Position Statement: Local Government Reorganisation and the New Forest

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is concerned that current plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) across Hampshire and the Solent will fragment governance of the New Forest, making it more difficult for the National Park to achieve its potential for wildlife and people.

While we recognise the need for effective and efficient local governance, restructuring must not undermine the ecological integrity, cultural heritage, and climate resilience of one of England’s most important protected landscapes.

The New Forest as a Connected Landscape

The New Forest is more than an administrative boundary – it is an ecologically connected landscape of international importance. The mosaic of heathlands, wetlands, ancient woodland and grazing systems functions as a single ecological unit.

LGR, as set out by the Government, would separate out parts of the Forest into neighbouring authorities. Fragmenting governance risks weakening coordinated spatial planning, introducing inconsistent development pressures, and undermining landscape-scale nature recovery.

This is fundamentally incompatible with the Government’s commitments to nature recovery and the statutory purposes of protected landscapes.

Environmental Pressures and Risks

The New Forest’s internationally protected habitats are already under pressure from recreation, water use, and pollution. Increased development in surrounding authorities will place further strain on the Forest’s ecosystems, with fragmented governance making it harder to manage these cumulative impacts strategically.

In addition, we are concerned that the impetus to intensify development in the waterside areas of the New Forest would increase significantly under the new arrangement. This area also includes important areas of land that, amongst other uses, support the unique commoning system that helps maintain the open habitats of the New Forest.

Climate Resilience and Landscape-Scale Planning

Furthermore, in the face of a changing climate, it is essential that restoration and expansion of habitats build resilience across the landscape. This requires coordinated, long-term planning and governance aligned with ecological needs. Division of the New Forest risks undermining this approach at the very moment it needs to accelerate.

The proposed reorganisation comes at a time of wider concern about weakening environmental protections and planning reforms.

Against this backdrop, decisions about the New Forest are a clear test of Government’s commitment to halting species decline, restoring nature at scale, and balancing growth with environmental limits.

New governance arrangements must ensure that planning and land management operate at the scale of the landscape and that Local Nature Recovery Strategies are embedded at the heart of spatial planning.

The New Forest is a national asset of exceptional value and should be supported to contribute significantly to nature’s recovery. Fragmentation risks being a step backwards—for nature, for climate resilience, and for future generations.