BBQ-free New Forest

Since summer 2020, the New Forest National Park Authority has been calling on retailers in and around the New Forest to remove disposable barbecues from sale and for a continued ban on fires and barbecues in the open countryside of the National Park.

2020 saw a significant rise in the irresponsible use of BBQs, presenting a major risk of wildfire with potentially devastating effects. In just one weekend, rangers working with the fire service extinguished over 60 unsafe BBQs. Numerous areas of scorched earth were left across the protected habitats when a fire warning was still in place.

Disposable BBQs are:

• a major wildfire risk
• are harmful to the New Forest commoners’ animals and our rare wildlife
• have caused injuries to children and adults when hot coals and sharp metal are left in the countryside or buried on beaches.
• are single-use and create waste.

The New Forest has now been declared a complete no BBQ and fire zone. BBQs and fires of any kind are no longer permitted in car parks or any areas of the Forest managed by Forestry England, National Trust, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and Wellow Parish Council. All BBQ facilities at Forestry England sites have been removed and prominent no BBQ signs are at Forestry England car parks and information points.

Following our plea, 63 shops and outlets in and around the New Forest have now taken disposable BBQs off sale.

Outdoor fires in the New Forest fell by 40% in 2021 compared with 2020 and 30% less than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. We have worked with independent and national retailers to ban the sale of disposable BBQs in and around the New Forest. Neighbouring councils such as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, and Dorset Council have now also set up campaigns to control the use of disposable BBQs in protected landscapes and have been asking local retailers to withdraw them from sale.

In June 2021, Co-Op led the way nationally, taking the unprecedented decision to remove disposable BBQs from sale in stores within a mile radius of national parks in the bid to stop wildfires. Followed by Waitrose and Aldi in March 2022, which decided to nationally ban disposable BBQs in all their stores to reduce fire risk and cut down on waste by taking single-use BBQs off sale. Aldi said its ban on them would remove 35 tons of single-use waste packaging.

The issue has been discussed in Parliament and in summer 2022, Keep Britain Tidy launched its #BanTheFlamingThings campaign.

As of 1 July 2023, a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was put in place banning naked flames on the open Forest. The introduction followed repeated fire damage to the Forest caused by campfires and BBQs, and the growing risk of wildfires due to increasingly hotter and drier conditions. The PSPO bans the lighting of fires of any type, including BBQs and any outdoor cooking facilities or equipment. It also makes it an offence to place, throw or drop items likely to cause a fire, such as lit cigarettes. Failure to comply can lead to fixed penalty notices of £100, which can rise to £1,000 following a successful prosecution. Read more on our no fires page.

Get involved:

We still need your help. Please ask your local store to stop selling disposable BBQs and to display the poster shown below. If you’re a retailer, please let us know you’re supporting our campaign by emailing communications@newforestnpa.gov.uk, and we’ll add your name to the list.