Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Response to the New Forest National Park Plan and New Forest National Park Recreation Management Strategy Consultation Drafts

1) Summary and Statement of Intent and Response to Consultation The County Council has long supported the sustainable development of the New Forest in a way that both conserves and recognises the communities which live and work within the New Forest. The County Council has no intention of introducing or investigating road pricing. The County Council does not foresee any circumstances in which it will share its statutory responsibility for highway, traffic matters or street lighting. The relevant recommendations are given below in the summary. The purpose of this section, which Cabinet is asked to adopt, is to make clear the County Council intent, irrespective of, and in place of any earlier plans.

The following decisions are proposed:

1.1. That Hampshire County Council will not investigate nor implement road pricing. 1.2. That the following issues and the underlying discussion in this report are submitted as the County Council's strategic response to the consultation on the New Forest National Park Plan and the New Forest Recreation Management Strategy: (i) Issue 1. The restrictive nature of policies in the National Park Plan do not reflect fully the duty on the National Park Authority to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities across the whole Park. Given the relatively small size of the National Park and the relatively high density of settlement, greater degree of balance is required between the purposes of designation and the duty to foster the socio-economic wellbeing of its communities. (ii) Issue 2. The `zero growth' approach to activity in the vast majority of the National Park through the zoning of activities and facilities, combined with the proposed relocation of activities and facilities, will impact on the economic viability of the Park. It also imposes additional pressures on the County Council's facilities at Lepe Country Park and the rural lanes leading to it, and the Calshot Activities Centre. (iii) Issue 3. The priorities for the National Park Authority in relation to highway and transport matters are not in accord with those being set at a national level, and are in contradiction to the County Council's own policies for which it has a statutory responsibility. This will have a severe impact on the availability of the County Council's resources to deliver the targets and actions in the National Park Plan. (iv) Issue 4. Limitations on opportunities for development will in turn limit the availability of developer contributions to support highway network and transport objectives in the Plan. (v) Issue 5. The approach to recreation management must be subject to a rigorous assessment of the social and economic costs/benefits of the policy approach. (vi) Issue 6. The extent of degradation as a result of minerals working is overstated in the Plan and does not recognise the measures taken by the County Council to ensure that appropriate restoration is undertaken. (vii) Issue 7. The restrictive policies for development will impact on the County Council's abilities to deliver sustainable solutions for the management of waste and material resources as set out in the Materials Resources Strategy. The policies run counter to the National Park Authority's stated objective of reducing its environmental footprint. (viii) Issue 8. The restrictions on development will impact on the County Council's ability to deliver the development and rationalisation needs of schools, older persons' care and other public service/front of house provision. (ix) Issue 9. The National Park Plan sets a specific and challenging target for reducing the environmental footprint of the Park. Whilst such aspirations are welcome, there is a lack of clarity about the individual activities that would deliver this and the implications of this for the Council. 1.3 The County Council recognises the importance of a sustainable Recreational Management Strategy. In which case it would urge the authority to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to research the impact of recreational pursuits in the New Forest ; consult adequately with the different communities which live and work within the New Forest; and give due regard to the potential impact on areas adjacent to the National Park. 1.4 That any further technical comment, observation or communication on the NPA proposal be agreed by the Director of Environment and the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader.

1) Reasons for the decision

1.1. To respond to the consultation on the statutory New Forest National Park Plan and the non-statutory New Forest Recreation Management Strategy, which have impacts on the delivery of the County Council's duties and responsibilities.

3) Purpose of the Report:

3.1. The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has published its draft New Forest National Park Plan. This incorporates two statutory documents: the National Park Management Plan and the Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy, together with Development Control policies. The NPA has also published its draft Recreation Management Strategy. The Plan and the Strategy have been submitted for consultation and this report sets out the proposed strategic response from the County Council to these documents.

4) Contextual Information:

4.1 Prior to the designation of the New Forest National Park in 2005 the New Forest Committee prepared a `Strategy for the New Forest' that was adopted as an interim guiding document for the NPA on designation as a new National Park. Since designation the NPA has been working towards the publication of its statutory National Park Plan.

4.2 The draft New Forest National Park Plan is a new kind of statutory document that combines and incorporates the Management Plan for the National Park with the LDF Core Strategy and Development Control Policies. As such, there are significant implications for the National Park in the approach to environmental, economic and social policy set out in this document.

