NM12: Walking and Cycling
Policy NM12: Walking and Cycling
The Neighbourhood Plan identifies a walking and cycling network, as shown on the Policies Map with the purpose of supporting healthy and safe active travel opportunities.
Proposals which create opportunities to improve this network, including new walking and cycling routes to connect the existing and new residential areas of the parish with the Town Centre will be supported.
Development proposals on land that lies within proximity of the ‘Green Loop’ will be supported where they:
- demonstrate how they sustain or enhance the collective function of the network;
- In proximity to Danes Stream and Becton Bunny opportunities are taken to open up culverts and create habitat enhancements while maintaining at least an 8m buffer from any works; and
- have regard to how their landscape schemes, layouts, access and public open space provision and other amenity requirements may contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the network, while avoiding having an urbanising effect on any existing Public Rights of Way
Development proposals requiring the preparation and agreement of travel plans as planning conditions or obligations, are required to prioritise in their travel interventions the making of financial contributions to footpath and cycleway improvement projects connecting their schemes with the town centre, including strategic allocations in the NFDC Local Plan (2016 – 2036 or subsequent version)
Development proposals that will result on the unnecessary loss or obstruction of a section of cycleway or footway, that cannot be satisfactorily mitigated, will be resisted.
Supporting text
New Milton is a conventional form of town, with its centre located broadly in the centre of the settlement, with rail station close by and various suburbs surrounding it, connected by the main roads leading into the centre from all direction. The main patterns of movement generated from within the town are car-based, comprising mostly one of three types of trip; out- commuting from across the town to Southampton and Dorset, shopping trips from suburbs to the town centre, and the school run.
Significant growth on the edges of the town is likely to increase congestion in the town centre and on roads heading north and west. There is no prospect of creating additional road capacity in or around the town centre, so the challenge is to reduce dependence upon the private car for short journeys and to invest in infrastructure improvements on the active travel network. If the rail station is going to play a major role in attracting new commuting households, its connectivity from all parts of the parish by walking, cycling and bus services must be excellent.
Hampshire County Council (HCC), New Forest District Council (NFDC), New Forest National Park Authority (NFNPA) and Forestry England have worked together to develop an LCWIP to deliver improvements to walking and cycling facilities across the New Forest area including New Milton, which was subject to public consultation in later 2024 and used to assist in the mapping for this policy, alongside assistance from local walking and cycling groups. It is noted that a number of the on-road opportunity routes would need to undergo a safety audit prior to be promoted as part of the active travel network.
Developers and those involved in improving and enhancing active travel routes are directed to use the Healthy Streets Indictors Assessment tool to ensure that the whole community are able to access and enjoy the network. The tool includes planning safe routes which avoid severance including the removal physical barriers wherever possible, making crossings easy and considering the appropriate placement of new street furniture as well as providing adequate spaces to rest or shelter.
The ‘Green Loop’ consists of six individual projects that create a valuable and connected footpath network around the town. One section of the loop (between Ballard Woodland and Ballard Lake) has recently been implemented by NFDC as part of their ‘Greenway’ initiative. The remaining routes suffer from a lack of signage and thus public awareness of the potential of the network is low. Its use could be enhanced by improving the condition and signage and by interlinking these existing rights of way with green spaces. This provides an opportunity to enhance the network by improving the infrastructure associated with it with information/interpretation boards, benches, dog bins and dog exercise areas, replacing stiles with gates, and improving connections between parts of the footpath (PROW) network.
These improvements will make the use of these routes more attractive and encourage more frequent use by new (and existing) residents and may avoid visits to internationally designated sites. The Town Council has considered a range of routes that could be enhanced which may subsequently be considered suitable as candidate proposals to connect with existing proposals set out in the Mitigation Strategy for European Sites SPD. The network has been selected to ensure it is particularly accessible from the areas where residential development is planned, or to take advantage of a particular local recreation opportunity. This policy does not prevent development, rather it sets out to ensure that any development does not cause harm to these candidate projects. An additional component of the network is a proposed ‘Rail Trail’ intended to connect New Milton Station to the beach at Barton on Sea to support the town’s tourism offer.