Contact: Karin Taylor, ext 5938

1. Summary

1.1 The New Forest National Park (Designation) Order 2002 was published on Thursday, 21 February 2002. Objections or representations to the Order must be made no later than 25 March 2002. Accompanying the Order are maps defining the boundary of the proposed National Park. The Order does not include any details about the establishment of the National Park Authority (NPA) as this will be the subject of a separate Statutory Instrument.

1.2 On 25 March 2002 the Cabinet will be recommended to inform the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the County Council has no objection to the boundary of the area identified in the Designation Order but objects to the Order on the grounds that it will result in a standard National Park Authority which will have a democratic deficit since none of its membership will be directly elected.

2. Introduction

2.1 The Countryside Agency has published a Designation Order for the New Forest National Park. This follows previous informal public consultations on the proposed boundary and administrative arrangements as well as a statutory consultation with the local authorities on the proposed boundary. The Cabinet at its meeting on 19 September 2001 considered these consultations. A copy of the Cabinet decision is attached as Appendix 1.

2.2 The Countryside Agency's Board considered the results of the consultations into the boundary and administrative arrangements at its meeting on 13 December 2001 and unanimously agreed to go ahead with the designation. Accordingly, the Designation Order was signed and submitted to the Secretary of State and is on deposit from Thursday, 21 February to Monday, 25th March 2002. If objections are made to the Order a public inquiry will be held.

2.3 The Designation Order establishes the principle of the National Park together with its proposed boundary. If the Order is confirmed by the Secretary of State then a National Park Authority will be created by Statutory Instrument. The Countryside Agency at its December Board meeting decided to advise the Secretary of State about a number of administrative matters relevant to the future National Park Authority. However, it should be noted that on these administrative matters it is merely advice to the Secretary of State. Since the creation of a National Park Authority is by Statutory Instrument there will be no public inquiry into it.

3. The Proposed National Park Boundary

3.1 The Countryside Agency has assessed the responses to the boundary consultation against the statutory criteria and the Agency's own policies. Additional research and field work has been undertaken in any area where there was a need for further analysis. The boundary remains unaltered from the previous statutory consultation with the local authorities apart from the following changes within Hampshire:

(i) a minor adjustment to exclude a parcel of developed land on the eastern edge of the Frost Lane valley, Dibden Purlieu/Fawley (Section 6); and

(ii) the inclusion of land at Cowesfield Green and Melchet Park, with a boundary running north along Parkwater Road at Cowesfield Green, east along the A27 and then south along the minor road to Plaitford Green (Section 16).

The proposed boundary is shown in Appendix 2.

4. Advice on Special Arrangements for a New Forest National Park Authority

4.1 In its advice to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the New Forest National Park, the Countryside Agency recommends special arrangements for a New Forest National Park Authority. It does this because it recognises that there are special circumstances relating to the New Forest which makes it different from existing English national parks. Amongst the special circumstances are:

(i) the existence of the New Forest Acts giving the Verderers and Forestry Commission specific powers and responsibilities;

(ii) the extent of Crown Land;

(iii) the importance of commoning;

(iv) the extent of the proposed National Park covered by international nature conservation designations;

(v) the extent of land open to public access; and

(vi) the history of the New Forest Heritage Area with its planning status equivalent to a national park, the close proximity of the area to major settlements and the inclusion in the proposed park area of larger towns than in other English national parks.

4.2 The Countryside Agency advises that the Secretary of State should issue guidance to a New Forest National Park Authority on the unique qualities of the New Forest and that these should be reflected in Government funding for the authority.

4.3 On membership of a New Forest National Park Authority the Agency advises that in making appointments the Secretary of State should have regard to the area's 'unique qualities' by including the Verderers' interests and seeking advice from the Forestry Minister to encompass appointments with expertise in forestry. It also advises that the Secretary of State's appointments should include people with land management expertise, farming, recreation and business interests, together with the appointment of people to take account of the interests of surrounding communities.

4.4 The Secretary of State is advised to remind local authorities in the area that their appointments to the proposed National Park Authority should have regard to national park purposes.

4.5 The Countryside Agency advises that the Secretary of State should make a statement to make explicit the "ongoing role of the New Forest Acts and the lack of conflict between them and national park legislation". It is suggested that a joint committee of the National Park Authority, the Verderers and the Forestry Commission should be created "to formalise an effective three way relationship".