4.3 Concurrently with the National Park Plan the National Park has published its draft Recreation Management Strategy. This is one of a suite of non-statutory supporting strategies to be produced over the next one to two years that will set out the practical steps towards implementation of the National Park Plan.

4.4 The Rural Delivery Task Group was charged with the responsibility for preparing the strategic response set out in this report. An officer consultation process has been undertaken, the results of which will inform a more detailed technical response to the NPA.

4.5 The report is structured under the following headings:

(i) overall response to the Plan;

(ii) the legislative and policy background to the Plan;

(iii) socio-economic issues, with reference to employment, housing and community facilities; and

(iv) Hampshire County Council's duties and responsibilities and the extent to which the Plan's objectives, targets and actions are compatible with the County Council's commitments.

5) Overall response to the National Park Plan and Recreation Management Strategy

5.1 The National Park Plan Management Plan, Local Development Framework Core Strategy and Development Control policies are closely aligned. Their presentation as a single document ensures that land management and land use planning are entirely integrated. However, the document would benefit from greater clarity as to which elements (sections and policies) of the Plan will formally constitute the `Development Plan' for the Park, once adopted.

5.2 The County Council has a wide range of statutory responsibilities for which they are accountable to Government. These responsibilities cannot be devolved or diluted in response to plans or strategies produced by other Authorities which do not have those responsibilities.

5.3 There are aspects of the Plan that accord with the County Council's own aspirations for rural Hampshire. However, the Plan does have a restrictive approach to future development that is regarded as potentially detrimental to the future sustainability of the National Park. The cost/benefit implications of policies limiting development have not been assessed, and this raises concerns that implementation of the policies will, over time, result in declining economic activity that is the driving force for positive management of the Park.

5.4 The commitments sought from the National Park Authority (NPA) to a range of highway-related objectives, actions and targets are unrealistic given the limit of available resources to Hampshire County Council and demands of other priorities. The restrictions on development present a major obstacle to the securing of developer contributions to fund improvements.

5.5 The policies for limited growth may also make it more difficult for the County Council to deliver its duties for provision of community facilities such as schools, health and emergency services and residential care homes.

5.6 Whilst the County Council welcomes initiatives for reducing the overall environmental footprint of the National Park, there is a lack of clarity about what is required from partners to meet challenging targets.

5.7 There is a general concern that policies are not rooted in evidence. The Plan states that the New Forest is the smallest of the National Parks and is the most densely populated, with over 34,000 residents. The general policy approach does not appear to recognise this unique combination, but instead applies policies for conservation and enhancement that are more appropriate to much larger and much less densely populated National Parks.

5.8 The particular interests of three major user groups, horse riders, cyclists and dog walkers, have become the focus of much attention. The Recreation Management Strategy refers to possible measures to manage these three groups. It is essential that any ideas are developed as a consequence of thorough research and maximum consultation with the people of the New Forest and that due regard is given to the potential impact in areas adjacent to the National Park.

5.9 It is important that the implications of specific policies are understood. For example, the relocation of recreational facilities and the targeting of growth in recreational activity to areas of the Park that are regarded as less sensitive could have impacts on the environment and on economic activity that are not yet recognised. A precautionary approach to such policies is needed.

5.10 It would be helpful to those not familiar with the structure of local authorities if the introductory section explained the roles and functions of the National Park Authority, the County Council, New Forest District Council and key agencies in the delivery of the National Park Plan and planning functions.

6) The legislative and policy framework

6.1 This section of the report summarises the legislation for the creation of National Parks and the purposes of designation. It also establishes the relationship between the National Park Plan and the South East Regional Plan, the Regional Economic Strategy and the recent `Taylor Report' into a Living, Working Countryside.

6.2 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, as amended by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, sets out the two purposes of designation. These purposes, which form the basis for the policy framework for all National Parks, can be summarised as follows:

(i) of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the areas; and

(ii) of promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of those areas by the public.

The Act also states that `A National Park Authority, in pursuing the purposes of designation, shall seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park.'

6.3 The Act goes on to qualify the purposes by stating that: `if it appears that there is a conflict between those purposes, [the National Park Authority] shall attach greater weight to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area comprised in the National Park.' (The `Sandford Principle'.)

