The New Forest National Park marks its 20th anniversary

The New Forest National Park marks its 20th anniversary

The creation of the National Park

The New Forest National Park was designated on 1 March 2005 – the first English national park to be created in the 21st century and the first in 50 years.

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 established national parks to help the country recover from a world war, protecting our finest landscapes for people and nature.

There are now 15 national parks in the UK representing our finest landscapes. Each has its own spectacular beauty, distinct heritage, landscape, communities and nature. The New Forest National Park’s landscape is unique, a living remnant of medieval England with at its heart a commoning system that has shaped the landscape that is home to an extraordinary diversity of plants and animals, has a historic cultural and archaeological heritage and provides wonderful opportunities for quiet enjoyment of the outdoors and discovery.

In the New Forest national park status has:

• brought the highest legal protection for this special place
• secured millions of pounds for nature restoration
• helped more people connect to nature for their health and wellbeing
• supported local communities and the unique way of life of the Forest.

The designation is for the place, and there is a responsibility on all those whose activities impact on the landscape to further its purposes of conserving and enhancing its natural beauty and cultural heritage, and to promote the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Park by the public.

Building a ‘Team New Forest’

Over the last 20 years the National Park Authority has worked with partners to ensure this shared responsibility for the National Park is acted upon, bringing people together as a ‘Team New Forest’ to achieve more than the sum of our parts and tackle complex challenges which are not one organisation’s remit. This work is expressed through a Partnership Plan for the whole landscape.

Organisations have different roles to play to deliver the Partnership Plan’s outcomes for climate, nature, people and place – there are over 80 recognised groups and a number of statutory organisations who have a duty to further the goals of the National Park. Bringing these together to make a difference and to pool and win resources is vital for the future of the Forest.

As well as running its own projects, the National Park Authority helps to bring in funding (£8m in lottery partnerships alone since 2013), resources and expertise for communities and other organisations to get things done for the Forest.

We would like to thank all our partners, communities and volunteers who have come together with us to help care for this special place.

Timeline

Find out more about our work over the last 20 years and take a look at our timeline of key moments and milestones.

Challenges

The National Park is facing significant challenges ahead including:

• development pressure
• the climate and nature emergency
• threats to commoning and the traditional way of life.
• visitor pressure
• lack of funding and resources

It’s a complex environment to work in but the National Park Authority is in a good position to bring people together and lead the charge with and on behalf of our communities.

Climate

We are already seeing warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers with impacts around flooding, fire risk, and changes to our habitats and species.

We developed The New Forest Code – our version of the Countryside Code – with partners so residents and visitors can help care for the Forest which, with action on the ground, has helped reduce issues such as wild fires and animal accidents.

Our Sustainable Communities Fund has awarded more than £2.5m in grants to over 340 projects since 2006. These projects help improve the sustainability of the National Park and range from supporting community shops to energy saving initiatives in village halls and school tree planting schemes.

Over 1,750 local people have signed up to our pledge to live more sustainably.

We run the New Forest Tour with MoreBus which sees around 40,000 people each year opting to leave their cars at home and travel on the open top bus.

Nature

In recent years our partnership schemes have been restoring over 1,500 hectares – the size of nearly 2,200 football pitches – for nature and to make them more resilient to climate change.

We have built a ‘Team New Forest’ of landowners, managers, commoners, charities and communities to work together for nature, providing a ‘Re:New Nature’ partnership with an agreed direction, advice and funding.

Highlights include:

• Approaching the RSPB and helping them to buy a secret Forest for the nation in the north of the National Park called Franchises Lodge, the size of 1,300 football pitches.
• A £1.3 million Species Survival Fund project with five other partners to improve 20 sites – the size of 350 football pitches – for nature.
• Grants of £850,000 over the past three years to help farmers, landowners and commoners to introduce more environmental measures, funded through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.

However, there is much more to do to help the unique biodiversity New Forest adapt to and be more resilient to climate change.

We have identified at least 10,000 hectares more – the size of 14,000 football pitches – of habitat that can be improved for nature, needing £24 million to create, maintain and enhance it for 10 years.

People

A recent study estimated that the annual value of the National Park in terms of avoided healthcare costs was £27 million, equivalent to 999 nurses’ starting salaries.

Through partnership with the NHS we’ve developed a programme of green social prescribing with healthcare and activities partners all presented on an online ‘Green Health Hub’.

We set up the PedAll inclusive cycling charity to support the opening up the network of gravel tracks to people of all levels of ability.

We’ve developed a series of approved walking routes, many of which are accessible to all, with an app, leaflets and downloads to guide people to points of interest around the Forest away from the most sensitive wildlife sites, as well as running a successful Walking Festival each year.

Our education team supports around 8,000 young people each year to connect to nature and learn more about the environment.

Volunteers are a vital part of Team New Forest. Volunteering tasks vary from repairing footpaths, to restoring habitats, heritage and carrying out wildlife surveys.

As well as helping the Forest, volunteering is a great way to boost your health and wellbeing, learn new skills and make new friends. We have partnered with local providers to open up volunteering in the outdoors for those with additional needs.

Our successful annual Volunteer Fair sees over 50 organisations present their opportunities, with the event attended by 500 people each year. We also have an online Volunteer Finder on our website for people to search for opportunities to get involved.

Place

The New Forest is a living, working landscape of exceptional natural beauty and international biodiversity importance sustained through its rich and unique cultural heritage of commoning.

Changes in agricultural policy since Brexit will impact on the level of support available to commoning, farming and the opportunities to manage land better for nature. We have brought people together as the Forest Farming Group to help broker a suitable support scheme for the Forest as the current schemes end. The Higher Level Stewardship has delivered over £20m for nature restoration and the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme a further £1m. Both schemes are due to end by 2028 and there is a pressing need to secure a bespoke scheme that will continue to restore nature and support the continuation of commoning.

Our Commoners Dwelling Scheme allows committed commoners to apply for planning permission so in certain circumstances they can build a home outside the New Forest villages and continue their tradition of commoning.

Our planning service deals with up to 1,000 applications each year – around 90% of which are approved thanks to advice before applications are submitted, to ensure the best possible scheme for both the Forest and the applicant.

Through our planning policies, over 70 affordable houses have been or are in the process of being allocated to local people.

To ensure the next generation of people working for the environment, we have developed pathways into green careers from junior rangers to work experience, interns, apprenticeships and an early green careers group. We’re championing young people’s voices through our £1.4m YouCAN youth for climate and nature scheme.

We support and host the New Forest Marque local produce scheme which has over 180 members from producers to hospitality and retail outlets, as well as a new arts and crafts scheme New Forest Inspired.

Championing the New Forest beyond our boundary

As a National Park we champion the Forest with decision-makers and organisations beyond our boundary at a regional, national and international level.

The Green Halo Partnership which we convene is a regional partnership of 70 businesses, charities and the public sector to ensure that the natural environment is seen as an integral part of how we work and live. The Partnership has developed ‘Greenprint’ – a framework to enhance collaboration across and within sectors to achieve a green recovery together.

As part of National Parks family we work with other National Park Authorities to ensure that these protected landscapes are seen as assets for a secure social and economic future – representing to government and shaping policy on climate, nature people and place. National Parks are positioned as exemplars of where this can be done well through excellent partnership and collaboration.

Get involved

Keep an eye out on our social media for events, activities and opportunities to get involved with marking the 20th anniversary.