AM 740/26 – New Forest National Park Local Plan Review (Regulation 19) and Local Development Scheme Update

AM 740/26

NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY

AUTHORITY MEETING – 23 JULY 2026

NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK LOCAL PLAN REVIEW (REGULATION 19) AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME UPDATE

Report by: David Illsley, Interim Head of Planning & Place

Summary:

The Authority’s statutory planning powers are key to the delivery of the two National Park purposes and related socio-economic duty. It is important that the National Park continues to be covered by an up-to-date Local Plan that strikes the appropriate balance between meeting the identified development needs of our local communities and other important objectives within the National Park. Following the Regulation 18 Part 1 ‘Direction of Travel’ consultation in early 2025 and the Regulation 18 Part 2 consultation on an initial draft Local Plan in late 2025, the Authority has now reached the Regulation 19 ‘Submission draft’ stage of the Local Plan Review. At Regulation 19 the Authority is required to consult on what it considers to be a ‘sound’ draft Local Plan prior to submission to the Secretary of State for examination. The Government’s deadline for the submission of the draft Local Plan is December 2026. The proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan in Annex 1 to this report (available online) builds on the previous consultations and members are asked to endorse this Plan (and the accompanying changes to the Policies Map) for the final statutory consultation.

The second part of this report seeks member approval of the updated New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (LDS), which sets out the timetable for the remaining stages in the plan-making process. A minor update is required to the Authority’s adopted Local Development Scheme (July 2024) to confirm that we will be submitting the draft Local Plan (and all of the representations received at the Regulation 19 consultation stage and supporting evidence base) for independent examination in December 2026.

Recommendations:

Members:

1. Endorse the Regulation 19 Submission draft New Forest National Park Local Plan 2024 – 2043 in Annex 1 and the accompanying updates to the Local Plan Policies Map (Annex 2) for the purposes of public consultation;
2. Delegate authority to the Interim Head of Planning & Place to make any necessary minor textual and formatting updates prior to consultation;
3. Delegate authority to the Interim Head of Planning & Place to submit the draft Local Plan, supporting evidence base and all the representations received during the Regulation 19 consultation stage to the Secretary of State for independent examination before the deadline of the end of December 2026; and
4. Adopt the revised New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (Annex 4) to come into immediate effect as the published timetable for the remaining steps in the Local Plan Review process.

1. Introduction

1.1 National policy recognises the town and country planning system as a key instrument in the achievement of the statutory National Park purposes and related socio-economic duty. National park authorities are legally the sole planning authorities for their respective areas under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990, with statutory responsibilities for plan-making, development management and minerals & waste planning. The first National Park-wide local plan (the New Forest National Park Core Strategy & Development Management Policies DPD) was adopted in December 2010 and the current New Forest National Park Local Plan was adopted in August 2019.

1.2 At the March 2024 Authority meeting members resolved that work should commence on a review of the adopted New Forest National Park Local Plan (report AM 675/24). Throughout recent reforms to the planning system the Government has continued to reaffirm both (i) the primacy of the development plan in decision-making; and (ii) the benefits of having an up-to-date plan in place to ensure planning decisions are taken locally in accordance with the ‘plan-led’ system (rather than through speculative applications). There are significant risks in not having a development plan in place.

1.3 In January 2025 members endorsed the first formal stage in the review process with the ‘Direction of Travel’ document published for a 6-week consultation (report AM 702/25). Government regulations and supporting guidance do not prescribe how the Regulation 18 consultation on the review of a local plan should be undertaken. The New Forest National Park Authority adopted a two-stage process at Regulation 18, enabling us to seek views on the main planning policy areas identified for review – the stage undertaken in early 2025 - before a (non-statutory) draft Local Plan was published in November 2025 for further public consultation (see report AM 727/25, October 2025).

2. Feedback from the Regulation 18 Part 2 Local Plan Review consultation

2.1 The Regulation 18 Part 2 consultation on the initial draft New Forest National Park Local Plan Review document ran between 5 November – 19 December 2025. A conscious decision was made to publish an initial draft of the full Local Plan, rather than high-level policy outlines and spatial options. As was emphasised at the time, this was a working draft document and the purpose of the consultation was to engage statutory consultees, stakeholders and other interested parties in providing feedback to help refine the Plan working towards the Regulation 19 stage. During the public consultation we held 5 public drop-in sessions located across the New Forest National Park (with at least one in each quadrant) and an online consultation event. Updates were also provided at the parish quadrant meetings and the New Forest Consultative Panel.