6.4 In setting out its strategic policy position, the NPA states that `Land management and development proposals should enhance the two purposes of the New Forest National Park and must not detract from them.' The sub-text to the strategic policy states that: `where proposals would cause conflict between the two Purposes or the Special Qualities, greater weight will be given to the first purpose of conservation and enhancement and those special qualities relating to it.' The wording of the sub-text is similar to that of the Sandford Principle. However, it is not the Sandford Principle, which is intended to provide relevant authorities with a fall-back position in the event that there is found to be irreconcilable conflict between the two purposes of designation. The Principle is applied in cases where, for example, there is evidence that the promotion of recreation in a particular area would be harmful to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the National Park and that the conflict cannot be reconciled by good management. In the case of the New Forest National Park Plan, the similar wording to the Sandford Principle is used as a policy for controlling development and land management activities.

6.5 The South East Plan provides the framework for policy. It contains a specific policy for the National Park that addresses its environmental sensitivities and the need for support for communities and the economy, and establishes a very low figure for housing growth of 10 dwellings per year, restricted to affordable housing. This figure provides the justification for the housing policies in the National Park Plan.

6.6 SEEDA's Regional Economic Strategy establishes the principles of economic growth and competitiveness in the region, with sustainability underpinning future growth. Whilst the Plan states the importance of sustainability and economic viability, its policies are regarded as potentially detrimental to this objective.

6.7 `Living Working Countryside: the Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing' provides advice to Government on the way forward for our rural areas. The principles in the report are widely supported by officers of the County Council and establish an approach to rural planning that should be taken into account by the National Park Plan. The Plan reflects only partially the advice of the Taylor Report which stresses the importance of strong rural economies as the building block for sustainability.

6.8 The Hampshire Countryside Access Plans are statutory Rights of Way Improvement Plans. An Access Plan has been published for the New Forest and South West Hampshire, which should form the key reference for access management in the National Park Plan and Recreation Management Strategy. The Plan and Recreation Management Strategy broadly accord with the Countryside Access Plan.

7) Socio-economic issues

7.1 Issue 1. The restrictive nature of policies in the National Park Plan do not reflect fully the duty on the NPA to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities across the whole Park. Given the relatively small size of the National Park and the relatively high density of settlement, a greater degree of balance is required between the purposes of designation and the duty to foster the socio-economic needs of its communities.

7.2 It is proposed to limit future development largely to four `service villages', Ashurst, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst and Sway, and will comprise mainly affordable housing and employment development to meet `some local service needs'. In other rural settlements only `exceptions' may be permitted. . There are two key issues arising from this approach:

(i) the potential impact of the absence of policies for growth of employment on the economic viability of the National Park; and

(ii) the potential impact of the policies for development on local communities.

7.3 The Plan provides an overview of the underlying trends and issues for the socio-economic well-being of the Park, but does not embrace fully the economic policy framework that might help to address these key issues. While the vision looks forward to strong, dynamic, self-sufficient communities, the same vision for business growth is overly restricted to businesses with a direct connection to the National Park. The emphasis on the development of new green technologies, green tourism and the New Forest brand, whilst welcome, is considered too narrow to achieve the type of communities that are aspired to.

7.4 The desire to provide affordable housing, particularly in order to retain younger people, is welcome. However these young people are likely to need a broader range of higher earning jobs than those provided in the traditional land based economy and other rural businesses if they are to be attracted to stay in the area and able to afford the housing made available.

7.5 There are no policies in the Plan for the growth of employment other than through home working and development of redundant buildings. Indeed, there would seem to be policies that will detrimentally affect the future sustainability of existing businesses. This does not reflect the aspirations of the Regional Economic Strategy or the South East Plan which seek to increase economic activity in rural areas. In its recommended changes to the South East Plan policies for the New Forest, the Government states that:

'Proposals which support the economies and social well-being of the Park and its communities, including affordable housing schemes, will be encouraged provided that they do not conflict with the purposes for which the Park has been designated.'

The Plan does not apply this approach across the whole National Park.

7.6 The National Park Plan also identifies Lyndhurst as a `service village' although it is defined by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) as a Market Town. Its status should be made clear in the overview of the National Park and specific policies developed for the future of Lyndhurst as a market town, which are more enabling of growth than the policies in the Plan for service villages. SEEDA in its Regional Economic Strategy states one of its objectives in its Rural Action plan is for "more economically dynamic and socially inclusive villages and market towns" and aims to "improve their role as capitals of their surrounding area providing for enterprise development and improved service provision."

