Planning work under New Forest District Council
New Forest District Council (NFDC) is the local planning authority for the built-up and countryside parts of the district that sit outside the National Park: Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Totton, Marchwood, Hythe, Fawley and the coastal and Avon Valley settlements. If your site is inside the National Park boundary, the decision-maker is the New Forest National Park Authority, not NFDC. Getting that split wrong is a common and expensive mistake.
We prepare the forms, planning statement and supporting material, lodge through the Planning Portal, and deal with the NFDC case officer. The Local Plan 2016–2036 and neighbourhood plans (where made) are the starting point, not a generic Hampshire template.
What usually bites here is not the same as Bournemouth. Large parts of the district are Green Belt. The Solent and the River Avon catchments bring nutrient neutrality and habitat regulations into ordinary householder and small housing schemes. Coastal flooding, the Waterside employment belt, and tight historic cores in Lymington and Ringwood each change the weight of the argument. We map the LPA, the Park boundary, Green Belt and catchments before we quote.
Work is run from our Bournemouth office. New Forest District sites are a short hop east; we visit where it helps the case. Neighbouring LPAs we also act under include Dorset Council, BCP Council and Wiltshire Council.
What usually decides NFDC cases
- Confirming NFDC versus the National Park Authority before any form is drafted
- Green Belt openness, infill and replacement-dwelling tests
- Solent and River Avon nutrient neutrality and SPA/SAC mitigation
- Character, parking and amenity in Lymington, Ringwood, Totton and the Waterside
- Flood risk on coastal and Avon Valley plots
- Appeals where the principle is sound but the officer report is not
Services we run in this authority
- Householder applications for extensions, lofts, outbuildings and annexes
- Full applications for new dwellings and conversions
- Change of use and lawful development certificates
- Prior approval, including larger home extensions and rural conversions where the GPDO applies
- Appeals, including enforcement and non-determination
Householder applications from £500. Small full applications from £1,000. Written representations appeals £500 to £1,000. Council fees are separate. Every quote is confirmed in writing before work starts.