2.2 Responses were received from over 800 individuals and representative bodies and further details are set out in the Consultation Statement (Annex 3, available online). For the purposes of this report the details in the accompanying Consultation Statement are not repeated in detail, but set out below is a precis of some of the key areas highlighted in the feedback and how we have responded in the Regulation 19 draft Local Plan.

2.3 Several key areas in the draft Local Plan have been the focus of the policy team’s work over the last 6 months, following the review of the Regulation 18 Part 2 representations. These include the following:

(i) Spatial Strategy

2.4 The Sustainability Appraisal/Strategic Environmental Assessment process and the local plan examination both require planning authorities to demonstrate how they have considered ‘reasonable alternatives’ to key policy choices in their draft local plans. This is particularly relevant to decisions over the ‘spatial strategy’, which essentially sets out where the new development planned for the New Forest National Park will be directed.

2.5 The existing strategy of identifying the four ‘defined villages’ of Ashurst, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Sway has been in place for successive local plans dating back decades. The Local Plan Review provides an opportunity to review this approach and to consider the role other settlements could play in meeting local community needs and sustaining local services. The Regulation 18 Part 2 draft Local Plan proposed the identification of three additional ‘defined villages’ (Cadnam – Bartley, Landford – Nomansland and Redlynch), the boundaries of which are set out in the proposed changes to the Policies Map (Annex 2). The two Wiltshire settlements both had defined ‘Housing Policy Area’ boundaries in the Salisbury District Local Plan (2003) that formed part of the statutory ‘development plan’ in the Wiltshire area of the National Park between 2006 and 2010.

2.6 It is important to emphasise that the scale of future development within the National Park (including the defined villages) is limited. The Regulation 18 Part 2 consultation held in late 2025 attracted significant public responses on the concept of additional ‘defined villages’, with strong objections raised by the local community in Landford & Nomansland in particular. The consultation also highlighted the benefits that small-scale development in additional villages in the National Park would deliver in terms of supporting local services and reducing the decline in population. It is therefore recommended that the Regulation 19 Submission draft Plan retains the expanded tier of 7 ‘defined villages’, with additional wording added to acknowledge that the villages identified are not all homogenous and do differ in the range of services they offer.

(ii) Meeting local housing needs

2.7 A key role of the Local Plan is to set out an appropriate approach for how local housing needs can be met within the particular context of a nationally protected landscape. The Government has ambitious national targets for housebuilding in England and although national parks are protected from major development, there are still significant needs arising within the local communities of the New Forest.

2.8 The Local Plan Review has been informed by an updated Housing Needs Assessment, jointly commissioned with New Forest District Council. This identifies a significant housing need arising within the communities of the New Forest and the National Park Authority is required by national policy and the Local Plan ‘soundness’ tests to set out a positive strategy for how these identified needs can be met. The Local Plan Review has included an assessment of potential development sites within the National Park and the Regulation 18 Part 2 Local Plan consultation sought views on a series of proposed housing site allocations. Many adopted national park local plans include site allocations and this approach is consistent with that taken in the adopted New Forest National Park Local Plan (2019), which includes allocations at Ashurst, Fawley, Lyndhurst and Sway.

2.9 The proposed new housing site allocations in the draft Local Plan attracted a significant level of representations during the consultation held in late 2025. Since the consultation closed we have worked with the site promoters and statutory consultees (including the relevant education authorities, highways authorities, Lead Local Flood Authorities and utility providers) to further understand the deliverability of the sites and whether there are any fundamental constraints to development on them. Where necessary, additional technical work has been undertaken and we are confident that the sites included within the proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft Plan (Annex 1) are deliverable. They would help to meet some of our local community needs, stabilise the population of the National Park and support local services. In response to representations, the Regulation 19 Submission draft Plan also includes reference to ‘principal residency’ conditions on new open market housing to ensure the limited future development that takes place within the National Park provides permanent homes for people.

(iii) Meeting local employment needs

2.10 The Local Plan Review has been informed by updated evidence on employment needs, also jointly commissioned with New Forest District Council. This assessment considers past rates of employment development, labour supply and other scenarios and identifies the need for circa 13,000 square metres of additional employment floorspace over the plan period to 2043. This is a similar level of development to that achieved in the New Forest National Park over the last couple of decades.

2.11 The Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan proposes to meet this need through criteria-based policies and an employment allocation on land within the National Park that forms part of the Solent Freeport Fawley Waterside Tax site. The proposed allocation of this site enables the Authority to set clear parameters for development and to bring forward a comprehensive site remediation. The criteria-based policies support the retention of existing employment sites, the re-use and redevelopment of existing sites and the extension of employment sites, ensuring additional employment provision can be made across the communities of the New Forest, supplemented by the positive site allocation on the Solent Freeport land at Fawley.

