New strategy adopted to guide development in the New Forest outside of the National Park
New Forest District Council approved the planning strategy that will guide development in the New Forest, outside of the National Park, at their online Council meeting last night (Monday 6 July 2020).
The Local Plan 2016-2036 Part One is the new planning strategy for New Forest District, outside of the New Forest National Park. It sets out policies for the scale and location of new development needed to 2036, balanced with the long-term protection of the character and sensitive environment of the Plan area including the Green Belt.
Formally adopted by the Council, the new strategy will now form part of the development plan for the district, within which all planning decisions will be made.
Cllr Edward Heron, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure and Deputy Leader of the Council, introduced the strategy saying: “The planning strategy ensures the long-term protection of internationally significant environmental sites, the Green Belt, and the landscape and townscape character of the area whilst providing the right amount and mix of new homes, affordable homes, jobs and facilities that our communities and businesses need.
“The Local Plan can now be adopted as the statutory basis for planning decisions the Council will make about development proposed in our area.”
The new plan, which covers the period up to 2036 sets out the planning strategy for the area during that period and includes provision for a significant increase in housing building across the district and employment growth, outside the National Park. The plan allocates additional land for new housing development at Totton, Marchwood, New Milton, Ringwood and Fordingbridge in particular, and promotes the redevelopment of the Fawley Power Station site as a new community with some 1380 new homes, and employment growth. The plan aims to direct a significant proportion of this new development towards housing tenures which will be affordable to local people, with all new development making a positive social, economic and environmental contribution to the community and business life of the area. NFDC has also put in place policies to ensure new development has no adverse impact on environmentally sensitive areas in and around the district.
The plan has been through a rigorous 17 month examination inspection which included public hearings in the summer of 2019, and a public consultation in the winter of 2019/20 on changes proposed. Following adoption there is a statutory 6 week period for legal challenges.
The Council is now working on Local Plan 2016-2036 Part Two, and supplementary Planning Documents which will add policies on more detailed matters to complement the Part One planning strategy.