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New Forest National Park Inquiry

Terms of Reference for the Inquiry

The terms of reference for the inquiry, set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) are:

Proposed New Forest National Park

1. The Secretary of State has announced that a local inquiry will be held to hear objections and representations made to the New Forest National Park (Designation) Order 2002. The inquiry is likely to open in October this year.

2. The objections made to the Order include several from local authorities. If these are not withdrawn, paragraph 2(2)(a) of the First Schedule to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 requires an inquiry be held.

3. As set out below, the inquiry will address issues about the land within the proposed boundary of the National Park and the separate but related issue of the establishment and operation of a New Forest National Park Authority.

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

The land within the proposed boundary of the National Park

4. The questions to be addressed in relation to the land are:

(i) Does the area as a whole enclosed within the proposed boundary meet the criteria and purposes of designation as a National Park set out in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

The criteria for National Parks are that they should be extensive tracts of country which it appears to the Countryside Agency that by reason of:

(a) their natural beauty;

(b) the opportunities they afford for open-air recreation, having regard both to their character and to their position in relation to centres of population;

it is especially desirable that the necessary measures shall be taken for the purposes set out beneath.
National Parks are designated for the purposes of:

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

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

(ii) Should the boundary be altered to include or exclude any areas specifically referred to by objectors to the Order, bearing in mind the criteria and purposes of designation.

5. The above should be regarded as the Secretary of State's statement of matters which she considers relevant to her consideration of the Order at the inquiry.

Environment Act 1995

The establishment and operation of a New Forest National Park Authority

6. The question here is:

(iii) Is a National Park Authority appropriate in the New Forest and, if so, how might it best be established and operate?

The designation of a National Park under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 raises the separate but related issue of appropriate management and administration measures. In the case of all existing National Parks these are provided for by a National Park Authority established under the
Environment Act 1995. The Secretary of State has decided that it would be helpful for the inquiry into the Designation Order to be extended to consider representations into management and administration measures, including the Countryside Agency's
advice on how a National Park Authority might operate to recognise the special characteristics of the New Forest.

7. We have asked the Planning Inspectorate to organise and manage the inquiry on our behalf. They will be the point of contact for all questions about the inquiry process.

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