(iv) Duty to cooperate

2.12 The Local Plan ‘soundness’ tests require local plans to be based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters. The New Forest National Park Authority is well placed to fulfil this legal duty by virtue of: (i) the membership of the Authority, including the majority of members appointed by our four constituent local authorities; (ii) the functions the constituent local authorities continue to deliver within the National Park (e.g. highways, education, environmental health, economic development); and (iii) the Authority’s role in co-ordinating the delivery of the National Park Partnership Plan.

2.13 Authority officers have engaged key consultees during the preparation of the draft Local Plan, including neighbouring local planning authorities on topics including unmet housing needs and cross-boundary impacts of development on designated sites. As set out in the soundness tests, statements of common ground will be prepared with relevant authorities on strategic cross-boundary matters and these will be submitted with the draft Local Plan and the Regulation 19 representations for independent examination.

3. Evidence base studies and other inputs into the Local Plan Review

3.1 The review of the local planning polices for the New Forest National Park must be supported by evidence to justify the approach taken. The NPPG resource on ‘Plan-making’ emphasises the need for evidence to be proportionate and encourages the production of in-house and/or joint evidence base studies.

3.2 In addition to the commissioned evidence studies outlined below, we have reviewed the information in the published Annual Monitoring Reports and the trends from planning appeal decisions to assess the effectiveness of the existing planning policies for the National Park. The proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft planning policies on replacement dwellings and extensions to dwellings for example have been prepared following consideration of recent decisions from the Planning Inspectorate on appeals.

3.3 Key evidence base studies have been commissioned to inform the Local Plan Review. Many of these have been jointly commissioned with neighbouring planning authorities for efficiencies. In addition, the review is being informed by a Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment which include the consideration of realistic policy alternatives; as well as a Habitats Regulations Assessment which assesses the potential impacts of the emerging policy options on the internationally designated nature conservation sites in the area. The following table summarises the key evidence base studies and the role they have in informing the Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan Review document set out in Annex 1 to this report.

4. Timetable and Next Steps

4.1 The Government had set a deadline of December 2026 for local planning authorities to submit their draft local plans for independent examination under the existing plan-making system. Should this deadline be missed, we would be required to commence the Local Plan Review again under the new plan-making regulations. This process would take around 30 months and would mean the revised New Forest National Park Local Plan would not be in place until around mid-2029. In the meantime, the risk of speculative applications and planning by appeal in the absence of an up-to-date development plan (and the ‘plan-led system’) would increase.

4.2 Following an advisory visit from the Planning Inspectorate in May 2026, we were advised to commence the Regulation 19 consultation as soon as possible to ensure that there is a 2-month window available post the Regulation 19 consultation closing to enable the Authority to prepare all of the required information for the submission of the draft Plan in December 2026. It is therefore proposed that the Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation would run from mid-August to the end of September 2026.

4.3 It is recognised this would involve the consultation starting in the summer holidays. There is nothing in the relevant national planning regulations that precludes this and several other planning authorities in the area will be consulting over the same period. The firm deadline of submission in December 2026 means it is not feasible to delay the start of the Regulation 19 until September 2026. To help allay concerns that may be raised regarding this timetable, it should be highlighted that everyone who made representations at the Regulation 18 Part 2 stage in late 2025 will be directly notified of the start of the Regulation 19 consultation. We will also ensure that the public drop-in sessions will be held in September 2026, rather than at the start of the consultation.

4.4 This report therefore recommends that members endorse the proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan document set out in Annex 1 (and the associated updates to the Local Plan Policies Map (Annex 2) for the purposes of public consultation. This consultation would run between mid-August to late September 2026 and would include a series of public drop-in sessions across the National Park, as well as an on-line consultation platform and event. In addition, a wide range of statutory and local consultees will be directly notified of the start of the consultation, and the consultation will be widely publicised through our social media channels and other routes.

4.5 It is important to emphasise that at the Regulation 19 stage consultees will be invited to submit representations that focus on the ‘soundness’ of the draft Plan, rather than open ended representations. The national ‘soundness tests’ are currently set out in paragraph 36 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, December 2024), which confirms that local plans are ‘sound’ – i.e. fit for purpose – if they are:

1. Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development;
2. Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence;
3. Effective – deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground; and
4. Consistent with national policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant.

5. Update to the New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (LDS)

5.1 All local planning authorities are required to publish a Local Development Scheme under Section 15 of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended). The LDS sets out what documents will comprise the ‘development plan’ for the area; and the timetable for their preparation. National policy also encourages planning authorities to include details of other documents which form part of the development plan for the area, such as Neighbourhood Plans. However, as Neighbourhood Plans are prepared by qualifying neighbourhood bodies – rather than the Authority – the timetable for their production is outside our remit. Therefore, we have not included the timetable for neighbourhood plans in our Local Development Scheme.

