Local Government Reorganisation
Our National Park boundary will not change.
However instead of working with Test Valley Borough Council and New Forest District Council in Hampshire we will be working with two new authorities which will begin delivering services in April 2028:
- Most of the National Park will be part of the Mid Hampshire authority.
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The parishes of Totton and Eling, Marchwood, Hythe and Dibden, Fawley will move from the New Forest to be part of the South West Hampshire authority. A proportion of each of these parishes are in the National Park so we will also be working with the new South West Hampshire authority.
We will continue to work Wiltshire Council for the small area of the National Park which is in Wiltshire.
In the future the local authority members of the National Park Authority will be appointed by Wiltshire Council, Mid Hampshire Unitary Authority and the South West Hampshire Unitary Authority.
Devolution
Meanwhile under devolution Hampshire County Council will no longer exist. A regional Mayor will be elected to head up a new Strategic Mayoral Authority across the county. The mayor will be responsible for driving local economic growth, strategic planning and infrastructure, strategic transport, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and other areas. Their powers and funding will be transferred from government departments.
Government says this change will bring significant investment and additional powers to improve economic growth, skills, transport and regional collaboration in the area. The Mayoral Strategic Authority will work closely with local councils, focusing on responsibilities currently held by Central Government in Whitehall.
New Forest National Park Authority Chair Victoria Mander said: ‘All public authorities have a duty to further the National Park purposes of conserving and enhancing the New Forest and helping people to enjoy and understand it, while supporting the social and economic wellbeing of our communities.
‘We will be working with all authorities at this critical time to ensure we join together to look after this special place and its communities for future generations.’