New Forest National Park Authority Local Plan Regulation 19
2.
Profile of the New Forest
2.1.
The local communities within the National Park are continually changing and adapting to modern life, but remarkably the Forest has largely escaped the effects brought about elsewhere by large scale development and intensive agriculture. This includes Commoners – holders of ancient rights that allow their livestock (mainly ponies, cattle, donkeys and pigs) to roam freely across the Open Forest. The villages retain their local character and distinctiveness and the medieval landscape of the ‘Nova Foresta’ – William the Conqueror’s royal hunting forest – is still apparent. Today the National Park attracts large numbers of visitors each year, who come to enjoy the peace and quiet, wandering livestock, natural beauty and wildlife of one of the last ancient, unspoilt and open landscapes in England. Area and population
2.2.
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The New Forest National Park covers 567 square kilometres (220 square miles). In 2022 the National Park had a population of 34,931 people1 and with around New Forest Housing Needs Assessment, Iceni (2025)
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