Our current spatial strategy

Our existing Local Plan (2016 - 2036) sets out a spatial strategy for the area which outlines how development is distributed across the area for at least 10,420 dwellings. This is set out in policy STR5.

The existing Plan also acknowledged the role of good quality design principles in helping to shape places. The current spatial strategy is design, landscape and environment-focused, aiming to address the key issues under the following themes:

• protect and enhance the special character and environment of the New Forest
• provide more homes for local people
• support local businesses to prosper for the benefit of the community
• promote the safety and wellbeing of people who live and work within the area.

The existing Plan identifies where growth will take place within the Waterside, the South Coastal towns and the Avon Valley with strategic sites allocated around the Plan Area as follows:

• Waterside - 3,230 dwellings
• South Coastal Towns - 945 dwellings
• Avon Valley and Downlands - 1,820 dwellings.

The current spatial strategy locates development in accessible locations that help to sustain the vitality and viability of the towns and villages. It includes a settlement hierarchy based around towns, main villages, and small rural villages.

The current Plan promotes sustainable economic growth by retaining and supporting existing business sectors and safeguarding opportunities for future employment and business development. The strategy for economic growth reflected that the observed unemployment rates in the Plan Area were generally low at the time of preparing the Plan, and that with an ageing population the working age population, was not forecast to increase significantly across the Plan period.