5.2 The current New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme was adopted in July 2024 at the full Authority meeting and can be viewed at Local Development Scheme - New Forest National Park Authority. As we build towards the publication of the Regulation 19 New Forest National Park Local Plan, it has become apparent that a minor update is required to the published timetable for the preparation of the updated New Forest National Park Local Plan 2024 – 2043. The current New Forest National Park LDS has the submission of the draft Local Plan for examination (Regulation 22) taking place in January 2027. Given the Government’s deadline for submission under the current plan-making system of December 2026 (i.e. one month earlier), it is prudent to update the LDS to ensure it accurately reflects the timetable we are working to.

5.3 Members are therefore asked to endorse the revised New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (LDS) and bring it into immediate effect. Set out below is a summary of the stages in the New Forest National Park Local Plan Review process, with the upcoming Regulation 19 consultation stage highlighted in blue.

6. Conclusions

6.1 The National Parks Circular (2010) confirms the statutory planning responsibilities given to national park authorities are, “…a vital tool for managing the impact of development on landscape and biodiversity and a key part of conserving and enhancing cultural heritage, including the built heritage in Park settlements….” (paragraph 136). Our planning powers are key to the delivery of the statutory National Park purposes and related socio-economic duty, and it is important that the New Forest continues to be covered by an up-to-date planning policy framework to guide decisions.

6.2 We consciously took the decision to publish a full initial draft Local Plan in late 2025 to invite feedback. The representations from stakeholders, statutory consultees and local residents have all been considered and have informed the preparation of the proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan set out in Annex 1. Additional details have been added to the document compared to the earlier iteration and the feedback received at Regulation 18 has helped strengthen several aspects of the Plan.

6.3 National policy continues to recognise the importance of National Parks to the delivery of a wide range of national policy agendas, including the delivery of nature recovery; tackling the climate crisis; driving economic growth in rural areas; and supporting health & well-being. The Local Plan also plays a key role in meeting the needs of the 34,500 people and 2,000+ local business within the National Park in a way that is consistent with the statutory National Park purposes and related duty.

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6.4 The Local Plan-preparation process involves making difficult choices based on available evidence, including balancing meeting local needs and supporting the vitality of our communities with the hard-won protections for the landscapes and habitats of the New Forest National Park. We will be making the case for why the planning policy approach within the New Forest National Park differs to areas outside the Park at the independent examination of the Plan by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate in 2027. Several other English national park authorities are going through similar processes, and we continue to liaise with the wider National Park family and learn from their examinations (see, for example, the recent Inspector’s Report into the Yorkshire Dales National Park Local Plan available at Inspectors-Report-Local-Plan-2026.pdf).

6.5 Members are asked to approve the proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft New Forest National Park Local Plan 2024 – 2043 (Annex 1) and associated changes to the Local Plan Policies Map for a final period of public consultation; and delegate authority to the Interim Head of Planning & Place to fulfil the requirements in Regulation 21 for the subsequent submission of the draft Plan and supporting information for independent examination in December 2026. Should the Regulation 19 consultation highlight major issues, we would look to bring the draft Plan back to members in November 2026 to consider prior to submission. Recommendation (d) of this report also seeks members’ approval for the adoption of the updated New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (Annex 4).

Recommendations: It is recommended that members:

1. Endorse the Regulation 19 Submission draft New Forest National Park Local Plan 2024 – 2043 in Annex 1 and the accompanying updates to the Local Plan Policies Map (Annex 2) for the purposes of public consultation;
2. Delegate authority to the Interim Head of Planning & Place to make any necessary minor textual and formatting updates prior to consultation;
3. Delegate authority to the Interim Head of Planning & Place to submit the draft Local Plan, supporting evidence base and all the representations received during the Regulation 19 consultation stage to the Secretary of State for independent examination before the deadline of the end of December 2026; and
4. Adopt the revised New Forest National Park Local Development Scheme (Annex 4) to come into immediate effect as the published timetable for the remaining steps in the Local Plan Review process.

Contact

David Illsley, Interim Head of Planning & Place

david.illsley@newforestnpa.gov.uk

01590 646672

Papers

• NFNPA 740/26 – cover paper
• Annex 1 – New Forest National Park Local Plan Review – proposed Regulation 19 Submission draft Local Plan (July 2026) – online only
• Annex 2 - Schedule of updates to the Local Plan Policies Map – online only
• Annex 3 - Regulation 18(2) Consultation Statement – online only
• Annex 4 – New Forest National Park Updated Local Development Scheme – online only