New Forest Notes: A thicket of permissions for people using the New Forest

Even more clarification and update is promised in the near future, but the processes involved remain difficult to understand and are in some cases illogical.

I became interested in the new “regulations” when I was approached by the secretary of a small local charity of which I am a member.

He had wanted to arrange an educational walk in the Forest for a handful of (mostly elderly) members and was horrified to discover from the FE website that this would need formal permission and that an administrative charge of £75 plus VAT would be made, together with an unspecified event fee.

Clearly this would have acted as an effective ban on such use of the Forest and I am glad that FE has now amended its website to make it clear that this form of charitable “recreation” will be exempt from charges, along with small scientific studies.

However, permission must still be applied for and is subject to all sorts of restraints and a minimum of eight weeks’ processing time, together with endless paperwork, including a risk assessment, preparation of a volunteer and safeguarding policy and evidence of insurance.

For an event comprising a dozen people walking in the Forest for a couple of hours, this is quite enough deterrent to prevent it from happening, even after the waiving of the charges.

Such restrictions (and charges) are entirely appropriate for an entertainment of any size, for example, a fun run with 100 participants, but are they really essential for 12 quiet local adults walking peacefully through the Forest?

In the days when I did quite a lot of further education lecturing, I would often lead such groups, especially in the springtime when the Forest is at its most beautiful.

Today, I imagine, that would be resisted on the grounds that it is peak nesting season.

However, if Joe Smith with his wife, four children and two dogs decides he wants to spend a cheerful and active May day roaming through the depths of the Forest, he is there by right and with no need for permission, paperwork, route directives or any other controls.

He must, of course, observe the byelaws. His perfectly legal family outing will, unwittingly, cause 10 times more disturbance than the walk intended by my secretary friend.

I have encountered a similar problem over permission for “scientific research”, having been told by one officer that this cannot be undertaken without permission and that all findings must be made available to FE and its agents.

I think that this hard line too may be softening a little since I raised concerns.

If I choose to study something (say, the rate of decay of fallen oakleaves or some such obscure subject) and I do this with a couple of friends, I maintain that it is no business of Forestry England’s and that my pursuit of this form of “recreation” is as much a legal right as Smith’s family outing.

I do no more than walk quietly through the Forest looking at the ground and taking a few photos.

Of course, if I want to collect quantities of fallen oak twigs or dig up buckets full of leaf mould, I need consent and would no doubt be happy to send in a copy of my eventual 100-page thesis.

Perhaps FE should adopt a much more flexible approach to these matters, not pursuing perfectly lawful and quiet small-scale users of the Forest, while at the same time clamping down on blatantly illegal recreational activities which are causing untold damage and which Queen’s House seems largely to ignore.

Acres Down and Wood Crates tree felling

Forestry England, as part of its open Forest management activities, intends to remove a large number of mature Scots pine trees from within and on the margins of about 80 acres of ancient ornamental woodland on the outskirts of Lyndhurst.

It is, I think, simply a box-ticking exercise, since none of the trees to be taken is adversely affecting the woodland and there is virtually no spread of seedlings onto the adjoining heath.

Many of the trees neither contribute nor detract from the beauty of the woods, but there are certainly some which make a real contribution to the landscape and the character of the woodland.

The arguments were brought into sharp focus during a recent site meeting for representatives of interested groups. There was, for the first time over recent projects, a good deal of disagreement. The promoters of the scheme and ecological enthusiasts were in favour of widespread removal, while those who value the Forest for other reasons wished to see the retention of some of the more attractive trees and clumps.

In the end an uneasy compromise was reached in which nobody really got what they wanted.

Now the doomed trees are being marked with fluorescent pink dots, although felling and extraction will not take place until after the nesting season.

Those members of the public who are interested will be able to make their own assessment over the summer by walking through the woods from James’s Hill near Emery Down, along the edge of Broom Hill and through to Millyford.

The one thing we can be reasonably hopeful about is that FE will clear up properly after the work. Its last felling adventure in these woods resulted in tree trunks and cut branches being left about all over the place and the debris will no doubt take a decade or more to rot down.

The photograph illustrates one such dumping area at Broom Hill. I don’t think they will get away with it so easily this time.

Pop-up camps and trailing cables

The open Forest campsites are back in business and, to judge from appearances, doing a roaring trade.

At one of them (Denny Wood) a large array of solar panels has appeared on a stand together with a generator, with trailing cables serving a nearby caravan and the warden’s hut. Several commoners, concerned as to the possible dangers to livestock, contacted the verderers and

the matter is being investigated.

It was long ago ruled that electric “hook ups” were unacceptable on the open Forest which, by definition, is available to grazing livestock as well as campers. Such equipment was permitted within enclosed land inaccessible to stock.

Of course, this form of electricity generation is “green”, if extremely ugly and illicitly installed. If permitted here, it is likely to spread widely throughout the Forest’s camping grounds.

I am told that the cables are less dangerous than those running from the mains supply, but they still provide opportunities for livestock to become tangled up.

As to off-Forest camping, the national park has introduced new restrictions on so-called “pop-up campsites”, making it necessary to obtain planning permission for new sites. The precise wording of the order is a little convoluted, but it should restrain the worst excesses which have plagued the area over the last two years.

I live in a village which has suffered particularly badly from drunks, rowdy behaviour and trespass from one of these sites and I have many desperate neighbours who will welcome the planners’ intervention on their behalf.

A delayed birthday party and retirement tribute

The afternoon of the April Verderers’ Court meeting saw an event which is probably unique in the history of the old courtroom. The long-serving member Dionis Macnair retired in 2020 and the planned tribute in recognition of her work for the Forest (combined with a notable birthday) was abandoned because of covid restrictions.

Last month, however, with the risks deemed to have declined and the legal controls removed, the event was reinstated.

I don’t think I have ever seen the courtroom so filled with dignitaries. In addition to the present Official Verderer, there were two former holders of that office and leading figures from all the Forest societies and the commoners’ community.

Most important of all, the recipient of the tribute, Dionis herself, seemed to have survived the difficulties of the last few months in remarkably good form and is evidently thriving on retirement.

I am sure that all my colleagues on the court share my hope that this will long continue.