Help record verge and gateway parking

Can you help us to record verge and gateway parking?

What’s the problem?

Since Covid-19 travel restrictions were eased, many more people are driving into the New Forest to get fresh air and exercise.

While we want people to enjoy the area, on warm, sunny days some car parks have been full by mid-morning and people arriving after this have parked on nearby verges or gateways.

Verges on Crown Land and adjacent commons are all designated as SSSI habitats and the vegetation is easily damaged by parked cars – and the gateways are needed for access. This overflow parking is therefore a real problem.

A long-term solution?

Although Forestry England staff, NPA rangers and the Police are working together to address issues as they arise, we also need to look at longer-term solutions, including the possibility of some redistribution of parking capacity. This could include reducing parking spaces where they’re not needed, or where adjacent habitats are particularly vulnerable, and increasing capacity at more popular locations better suited to larger numbers of people.

You can read more about the wider plan for managing recreation in the New Forest by looking at the Managing Recreation section of our website. The car parking data will be analysed alongside other available information (such as weather conditions) and used by the Recreation Management Strategy steering group as it develops options for managing car parking across the New Forest into the future.

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