Residents of Fordingbridge are being urged to engage with the New Forest District Council Spatial Options and Policy Direction Regulation 18 Local Plan 2025–2043 consultation, which could have significant long-term consequences for the town and surrounding countryside.
The Regulation 18 consultation is the latest stage in the preparation of the new Local Plan. While it does not yet allocate specific sites, it sets the strategic direction for where development might go, how much housing is required, and which settlements are expected to accommodate future growth.
Decisions taken at this stage will strongly influence later site allocations.
Under emerging proposals, New Forest District faces a substantially increased housing requirement, meaning additional development pressure is likely to be directed toward existing market towns, including Fordingbridge, which has already absorbed a disproportionate level of housing growth in recent years.
Impact on Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge has already seen hundreds of homes approved or built through the current Local Plan, fundamentally changing the scale of the town and resulting in irreversible harm to its character. Further large-scale housing growth risks over-development, without the infrastructure needed to support it.
Key concerns include:
- Infrastructure capacity:
Road congestion, limited public transport and overstretched health services have not been resolved following previous developments. - Unsustainable location:
Fordingbridge has limited employment opportunities and poor transport connectivity, meaning additional housing would increase car dependency and commuting. - Environmental harm:
Expansion would encroach into surrounding countryside, harming landscape character, biodiversity, and Fordingbridge’s role as a gateway settlement to the New Forest. - Flood risk and drainage:
Parts of the town and surrounding land are vulnerable to flooding, raising serious concerns about the suitability of further development. - Loss of local character:
Continued expansion threatens to erode Fordingbridge’s identity as a small market town, replacing it with ever increasing suburban sprawl. - Lack of evidence of local benefit:
Previous large developments have not demonstrably delivered genuinely affordable housing or corresponding improvements in local services.
Have Your Say
Residents are strongly encouraged to attend the Local Plan consultation event on Friday 13th February and to submit formal responses during the Regulation 18 consultation period. This is the most effective stage at which to challenge the principle, scale and location of proposed growth.
The consultation asks fundamental questions about:
- How much development the district should take
- Where that development should go
- Whether towns like Fordingbridge are appropriate locations for further growth
If residents do not respond now, the opportunity to influence will be lost and future objections may carry less weight.
Consultation Details
- Consultation period: 6 February 2026 until 20 March 2026
- Consultation event: Friday 13th February 1pm – 7pm Fordingbridge Town Hall
- How to respond: Online, by email, or in writing via New Forest District Council
Full details are available on the New Forest District Council Local Plan consultation webpage: https://newforest.gov.uk/localplan
This Local Plan will shape Fordingbridge for the next 20 years. Residents, community groups and local businesses are urged to take part, attend the consultation event, and make their views known.
A strong response from Fordingbridge is essential to ensure that future planning decisions are fair, sustainable, and genuinely in the interests of the town and its residents.
