence. It summarises identified needs: about 260 net new homes a year to 2043 (mostly 1–3 bed), around 13,550 square metres of additional employment floorspace, 11 Gypsy and Traveller pitches, and 6 Travelling Showpeople plots. The draft approach proposes limited housing allocations providing about 50 homes a year (around 20% of need), alongside size limits, principal residency conditions for new market homes, local occupancy rules for affordable and some care housing, rural exception sites, and tied dwellings. Specific housing and care sites are listed across several settlements. Employment needs are addressed through support for small-scale growth, protecting existing sites, and a new allocation at Fawley linked to the Solent Freeport. The document outlines soundness tests and the independent examination timeline through 2027.
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New Forest National Park Local Plan Review
Regulation 19 Submission draft consultation
- 220 square miles
- 34,400 residents
- 2,500 businesses
- Over 600 nationally listed buildings
- Over 2,000 assets on the ‘Local List’
- 20 Conservation Areas
- 56% designated as internationally important for nature conservation
- 15 million people live within a 90 minute drive
1. The role of the Local Plan
- ‘Plan-led’ system with the development plan at the heart of decisions – pressure on planning authorities to get plans in place
- The New Forest National Park Local Plan (2019) is a key part of the statutory development plan for the National Park. The Plan requires updating based on the current evidence of needs
- National planning policy is also material to planning decisions and supports small-scale development in all 10 National Parks
- The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) planning team deals with around 900 – 1,000 applications per annum
- National planning policy requires planning authorities to meet the identified needs arising within their planning areas. The role of the Local Plan is to set how locally-identified needs will be met through site allocations and criteria-based policies
2. Identified needs arising in the New Forest National Park
| Topic | Identified Needs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Local housing need arising from communities within the National Park | Circa 260 net new dwellings per annum (circa 5,000 new dwellings by 2043) | New Forest Housing Needs Assessment (Iceni, 2025) |
| Size of dwellings required to meet local needs | Overwhelming majority of the need is for 1, 2 and 3 bed properties | New Forest Housing Needs Assessment (Iceni, 2025) |
| Need for additional employment land to support local businesses and the economy of the New Forest | Circa 13,550 square metres (1.35 hectares) of additional employment floorspace | New Forest Economic Needs Assessment (Lichfields, 2025) |
| Local need for additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches | A need for 11 additional Gypsy and Traveller pitches | Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation Assessment (ORS, 2026) |
| Local need for additional Travelling Showpeople’s pitches | A need for 6 additional Travelling Showpeoples’ plots | Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation Assessment (ORS, 2026) |
3. Proposed approach in the draft Plan to addressing needs
(i) Meeting local housing needs
- Review of the ‘settlement hierarchy’ in the National Park
- Updated evidence on economic viability to support the affordable housing targets
- Limited number of proposed housing site allocations to meet some local needs. Draft Plan makes provision for circa 50 dwellings per annum (circa 20% of the full need)
- Retaining the current approach of limiting the size of net new dwellings
- Proposed ‘principal residency condition’ on net new open market dwellings
- Local occupancy condition for affordable dwellings and C2 developments
- Support for small-scale rural exception site development in other communities
- Support for New Forest Commoners’ dwellings and other tied dwellings
Land at Knellers Lane, Ashurst
70 dwellings proposed – draft Policy SP34 refers to retaining green gap with the A326
Land at Winsor Road, Winsor
55 dwellings proposed – draft Policy SP39 identifies the site, which is well contained by existing development
Land at Hamptworth Road, Landford
30 dwellings proposed – draft Policy SP40 refers to Flood Zones and protection of SSSI
Land at The Ridge, Redlynch
50 dwellings proposed – draft Policy SP39 refers to greenspace provision
Land at Cranleigh Paddock, Lyndhurst
Circa 50 C2 care home, nursing home or extra care units proposed – draft Policy SP36
Land at Brighton Road, Sway
Circa 32 C2 care home, nursing home or extra care units proposed – draft Policy SP38
(ii) Meeting local employment needs
- Support for small-scale employment development in line with the settlement hierarchy
- Support for the retention and appropriate extension of existing employment sites across the National Park
- Proposed new employment land allocation on land at Fawley that forms part of the designated Solent Freeport site and would support site amelioration
- The draft Plan makes provision to meet the identified employment needs
(iii) Meeting the needs of Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople
- Criteria-based policy reviewed and updated to inform decision on planning applications submitted by the Gypsy and Traveller community (draft policy SP49)
- Proposed allocation for Travelling Showpeoples’ use (draft policy SP50) that would address the identified need for this form of development
Changes between Reg 18 & Reg 19 versions of the draft Plan
- The Government has provided clarity on the timeline for the implementation of the Future Homes Standard and this is reflected in the Regulation 19 Local Plan
- Further wording added to Coastal Change Management Area policy to confirm development that benefits the local community or habitat creation is not precluded
- Regulation 19 draft Plan includes a cross-reference to the Government’s Nationally Prescribed Space Standards in relation to policy SP30
- Regulation 19 draft Plan includes reference to ‘principal residency’ conditions on new open market housing, an approach adopted by several national park authorities
- Flexibility introduced into the Plan to enable larger affordable homes to be provided where there is evidence of need and the support of the relevant Housing Authority
- Additional engagement undertaken with site promoters and statutory consultees regarding the proposed site allocations in the draft Plan to ensure sites are deliverable
4. National ‘tests of soundness’ for draft Local Plans
5. Independent examination by the Planning Inspectorate
- The New Forest NPA is required to submit its draft Local Plan, the supporting evidence base and all of the representations received during the current Regulation 19 consultation to the Secretary of State before the end of December 2026
- The Secretary of State will then appoint a Planning Inspector to independently review the draft Plan and supporting information
- The independent examination is likely to last most of 2027 and will include examination hearing sessions
- The Planning Inspector will issue a report to the National Park Authority at the end of the examination process
- The Inspector can change the wording of draft policies, delete proposed site allocations and include new site allocations – all of which happened during the examination of the current New Forest National Park Local Plan (2019)
