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New Forest: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

New Forest District Council: Non-metropolitan district (lower tier), England, South East; within the county of HAM. GOV.UK lists it as a district council, within Hampshire County Council. ONS code E07000091.

Council website

Do it online

The council’s own service pages as listed by GOV.UK’s Local Links Manager (Open Government Licence), refreshed weekly; the same list of everyday services, in the same order, for every council, in GOV.UK’s wording.

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by New Forest for 2026–27: £211.92 of a £2,419.76 total bill in the area. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools in this area recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

No school here is currently recorded as proposed to open or close.

In the last twelve months: 3 opened (2 new provision, 1 academy converter), 4 closed (2 result of amalgamation/merger, 1 closure, 1 academy converter)

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as New Forest reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

New Forest: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
ServiceBudget
Education servicesnone budgeted
Highways and transport services−£2.6 million
Children's social carenone budgeted
Adult social carenone budgeted
Public healthnone budgeted
Housing services (general fund only)£4.0 million
Cultural and related services£758,000
Environmental and regulatory services£17.1 million
Planning and development services£3.1 million
Police servicesnone budgeted
Fire and rescue servicesnone budgeted
Central services£7.3 million
Other services−£772,000
Total service expenditure£28.9 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

New Forest in numbers

Official statistics for the whole council area. Each figure is the latest published, with the period it covers.

Total population
176,116 people 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMid-year estimate of the total number of people
Median age
52 years 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMedian age of people
Gross disposable household income per head
£30,441 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage income per person (£) after taxes and direct benefits
Gross median weekly pay
£613 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsGross median weekly pay based on where people live (£)
Children in relative poverty after housing costs
20.4% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsPercentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low income families After Housing Costs (AHC)
Claimant Count
2.3% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsPercentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are claiming unemployment-related benefits
Average house price
£384,977 July 2026 · HM Land RegistryAverage monthly price of a property (£)
Housing affordability ratio (residence-based)
9.9 affordability ratio 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsRatio of median house price to median gross annual residence-based earnings
Greenhouse gas emissions
4.2 tCO2e per capita 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e) per capita
Gigabit capable broadband
77.4% 1 January 2026 · OfcomPercentage of premises that have coverage from a gigabit-capable service (download speeds of 1,000 Mbps or more)
Public electric vehicle chargers
176.6 per 100,000 population 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublicly available electric vehicle chargers at all speeds per 100,000 people
Active businesses
8,090 number of enterprises 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with turnover or employment in current year

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

48 seats in 2026. Run by: Conservatives, as a minority administration. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Conservative and Unionist 24, Liberal Democrats 14, Independent / Other 5, Green Party (E&W) 2, Reform UK 2, Labour Party 1.

Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.

All 48 councillors, by ward
  • Geoffrey Blunden (Conservative and Unionist) — Ashley, Bashley & Fernhill
  • Jill Cleary (Conservative and Unionist) — Ashley, Bashley & Fernhill
  • Derek Tipp (Conservative and Unionist) — Ashurst, Bramshaw, Copythorne & Netley Marsh
  • Joe Reilly (Independent / Other) — Ashurst, Bramshaw, Copythorne & Netley Marsh
  • Neil Tungate (Conservative and Unionist) — Ballard
  • Alan O'Sullivan (Conservative and Unionist) — Barton & Becton
  • John Adams (Conservative and Unionist) — Barton & Becton
  • Nigel Linford (Independent / Other) — Bransgore, Burley, Sopley & Ringwood East
  • Richard Frampton (Conservative and Unionist) — Bransgore, Burley, Sopley & Ringwood East
  • Adam Parker (Green Party (E&W)) — Brockenhurst & Denny Lodge
  • Malcolm Wade (Liberal Democrats) — Dibden & Dibden Purlieu
  • Stephanie Osborne (Liberal Democrats) — Dibden & Dibden Purlieu
  • Janet Richards (Green Party (E&W)) — Downlands & Forest North
  • Alan Alvey (Conservative and Unionist) — Fawley, Blackfield, Calshot & Langley
  • Matthew Hartmann (Conservative and Unionist) — Fawley, Blackfield, Calshot & Langley
  • David Millar (Liberal Democrats) — Fordingbridge, Godshill & Hyde
  • Phil Woods (Liberal Democrats) — Fordingbridge, Godshill & Hyde
  • Dan Poole (Conservative and Unionist) — Forest & Solent
  • Allan Glass (Conservative and Unionist) — Hardley, Holbury & North Blackfield
  • Peter Armstrong (Independent / Other) — Hardley, Holbury & North Blackfield
  • Alex Wade (Liberal Democrats) — Hythe Central
  • Philip Dowd (Liberal Democrats) — Hythe Central
  • Mark Clark (Liberal Democrats) — Hythe South
  • Sean Cullen (Liberal Democrats) — Hythe South
  • Barry Dunning (Reform UK) — Lymington
  • Jacqui England (Independent / Other) — Lymington
  • Hilary Brand (Liberal Democrats) — Lyndhurst & Minstead
  • Patrick Mballa (Liberal Democrats) — Marchwood & Eling
  • Richard Young (Reform UK) — Marchwood & Eling
  • Alvin Reid (Conservative and Unionist) — Milford & Hordle
  • Christine Ward (Conservative and Unionist) — Milford & Hordle
  • David Hawkins (Conservative and Unionist) — Milford & Hordle
  • Steve Clarke (Conservative and Unionist) — Milton
  • Steve Davies (Conservative and Unionist) — Milton
  • Colm McCarthy (Liberal Democrats) — Pennington
  • Jack Davies (Liberal Democrats) — Pennington
  • John Haywood (Labour Party) — Ringwood North & Ellingham
  • Michael Thierry (Independent / Other) — Ringwood North & Ellingham
  • Jeremy Heron (Conservative and Unionist) — Ringwood South
  • Steve Rippon-Swaine (Conservative and Unionist) — Ringwood South
  • Barry Rickman (Conservative and Unionist) — Sway
  • Ian Murray (Conservative and Unionist) — Totton Central
  • John Sleep (Conservative and Unionist) — Totton Central
  • Dave Penny (Conservative and Unionist) — Totton North
  • Kate Crisell (Conservative and Unionist) — Totton North
  • Neville Penman (Conservative and Unionist) — Totton North
  • Caroline Rackham (Liberal Democrats) — Totton South
  • David Harrison (Liberal Democrats) — Totton South

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.