Our story

The New Forest Act 1877 confirmed the historic rights of commoners and stopped the enclosure of more than 25 square miles at any time. It also reestablished the Court of Verderers as representatives of the commoner.

The Forestry Commission takes over the management of the New Forest’s Crown Land.

The New Forest Committee (NFC) was formed to ‘bring together into one organisation the statutory bodies involved in the New Forest so that by co-ordinating their responsibilities the Forest and the heritage area may be better conserved’. Its aim was to ‘promote the conservation of the traditional character of the area through the encouragement of common strategies, policies and attitudes’.

Government gives the New Forest special status equivalent to a
national park and the New Forest Heritage Area is created.

The Committee, working with organisations and communities, creates a conservation plan – A Strategy for the New Forest. This is updated in 2003.

Advisory Preparations Group and Establishment Team formed under temporary Interim Chief Executive.

The New Forest becomes the UK’s 14th national park  – the first UK national park to be created in the 21st century and the first for 50 years.

The Order is signed by Minister for National Parks Alun Michael MP. The New Forest Committee is disbanded.

National park status helps protect the Forest for the future and helps people enjoy and understand the Forest.

Ted Johnson is elected chair and Mel Kendall as deputy chair (pictured with interim chief executive Susan Carter).

The National Park Authority takes up its full powers.

The NPA provides technical and financial support for the newly-formed Animal Accident Reduction Group to reduce deaths and injuries to commoners animals on the roads. The Authority is leading on awareness-raising initiatives, including a New Forest Animal Emergency Hotlines card and leading a review of road signs which highlight the dangers of animal accidents.

Five new Conservation Areas are designated in the National Park (Forest Central North, Forest Central South, Forest South East, Forest North East and the Western Escarpment) in recognition of their distinctive character and the contribution they make to the built heritage of the New Forest.

The New Forest Land Advice Service established in conjunction with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to support land managers and commoners for the benefit of the environment with advice, funding and training.

The Verderers of the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship Scheme is launched as a partnership with the NPA and Forestry England, bringing in £2m a year to restore habitats, support commoning and increase education about the Forest. The scheme is still running.

The first National Park Management Plan is published to guide the work of the National Park Authority and partner organisations with priority actions to achieve over the next five years. It’s developed following extensive consultation receiving 10,000 responses from the public.

A project to scan the whole national park with a laser machine from a ‘plane begins. This LiDAR survey – Light Detection And Ranging – builds a detailed digital model of the landscape and its features, enabling 3,500 heritage features to be recorded. 

Gilpin Close, Pilley, is the first ‘rural exception’ affordable housing scheme granted planning permission by the NPA, is completed providing much-needed new affordable homes. In the 20 years of the National Park, 72 affordable homes have been provided for local people.

The Heritage Lottery Fund announces a £550,000 grant for the NPA’s ‘New Forest remembers – untold stories of World War II’ project, to record archaeology and memories of the war years in the Forest.

Her Majesty the Queen visits the New Forest Show in her Jubilee year and is welcomed to the National Park Authority stand to view exhibitions and activities about the New Forest Remembers WWII project.

The National Park Design Guide is launched to help planning applicants understand what makes the Forest a special place and to help maintain and enhancing the landscape and built environment.

The NPA announces a £4.4million landscape partnership scheme for the New Forest supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Over the next five years the Our Past Our Future scheme brings together 10 partners and undertook 21 projects to restore lost habitats, develop skills and inspire a new generation to champion and care for the New Forest. Around 2,000 people volunteered for the scheme and more than 210 hectares of habitat was restored – equivalent to around 320 football pitches.

Navitus Bay Development proposes building an offshore wind park of up to 194 wind turbines off the Hampshire and Dorset coast.
The wind park would include an underground cable connection to the National Grid running through the National Park to an onshore substation at Mannington, north of Ferndown.
As one of the planning authorities involved, the NPA submits a detailed Local Impact Report with input from our experts in landscape, ecology and archaeology, setting out our concerns about the significant visual impact the turbines were likely to have on the coast and the likely landscape impacts of the onshore cable route. We also gave evidence at an Examination in Public into the application. The Secretary of State rejects the wind park application in 2015.

We awarded over £64,000 to improve around 12 miles of footpaths, several of which are gateways to the National Park and had become badly eroded. This included almost two miles of byways rebuilt at Hamptworth – one of the routes being a key link between Salisbury and the New Forest.

Our £2m family cycling scheme from the Department for Transport funds a 2km off-road path joining Marchwood to Eling and Totton; plus a 3.5km shared route along from Lyndhurst to Ashurst; and a 1km route within Totton are made more robust and resurfaced.

