New Forest National Park Authority makes Article 4 Direction on pop-up campsites

NEW planning rules which could allow temporary campsites to pop up across the New Forest for two months every summer have been halted by the national park authority.

In a move which it says will protect local communities and the environment of the New Forest, the NPA has today (Friday) made an Article 4 Direction which means campsite operators must continue to seek planning permission if they want to open for more than 28 days a year.

Elsewhere, new national ‘permitted development rights’ introduced by the government this summer, allows pop-up campsites to operate for 60 days a year without planning permission.

Planning authorities such as the New Forest NPA have the option to make an ‘Article 4 Direction’ which means proposals can’t be carried out under national permitted development rights and instead require a planning application. This means in environmentally sensitive locations like the New Forest, schemes can be considered in more detail and have planning conditions attached.

In 2022, the NPA made an Article 4 Directive in response to concerns around the number of temporary campsites operating in the area following the pandemic. Now the authority has made a further direction, with immediate effect, meaning ‘pop-up’ campsites that open for more than 28 days and were first created after March 2020, will need to apply for planning permission to operate.

The NPA has pledged to produce updated guidance to help inform future planning applications for temporary campsites.

NPA planning committee chair Gordon Bailey said: “The New Forest is already one of the most visited national parks in England and has the highest proportion of land designated as internationally important for nature conservation in the country. It’s therefore vital we protect the very thing that people come to enjoy.”

“Holiday parks and campsites are already well provided for in the national park, and the new Article 4 Direction will help prevent negative impacts and pressures on our communities, protected habitats, wildlife and landscapes.”

The new Article 4 Direction comes into force today and applies to the whole of the New Forest national park. However, the public have a chance to comment on the new direction before 1st December 2023.

To comment visit www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/Article4 or write to the NPA Policy Manager at Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9ZG.