4.6 The National Park Authority would be the local planning authority for its area. However, the Agency recommends the Secretary of State to advise the Authority and local authorities to establish arrangements for:

(i) a joint structure plan (and joint minerals and waste plans) for the National Park, prepared by the Park Authority with the Hampshire structure plan authorities, with an advisory role for Dorset and Wiltshire County Councils;

(ii) a joint local plan for the National Park, prepared by the Park Authority with New Forest District Council with an advisory role for the other district councils in the national park area; and

(iii) a scheme of delegation by the National Park Authority to other local authorities for development control casework "with the National Park Authority taking decisions on significant cases and retaining overall responsibility".

4.7 The Agency is also advising the Secretary of State that guidance should be issued:

(i) to encourage local authorities, in their roles as highway authorities, and the National Park Authority to work together on preparing a local transport plan for the area; and

(ii) to encourage local authorities and the National Park Authority to put in place arrangements to work together on preparing community strategies.

4.8 The Secretary of State is being advised, through guidance and funding, to encourage a New Forest National Park Authority to give priority to commoning in its policies and operations.

4.9 Finally, in connection with visitor management the Countryside Agency's advice is that responsibility for rights of way should remain with the highway authorities, but "the Secretary of State should issue guidance to highway authorities to work closely with a New Forest National Park Authority and to exercise their responsibilities in line with National Park purposes and policies". It suggests that the National Park Authority should "set the standards by which access is managed". On countryside management, bodies such as the County Council are being recommended to be encouraged to work to common policies defined by the National Park Authority.

5. De-designation of the South Hampshire Coast AONB

5.1 The South Hampshire Coast AONB will be subsumed in its entirety within the New Forest National Park, and its de-designation has therefore been proposed in tandem with the designation of the National Park. Since no local authority objections to this have been received by the Countryside Agency, the draft Revocation Order was placed on deposit during November.

6. County Planning Officer's Comments

6.1 The Designation Order is the culmination of a process of consultation undertaken by the Countryside Agency. Throughout that process and following the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement, two-and-a-half years ago, about the Government's ambition to create two new National Parks (New Forest and South Downs) the County Council has always welcomed the recognition of the importance of the New Forest inherent in the proposal to designate it as a National Park. It is undoubtedly a special area in landscape and nature conservation terms, it has an important cultural heritage, including the practice of commoning which helps conserve some of the features which give the area special qualities, and it is a significant recreation resource. These characteristics emphasise that the area should be singled out for national recognition. It is also important that the boundary chosen for the area of national importance has a degree of permanence to give clarity in the long term and avoid regular reviews.

6.2 For many years the County Council, along with some other bodies, has argued that there should be a tailor-made solution for the New Forest. A tailor-made solution would differ from the standard National Park in that it could allow functions (eg planning functions) to remain with the existing local authorities whilst enabling the creation of a statutory body or board which would ensure that all agencies worked together for the greater good of the area. A tailor-made solution would relate to a specific boundary which would be referred to in the legislation in much the same way as the map accompanying the current Designation Order. The attraction of the tailor-made solution is that it would not create another local authority but it would give a statutory role to a body or board charged with ensuring that all existing organisations worked for the good of the area.

6.3 By publishing the Designation Order the Countryside Agency has signalled that it does not support any attempts to secure a tailor-made solution and it has set in motion the final stages of the creation of a standard national park solution. Associated with this would be a National Park Authority to be created by a subsequent statutory instrument. The Countryside Agency considers that if its advice to the Secretary of State about administrative arrangements are included in the Statutory Instrument setting up the National Park Authority and in a Government circular for the National Park, then it feels that the majority of the arguments for a tailor-made solution may have been addressed.

6.4 There is no doubt that much of the advice which the Countryside Agency is giving to the Secretary of State is reasonable and welcome particularly if a standard National Park Authority is to be created. None of that advice forms part of the Designation Order and therefore it depends on the goodwill of the Secretary of State to accept and act on it.

6.5 The issue for the County Council at this stage in the process is does it simply accept the principle of the Designation Order (ie the designation of the New Forest as a National Park) and what flows from it, or are there any matters which warrant an objection? Designation as a National Park goes a long way to meeting the County Council's objective of the area having a statutory designation reflecting its importance. However, because the Designation Order is under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 a standard National Park Authority will subsequently be created. This will be a local authority but with its membership drawn from the appointment of elected members from the existing local authorities in the area and Secretary of State appointments (see Appendix 3). The County Council has previously expressed concern about the lack of direct democratic accountability associated with the creation of standard National Park Authorities in the county. In the light of this previous strongly held view then it would seem prudent to object on these grounds to the Designation Order. Indeed the case for objection on these grounds could be said to be reinforced by the recent Local Government White Paper `Strong Local Leadership - Quality Public Services' which refers to the need for thriving local democracy "with strong and accountable political leadership". It also refers to enhancing democratic legitimacy in local authorities.