Over 3,800 people discovered art in the National Park in summer 2016 through the first New Forest Arts Festival. The event encouraged visitors and residents to engage in the Forest’s rich creative community and explore new parts of the Forest, with a diverse range of events in over 20 locations.

A hundred business and community leaders came together to launch a new partnership and pledge to ensure our most precious landscapes work in harmony with the economy.

The Green Halo Partnership brings together organisations from across central southern England to protect and enhance our ‘natural capital’ – the benefits we derive from nature such as clean air and water, protection from flooding, food and healthy outdoor activities.

We approach the RSPB to save a huge area of the New Forest for the nation, providing £200,000 towards the purchase. Few people have been in the 1,000-acre woodland at Franchises Lodge near Nomansland, which is the size of over 1,300 football pitches. The spectacular woodland provides a bridge between two already internationally-important wildlife areas – Langley Wood National Nature Reserve to the north and the New Forest Special Protection Area to the south. It’s an extremely rare chance to turn a huge piece of the north of the National Park into a special place for nature, making the Forest bigger, better for nature and more joined-up.

The New Forest National Park Local Plan 2016 – 2036 is adopted following four years of public consultation and independent examination by the Government. The local plan sets out the updated planning policies for development within the National Park. It includes sites allocated for housing at Whartons Lane, Ashurst; Church Lane, Sway and the former Lyndhurst Park Hotel.

Archaeological excavations in the New Forest have investigated the remains of a highly significant Bronze Age monument dating back more than 4,000 years. The project’s final report was published this year and includes some fascinating facts about the prehistoric communities who once inhabited the New Forest. The ring ditch monument, on the Beaulieu Estate, is thought to have played an important role in the local community for many generations, although exactly what it was used for remains a mystery.

The NPA launches the New Forest Code with partners – our version of the Countryside Code – to help protect rare birds, commoners animals and habitats. The Code is used by communities and businesses, on signs, in publications and online to raise awareness of how we all must help care for the Forest.

The pandemic and subsequent lifting of lockdown sees a huge demand for open space and extreme pressure on the wildlife and habitats. Communities work with us to help care for the Forest and an emergency New Forest Ambassadors scheme is launched with hundreds signing up to report incidents and pick up litter. Over 60 retailers join our campaign to ban disposable BBQs to reduce the wildfire risks and national chains including Asda and Waitrose pledge nationwide support.

Central Government funding of £60,000 helps us expand our ‘local list’ of non-designated heritage assets that can’t be on the national English Heritage Listed buildings register but still contribute to the character of the New Forest. Nearly 2,400 heritage assets are now on the local list.

The Farming in Protected Landscapes grant programme is launched. Only available in protected landscapes, it has awarded £1m in grants to New Forest farmers and commoners to help them make environmental improvements.

We launch the New Forest Awakening Festival which to date has seen thousands of people enjoy walks, talks and activities provided by a range of organisations throughout March. To date, messages about the climate and nature crises have reached over four million people.

Our 18-month £800,000 Green and Blue Horizons scheme brings together thousands of people to extend nature networks and create wildlife-rich corridors that link National Park habitats to neighbouring towns and cities. Bringing funding to a range of organisations, it sees land equivalent to 147 football pitches improved for nature and climate resilience across 27 sites; 4,575 hours given by volunteers; 200 events reaching around 9,500 people and 19 jobs created or retained. 

The Calshot to Gosport stretch of the England Coast Path opens, going through the National Park, as part of a 2,700 mile route around Britain and is later renamed the King Charles III England Coast Path.

We secure a £1.4m lottery-backed scheme to work with partners on YouCAN – youth for climate and nature to connect more young people to the natural world. Youth-led and co-created activities include junior ranger programmes, volunteer opportunities, habitat improvements, walking and cycling in nature, theatre performances about climate change and internships providing experience in green skills and jobs. 

The New Forest is the only national park to receive funding from the Species Survival Fund.
The £1.3m project with five other partners restores New Forest habitats and increases wildlife across 25 sites – the equivalent of 350 football pitches.

An online Green Health Hub of social prescribing activities in the New Forest is launched with the health and outdoor sectors to support people’s health and wellbeing through experiences in the outdoors.

UK national parks are the first worldwide to join the Race to Zero initiative, committing to drive action to halve carbon emissions within their landscapes by 2030 and become significant net carbon sinks by 2050.

The New Forest National Park Authority thanks partners, communities and thousands of volunteers for creating a ‘Team New Forest’ with us to care for this special place. There are lots of challenges ahead – from development, funding cuts and the climate and nature crises. The 20th anniversary of the National Park designation is marked by a family tree planting event to create a new ‘mini forest’ at New Park, Brockenhurst.