New Forest National Park Local Plan Review 2025

Have your say: 4 February – 18 March 2025

Call for sites: 4 February – 18 March 2025

We’ve started work on a review of the adopted New Forest National Park Local Plan (2019). The Local Plan sets out the local planning policy framework for the National Park area and guides decisions on planning applications submitted within the National Park.

The revised Local Plan will look forward to 2043 and is a key way through which the two statutory National Park purposes and related socio-economic duty are delivered.

We are at the first stage in the review of the Local Plan and have published a ‘Direction of Travel’ consultation document setting out the areas we consider to be ‘in scope’ for review, as well as those areas of the adopted Local Plan that we consider remain consistent with the latest national planning policy.

At this initial stage we are asking local communities, businesses, stakeholders and statutory consultees about the scope of the review of the Local Plan.

The six-week public consultation runs from 4 February – 5pm on 18 March 2025

Please fill in the online form below with your views.

Before completing the form, make sure you read the direction of travel document here, (or the button on the right of this page) which sets out the context to the review, the key issues and a series of questions that we are inviting feedback on.

Consultation drop-in events

As part of the consultation we are holding a series of public drop-in events across the National Park. These events provide people with the opportunity to come and find out more about the Local Plan review and speak to our planning staff.

Bramshaw Village Hall, SO43 7JE. Monday 24 February, 2pm – 7pm
Hyde Memorial Hall, SP6 2HU. Tuesday 25 February, 1.30pm – 6.30pm
Brockenhurst Village Hall, SO42 7RY. Monday 3 March, 2pm – 7pm
Lyndhurst Community Centre, SO43 7NY. Friday 7 March, 2pm – 7pm

Call for Sites

As part of the initial work on the review of the Local Plan, we are also inviting local communities, landowners and developers to put forward sites they wish to be considered for residential, employment, Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople and other uses (including environmental mitigation) within the National Park. Submitted sites will be assessed and the results will form part of the evidence base for the next stage in updating the New Forest National Park Local Plan.

To submit a site, please go to this page.

Have your say:

Read the direction of travel document here.
It may help if you plan your answers in a separate document before completing the online form as it can’t be saved before submitting.
The areas to leave your comments can be expanded to give you more space to write.

If you are unable to fill in the online form below, you can download a copy here. Please email the completed form to policy@newforestnpa.gov.uk or post to Policy Team, New Forest National Park Authority, Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, SO41 9ZG. Paper copies are also available from Lymington Town Hall.

Comments Form

Consultation on Scope of the New Forest National Park Local Plan Review

(Reg 18 Part 1)

Consultation on Scope of the New Forest National Park Local Plan Review February 2025

Your details

Your title *

Your full name *

Organisation (where relevant)

Your address (including postcode) *

Email address *

Daytime phone number *

If you are completing this form as an agent, please make this clear, and ensure contact information is correct

Data protection

We will process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your response(s) will be used to inform subsequent reports to inform the Local Plan Review process and anonymised comments may be shared online, on our website, or within material documents as part of this process. However, your personal data will not be published and will be redacted from public facing documents, this includes personal email addresses home addresses and personal phone numbers. More details on how we hold personal information can be found at: http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/privacyandcookies. Should you require any further information about how your details will be used or stored and/or would like to access any information we hold about you, please email our Information & Data Protection Officer at: dpo@newforestnpa.gov.uk. Please note that all information held by public authorities is subject to the Freedom of information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and may be disclosed upon request.

Feedback

Would you like us to keep your contact details so we can inform you about the next stages in the progress of preparing the Local Plan?

Yes

Please write your comments in the sections provided below.

Before providing us with your comments, please ensure you have read the Direction of Travel Document.

1. Introduction

Please comment below:

2. Stategic policies and development principles

Q1 Do you consider the current Local Plan Vision is still broadly appropriate? Please comment below:

Q2 Do the existing Strategic Objectives still represent the main considerations for development in the National Park? Please comment below:

Q3 Is the Spatial Strategy the most sustainable way to deliver new development over the next 20 years? Please comment below:

3. The natural environment

Q4 Do you consider the current Local Plan policies on the natural environment still broadly align with national policy? Please comment below:

Q5 Are there any additional key issues that we may have missed? Please comment below:

Q6 Do you have views on the planning policy approach to climate change and are there areas we should look to go further on? Please comment below:

Q7 How can we use local planning policies to protect the relative tranquillity of large areas of the New Forest National Park? Please comment below:

4. Protecting and enhancing the historic and built environment

Q8 Do you consider the current Local Plan policies on the historic and built environment still broadly align with national policy? Please comment below:

Q9 Are there any additional key issues that we may have missed? Please comment below:

5. Vibrant communities (including housing)

Q10 Pending the conclusions of the current evidence base work on local housing needs, what do you consider to be the best approach to meeting needs in a way that is compatible with the statutory National Park purposes? Options include site allocations, revisions to the Defined Village boundaries and other alternatives that will be tested through the Sustainability Appraisal/SEA process. Please comment below:

Q11 Should the revised Local Plan identify specific settlements where rural exception sites would be supported in principle? Please comment below:

Q12 Do you agree with our intentions to retain policies focusing on commoners’ dwellings and Estate workers’ dwellings? Please comment below:

Q13 What is the best policy approach to protecting the character of the National Park from incremental change from proposals for replacement dwellings, extensions to dwellings and outbuildings? Please comment below:

Q14 Are there any additional key issues that we have missed? Please comment below:

6. Local economy

Q15 Do you consider the current Local Plan policies on the local economy still broadly align with national policy? Please comment below:

Q16 Are there any additional key issues that we may have missed? Please comment below:

Q17 Do you have views on the planning policy approach to the range of uses within the defined shopping areas of the National Park? Please comment below:

Q18 Do you support our proposed approach to campsite development and continued use of Article 4 Directions? Please comment below:

Q19 What should be the local planning policy approach to the impacts of national permitted development rights on the local economy (e.g., office to residential)? Please comment below:

7. Sustainable transport and access

Q20 Do you consider the current Local Plan transport policies still broadly align with local and national policy? Please comment below:

Q21 Are there any additional key issues that we may have missed? Please comment below:

Q22 Do you have views on whether the current transport policies adequately respond to the climate emergency? Please comment below:

Q23 Do you support the current cycle and car parking standards, or consider that they should be reviewed to support sustainable transport? Please comment below:

Pressing 'Submit' below will send this form to the New Forest National Park Authority for processing. Thank you for your feedback.

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New Forest National Park Local Plan Review 2025