The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) is outlining the next steps for the review of its Local Plan which sets out local planning policies for the area.
Planning authorities are required to keep their Local Plan up to date and the Government deadline for the submission of the draft New Forest National Park Local Plan for independent examination is December this year.
The last round of public consultation on the NPA’s draft Plan Review closed at the end of 2025. Since then the NPA has been reviewing the comments received and updating the draft Plan in response to people’s feedback and further evidence.
The proposed next phase – ‘the Regulation 19 Submission draft New Forest National Park Local Plan’ – will be considered by NPA members at a full Authority meeting on 23 July. The reports for this meeting will be available online a week before the meeting at www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/about-us/meetings-and-committees/authority and people can watch the meeting live on YouTube and on catch-up via the same link.
If approved by members, a public consultation on the revised draft Local Plan will be held from 17 August to 30 September. During this consultation period there will be a series of drop in sessions, with at least one in each of the four parish ‘quadrants’ of the National Park, alongside an online event.
Everyone who commented on the initial draft Local Plan in late 2025 will be directly notified of the new consultation, alongside all statutory consultees. This includes all 37 of the town and parish councils in the National Park. Full information about the consultation will be shared with town and parish councils in early August to enable them to help promote the consultation.
David Illsley, Interim Head of Planning and Place, said: ‘The Local Plan is a vital document for the coming years and so we’re making sure as many people as possible know about it.
‘The National Park Authority is required to submit its draft Local Plan, supporting evidence base and all of the representations received at the ‘Regulation 19’ stage to the Secretary of State by the end of December 2026.
‘It will then be subject to independent examination by a Government-appointed Planning Inspector who will issue a binding report on the draft Plan to the National Park Authority (most probably in late 2027).
‘The preparation of the revised local planning policies for the National Park area is not affected by the wider Local Government Reorganisation Plans in Hampshire.’