7.7 In `Living Working Countryside: the Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing' the report recommends to Government that planning policy should enable appropriate development in order to create sustainable communities and that strong rural economies are also crucial to the maintenance of attractive and diverse landscapes and natural environments. It recognises that affordable housing and diversity of employment are key to this. It also stresses the importance of evidence in developing policies for small rural settlements. The Plan does not reflect this thinking.

7.8 Many of the issues raised above would be addressed through a policy commitment to the preparation of an Economic Development Strategy for the National Park that takes full account of the special socio-economic characteristics of the Park. This is an exercise in which the County Council could contribute advice and expertise developed through many years of working with the New Forest business community and local authorities.

7.9 Issue 2. The `zero growth' approach to activity in the vast majority of the National Park through the zoning of activities and facilities, combined with the proposed relocation of activities and facilities, will impact on the economic viability of the Park. It also imposes additional pressures on the County Council's facilities at Lepe Country Park and the rural lanes leading to it, and the Calshot Activities Centre.

7.10 Zone 1 extends over the key nature conservation designations and the most tranquil areas of the Forest, mainly the Open Forest and Crown Lands. The policy approach here is to avoid increasing activity and to relocate facilities and activities to less sensitive areas. Such facilities have not been defined in full, but are understood to include some camping/caravanning sites. The economic implications of relocation in terms of compensation to owners, loss of local employment and impact on related businesses are not addressed.

7.11 Zone 2, the coast and coastal hinterland, has a similar approach to restricting activity, with Lepe Country Park and Calshot being identified as areas which are capable of absorbing recreational activity. These are facilities owned and managed by the County Council and its ability to respond to the National Park Plan and the costs that may arise from this is a matter for the Council to determine.

7.12 Zone 3 is described as less sensitive and comprises mainly fields, farmland and woodland on the margins of the National Park and around the service villages where any increase in the level of activity and relocation of facilities will be targeted. It is in these areas that the majority of the smaller settlements are located. The Plan recognises that the classification of this area as less sensitive is based on limited knowledge and research, and so the policies for the expansion of activity in this zone should be heavily qualified.

8) Hampshire County Council statutory duties and responsibilities

8.1 The County Council has a statutory duty with regard to highways, public transport, rights of way, minerals and waste, children's services and adult services. It has also been taking a lead in the consideration of issues relating to climate change in Hampshire. The Plan sets out a number of key policies in relation to these areas of work. Across the Plan, from high level objectives to specific actions and targets, the County Council is identified, either directly or by implication, as a partner or leader in the delivery of the Plan.

8.2 It is not intended to consider the detail of all these aspects of the Plan in this report. However, whilst the County Council may be supportive of many of the principles that the Plan espouses it cannot be a signatory to objectives, targets and actions that it does not have the resources or the mechanisms to deliver. These are addressed under the headings of:

(i) Highways and Transport (including Quality of Place)

(ii) Rights of Way

(iii) Minerals and Waste Planning

(iv) Waste and Resources Planning

(v) Public Service provision and improvement

(vi) Climate change

Highways and Transport

8.3 Issue 3. The priorities for the NPA in relation to highway and transport matters are not in accord with those being set at a national level and are in contradiction to the County Council's own policies for which we have a statutory responsibility. This will have a severe impact on the availability of the County Council's resources to deliver the targets and actions in the National Park Plan.

8.4 Issue 4. Limitations on opportunities for development will in turn limit the availability of developer contributions to support highway network and transport objectives in the Plan.

8.5 The Plan contains many references to highway and transport matters, ranging across topics including settlement enhancement schemes, extending areas of high tranquillity, reducing street lighting, undertaking research and feasibility studies, maintenance and management of the highway and reducing the carbon footprint of the Park.

8.6 The County Council has a long history of working collaboratively with partners over highway and transport matters in the New Forest. Maintenance of the highway in the National Park is carried out in close consultation with statutory bodies, including Natural England, and a protocol is in place to enable routine operations to be carried out in an agreed manner and without the need for extensive and time-consuming consultation.

8.7 There are two key issues for transport planning: the availability of funding; and alignment with emerging Department for Transport (DfT) policy for sustainable transport. The County Council's priorities will be influenced by the emerging government policy on sustainable transport and the thrust of the emerging Transport Green Paper, which places an emphasis on enabling economic growth through tackling congestion. External funding is likely to be focused on this objective and enabling the delivery of housing.

