ABOUT THE NEW MILTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
Background
The New Milton Neighbourhood Plan was adopted by New Forest District Council in June 2021 following a successful local referendum in May.
Since then, a number of changes to the planning system have been introduced, including the Environment Act 2021, The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) 2023 and updated versions of the National Planning Policy Framework, most notably the widely publicised December 2024 version which stresses the importance of a plan-led system and the need to have plans in place in order to facilitate development alongside the
re-introduction of mandatory housing targets.
New Milton predominately sits within the New Forest District Council Planning Authority area, except for those area within the National Park for which the New Forest National Park Authority takes responsibility.
Why we are updating the plan
New Forest District Council took the decision in early 2024 to update their Local Plan. This will include a review of the Green Belt around New Milton and a requirement to bring forward more housing than in previous Local Plans.
This was the initial driver for New Milton Town Council to review the Neighbourhood Plan, with three main objectives:
- Review the efficacy of existing policies, modifying policy wording and updating evidence bases as required.
- Introduction of new policies where needed.
- Seeking to identify opportunities for brownfield development sites to reduce the amount of greenbelt release required by NFDC in their emerging Local Plan.