6.6 The Designation Order includes a boundary for the proposed National Park. At the previous consultation stage the Cabinet decision was to raise no objection to the boundary. Two amendments have been made to the proposed boundary in Hampshire since then. One is a minor deletion and the other is an addition at Melchet Park on the grounds of the historic landscape importance of the area, the history of commoning and its current importance as back-up grazing. It is considered that both amendments are acceptable. Since the boundary has previously been accepted by the Council and since it is considered that it generally accords with the principles for identifying an area for inclusion with a National Park it is recommended that no objection be raised to the boundary in the Designation Order.

Recommendations

1. That the Cabinet on 25 March 2002 be recommended to advise the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the County Council:

(i) welcomes the recognition of the importance of the New Forest inherent in the proposal to designate it as a National Park;

(ii) supports the need for the New Forest to have a solution which gives it permanent protection; and

(iii) has no objection to the boundary of the area identified in the Designation Order as being appropriate for special measures, including the protection of the area.

2. That the County Council however objects to the Designation Order on the grounds that it will result in a standard National Park Authority which as a local authority will have a democratic deficit since none of its membership will be directly elected.

3. That the County Council believes that a tailor-made solution would be preferable.

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APPENDIX 1

RESOLUTION OF THE CABINET - 19 SEPTEMBER 2001

That the Countryside Agency be informed that:

(i) the boundary for the New Forest National Park as proposed by the Countryside Agency be supported; and

(ii) the County Council wishes the following observations to be taken into account in respect of drawing up Special Arrangements for a New Forest National Park Authority:

Issue 1: The County Council would wish a tailor-made solution to be devised for the New Forest, involving new or amended existing legislation, which would take full account of the needs of commoning and the integration of Crown land. In the absence of a tailor-made solution, then it is essential that the Government publishes a circular emphasising the unique qualities of the New Forest.

Issue 2: The County Council is concerned at the lack of direct democratic accountability associated with National Park Authorities but agrees that, in the absence of a tailor-made solution, the Verderers, the Commoners, the Forestry Commission and English Nature should be represented on the proposed National Park Authority.

Issue 3: The County Council supports the proposal for issuing special advice to promote integrated working between the proposed National Park Authority and other parties.

Issue 4: The County Council supports the Countryside Agency's preferred option for the preparation of development plans.

Issue 5: The County Council welcomes the proposal to delegate development control to the existing local authorities.

Issue 6: The County Council agrees that how land is managed is crucial to conserving the New Forest, but requests that further consideration be given to the respective roles of the Forestry Commission and the proposed National Park Authority in the management of Crown land.

Issue 7: In respect of visitor management the County Council agrees that rights of way should remain the responsibility of the highway authorities; it further requests that the Countryside Agency addresses heritage-related issues more specifically and, in particular, how the historical, archaeological and architectural character of the New Forest is to be conserved and enhanced.

Issue 8: The County Council supports the need to involve local expertise in the work of the proposed National Park Authority and suggests that this can be developed from existing structures.

Issue 9: The County Council supports the wide involvement of different interests in the work of the proposed National Park Authority and supports the further development of the New Forest Consultative Panel as a model for partnership working.

APPENDIX 3

MEMBERSHIP OF A NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY

(From A New Forest National Park Authority: proposed special arrangements, Countryside Agency consultation document, June 2001)

The framework for national park authority membership is set out in existing legislation (the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and the Environment Act 1995) and is explained in Department of the Environment Circular 12/96.

The majority of members of a New Forest National Park Authority would be either locally elected councillors or people with expertise in and knowledge of the area.

(i) One half plus one would be elected councillors appointed to a National Park Authority by the local authorities (that is the county and district councils) whose areas lie within a national park.

These appointees must come from among elected members of the local authorities, preferably members who represent a ward within the national park.

(ii) The remaining members are appointed by the Minister responsible.

One half minus one are parish representatives. Parish members must either be a member of a parish council, or chairman of the parish meeting, wholly or partly situated within the national park.

One half plus one are individuals appointed for special expertise and experience, and to take account of the Park's national purposes. In appointing individuals, the Minister will look for people who have experience, preferably in a combination of fields, with direct relevance to the character of the particular national park. Wherever possible, preference will be given to candidates who combine these qualities and a local association with the national park.