8.8 Limitations on development in the National Park will severely restrict the availability of developer contributions to enable highway improvements, or to achieve the enhancements to whole villages envisaged in the Plan. The County's transport policy objectives are to:

(i) increase accessibility to services

(ii) promote safety

(iii) reduce the impact and effect of congestion

(iv) widen travel choice

(v) contribute towards improvements in air quality

(vi) support wider quality of life objectives

(vii) encourage value for money and efficient asset management.

Any scheme pursued by the County Council will need to accord with one or more of these objectives.

8.9 The County Council's policy on road pricing, seasonal road closures and demand management measures is very clear and is unlikely to be changed in any way in the foreseeable future. The proposals being made would be locally unpopular, would increase pressure on other parts of the network, exacerbating rather than relieving problems. The County Council categorically rejects road pricing.

8.10 The County Council's policy on demand management measures was initially set out in the New Forest Transport Strategy (October 2003). While it was thought then that some form of road pricing may be considered, the County Council had at the time, no plans to do no more than investigate its relevance to the New Forest. No investigation or measures were ever promulgated. The Statement of Intent at the beginning of this report is the policy of the Cabinet in this regard, which will be submitted to the Council.

8.11 The Council is able to respond positively to proposed measures for speed reduction and addressing sign clutter through the Village 30 initiative and associated treatments. In response to proposals for a road hierarchy, this was established in the original New Forest Strategy introduced in the mid 1990s which sets out a road hierarchy that recognises the special nature of the Park and the needs of both local traffic and visitor traffic. This approach was reinforced by the designated signing of local and strategic traffic routes. Zones controlling heavy lorry routes in the north of the National Park have recently been introduced. The County Council will endeavour to work with partners to review the road hierarchy to see what opportunities exist to help ensure that the network is appropriate for the traffic usage.

8.12 The County Council is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and is currently investigating a variety of options that will allow it meet the targets set by the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment. As part of the Street Lighting PFI, controls will be introduced to trim lighting hours and limit the intensity of lighting onto the highway. However any such changes must be made taking into account the role street lighting plays in helping to reduce night time accidents, crime and the fear of crime.

Access, Rights of Way and Recreation

8.13 Issue 5. The approach to recreation management is welcomed in principle, but must be subject to a rigorous assessment of the social and economic costs/benefits of the policy approach.

8.14 Much of what the NPA is seeking to achieve through its National Park Plan and Recreation Management Strategy accords with the County Council's own approach to access management. The Plan and Strategy are in close accord with the statutory New Forest and South Hampshire Countryside Access Plan, although it is disappointing that the extensive partnership working that informed the Access Plan is not given greater prominence. The Countryside Access Plan was formulated in collaboration with the Local Access Forum and provides an excellent example of the way that consultation and local knowledge can contribute to a strategy that is widely endorsed. There needs to be greater recognition that policies will have impacts on social and economic dimensions, and analysis of the social and economic cost/benefit of measures proposed under the priority objectives undertaken to ensure that they are reasonable and realistic.

8.15 The County Council is particularly concerned about the references in the Recreation Management Strategy to measures for the management of the impacts of cycling, dog walking and horse riding. It is essential that such measures are developed as a consequence of thorough research and maximum consultation with the people of the New Forest, and are the subject of pilot studies before being developed more widely. It is also important that any Strategy must pay due regard to the potential impact it may have in areas adjacent to the National Park. The County Council has undertaken a considerable amount of work relating to dog walking, including research and events designed to promote more responsible behaviour, the experience and findings from which are transferable to the New Forest to inform an approach to management. Examples can be found in other areas of a collaborative approach to policy development. In the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) a study into the environmental, social and economic characteristics of the horse racing industry was undertaken in partnership with the industry and is leading to the development of policies in the AONB Management Plan. Kent Downs AONB and Surrey County Council have provided advice and guidance on horse pasture management, again in consultation with interest groups.

8.16 An area that particularly needs strengthening in the Plan is the reference to education. A Group led by the National Park's Education Officer has already established a sound base for communication amongst education providers in the area including the outdoor centres and education centres. This partnership approach to providing education in the Forest can help deliver against some of the priority areas in the Plan, particularly towards engaging young people.

Minerals and Waste Planning

8.17 Issue 6. The extent of degradation as a result of minerals working is overstated in the Plan and does not recognise the measures taken by the County Council to ensure that appropriate restoration is undertaken.

