Planning permission in New Forest
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in New Forest. The rules are stricter in its 22 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.
New Forest at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 22
- Article 4 areas
- 10
- Protected landscapes
- New Forest, Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
- Planning decisions
- New Forest District Council
How many conservation areas are there in New Forest?
New Forest has 22 conservation areas. In a conservation area, permitted development rights are reduced: side extensions, two-storey extensions, loft dormers and cladding all need planning permission, and many councils add Article 4 directions on top.
- Bickton
- Breamore
- Buckland
- Damerham
- Eling
- Fordingbridge
- Hanger Farm
- Harbridge
- Hazel Farm
- Hythe
- Ibsley
- Kings Saltern
- Lymington
- Martin
- Milford-on-Sea
- Old Milton Green
- Ringwood
- Rockbourne
- Royal Naval Armaments Depot (Marchwood (R.N.A.D.))
- Sopley
- Western Escarpment
- Whitsbury
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does New Forest have Article 4 directions?
New Forest has published 10 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.
The rights they remove most often:
- Walls, fences and gates (Part 2 Class A, in 3 of the areas)
- Part 4 Class B (Part 4 Class B, in 3 of the areas)
- New access onto a road (Part 2 Class B, in 2 of the areas)
- Part 6 Class A (Part 6 Class A, in 1 of the areas)
- Part 4 Class BA (Part 4 Class BA, in 1 of the areas)
- Part 4 Class BC (Part 4 Class BC, in 1 of the areas)
4 of the published areas don't say which rights they remove. Our checker tells people at those addresses to check with the council.
Directions listed by New Forest:
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION 97/1
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION 97/2
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION 97/3
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION 97/5
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION 97/6
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION MARL/PUDDLE
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP 12/002
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP 12/002#2
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP NEW FOREST CAMPSITE
- ARTICLE 4 DIRECTION NP NEW FOREST RECREATIONAL CAMPSITE
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of New Forest in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- National park in or bordering New Forest: New Forest.
- National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering New Forest: Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs.
- There is green belt in or bordering New Forest. Householder permitted development rights apply as normal in the green belt, but if you need planning permission, green belt policy limits how much a home can be enlarged.
National parks and National Landscapes restrict permitted development in similar ways to conservation areas. Read more: extensions, loft dormers and garden rooms.
Listed buildings and protected trees in New Forest
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. New Forest also publishes 916 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.
New Forest publishes its tree preservation orders (8,312 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.
What planning data does New Forest publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 22 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Published | 10 |
| Listed building outlines | Published | 916 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Published | 1,610 |
| Protected trees | Published | 6,702 |
Planning work on a home in New Forest? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
Start a checkOther councils in South East
- Adur
- Arun
- Ashford
- Basingstoke and Deane
- Bracknell Forest
- Brighton and Hove
- Buckinghamshire
- Canterbury
- Cherwell
- Chichester
- Crawley
- Dartford
- Dover
- East Hampshire
- Eastbourne
- Eastleigh
- Elmbridge
- Epsom and Ewell
- Fareham
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Gosport
- Gravesham
- Guildford
- Hart
- Hastings
- Havant
- Horsham
- Isle of Wight
- Lewes
- Maidstone
- Medway
- Mid Sussex
- Milton Keynes
- Mole Valley
- Oxford
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Reigate and Banstead
- Rother
- Runnymede
- Rushmoor
- Sevenoaks
- Slough
- South Oxfordshire
- Southampton
- Spelthorne
- Surrey Heath
- Swale
- Tandridge
- Test Valley
- Thanet
- Tonbridge and Malling
- Tunbridge Wells
- Vale of White Horse
- Waverley
- Wealden
- West Berkshire
- West Oxfordshire
- Winchester
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- Woking
- Wokingham
- Worthing
Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by New Forest District Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. New Forest District Council website.