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The New Forest Interim Mitigation Solution was approved by the Council in December 2021 to meet the requirements of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations – which set out how local planning authorities handle planning applications that have potential to impact on wildlife sites.
By law, consent cannot be granted for a development which would, on its own or in combination with other developments, be likely to have a significant effect on designated habitat sites, unless full mitigation is provided.
Following research undertaken by a group of authorities regarding the recreational impacts on the New Forest SPA/SAC/Ramsar, Natural England advised that the Council work in close collaboration with other affected local authorities within and surrounding the New Forest designated sites to develop a strategic, cross-boundary approach to habitat.
In advance of such a strategy being agreed and adopted, Natural England advised the Council to implement a suitable interim mitigation solution.
The Interim Solution can be found here.
Housebuilders can provide mitigation themselves but, in many cases, developers choose to meet this requirement by making a financial contribution which is paid to the Council.
Expressed as a cost per household that equates to £247.05 per net new house (as at December 2021).
This figure is subject to indexation and will be revised on the 6 April each year in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI), with April 2021 being the base year.
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