8.18 It is stated in the Plan that mineral workings, along with intensive crop production, softwood forestry, drainage schemes and coastal defences are "relatively recent large-scale changes in management" undermining the characteristic landscapes of the New Forest. Mineral workings take up only a small area of the National Park and the restoration plans for sites involve restoration to landscapes appropriate to and characteristic of the New Forest.

8.19 The County Council is in a position to respond positively to the policy to encourage the provision of "honeypot" sites through the restoration and after-use of mineral workings, for example those in the Avon Valley. This potential can be recognised when proposals for mineral working in suitable areas is first promoted either through the Minerals and Waste Development Framework process or through the development control process.

8.20 Traditionally land in the Avon Valley has been used for supplementary grazing for back-up land. If there is a need for provision outside the National Park to meet objectives of increased availability for grazing, this could be promoted through the joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan Local Development Framework. It would be helpful if the New Forest National Park Authority were able to quantify the scale and location of need.

Waste and Resources Planning

8.20 Issue 7. The restrictive policies for development will impact on the County Council's abilities to deliver sustainable solutions for the management of waste and material resources as set out in the Materials Resources Strategy. The policies run counter to the NPA's stated objective of reducing its environmental footprint.

8.21 Delivery of the Materials Resources Strategy relies upon the ability to develop facilities for the handling and processing of waste materials. These include facilities such as household waste recycling centres, energy from waste plants and waste transfer stations. The references in the Plan to limitations on the scale of development may prove detrimental to the delivery of sustainable solutions to waste resources, where scale of development is not the only determining factor. The County Council is in a position to help towards the delivery of the NPA's challenging objectives for sustainability through provision of appropriate facilities and infrastructure.

Public Service Provision and Improvement

8.22 Issue 8. The restrictions on development will impact on the County Council's ability to deliver the development and rationalisation needs of schools, older persons' homes and other public service/ front of house provision.

8.23 The delivery of the County Council's statutory duties for children and adults, as well as for emergency and other services, needs to be able to respond flexibly to changing demands and pressures. This often requires rationalisation and/or development, which the Plan discourages through its policies. Such works are often enabled by capital receipts obtained from disposal of the Council's estate as a result of rationalisation, but development restrictions will limit the potential for re-development of land.

8.24 The County Council has set up a commission of inquiry to inform a review of how services for those in need of support and care are delivered. It will be particularly important that, with a growing elderly population, the needs of the communities of the New Forest can be met in the long term, through innovative new forms of extra care housing provided by the private sector. The County Council will work closely with the NPA to ensure that standards of public service provision continue to improve, whilst recognising the environmental and financial constraints that need to be taken into account.

Climate change

8.25 Issue 9. The National Park Plan sets a specific and challenging target for reducing the environmental footprint of the Park. Whilst such aspirations are welcome, there is a lack of clarity about the individual activities that would deliver this and the implications of this for the Council.

8.26 The County Council's Climate Change Commission has identified a series of actions to address climate change in Hampshire. The County Council is committed to carbon reduction targets in its Local Area Agreement that reflect national targets, and these apply equally to the New Forest National Park. However, the `environmental footprint' target, although addressed under the heading of Climate Change, will require actions across a range of topics for its delivery. For example, the target will rely in part on measures related to highways and transport for delivery. Given the comments above relating to highways and transport issues and the uncertainty of the measures needed to achieve the target, the County Council could not commit itself to such a target.

8.27 The Plan makes reference to the issue of sea level rise and the need to respond to the impacts of this. However, there is no reference to the mechanisms and partnerships that are in place to achieve the NPA's objectives. The policies for coast would be strengthened by reference to the Solent Forum and West Solent Shoreline Management Plan.

9) Conclusions:

9.1 The New Forest National Park Plan and Recreation Management Strategy provide a framework for the delivery of the NPA's duties for the conservation and enhancement of the Park. However, its policies have a potentially serious detrimental impact on the socio-economic well-being of the Park, and requires commitments from the County Council that it does not have the resources to deliver or that do not reflect the County Council's own priorities. The County Council can make a positive contribution to the achievement of the NPA's objectives in many areas, within the constraints of its own priorities and availability of resources.

10) Recommendations:

10.1 Please see the Executive Summary for the recommendations.

1785Decn/296/DC