Tree Surveys & TPO Advice in the New Forest National Park

If your property sits within the New Forest National Park boundary, tree work and planning matters are handled differently to the rest of Hampshire — and getting this wrong is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes homeowners and developers make.

The New Forest National Park Authority, not the district council

Many people assume their local district council — New Forest District Council (NFDC) — handles all planning matters in the area. Inside the National Park boundary, that’s not the case. The New Forest National Park Authority (NFNPA) is the planning authority for the whole of the park, including tree work, Tree Preservation Order (TPO) applications, and Conservation Area consent.

This means:

  • Applications for tree work, planning permission, and TPO consent within the park go to the NFNPA, not NFDC.
  • The application process, forms, and decision timescales are set by the NFNPA.
  • Advice or precedent from an NFDC application elsewhere may not apply if your property is inside the park.

If you’re unsure which authority covers your property, we can check this for you as part of any survey or report we produce.

Two layers of protection can apply at once

The New Forest has 20 conservation areas within the park, and it’s common for a property to fall inside both a Conservation Area and have one or more individual Tree Preservation Orders on site. Each comes with its own rules:

  • Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) protect specific, named trees (or groups/woodlands), identified individually on a schedule with a map reference — you’ll need to check whether your tree is specifically listed.
  • Conservation Area status requires you to notify the NFNPA before work on any tree with a trunk diameter over 75mm (measured at 1.5m height), even without an individual TPO.

It’s entirely possible to need consent under both categories for the same tree — something that’s easy to miss without a proper check.

Why this matters for planning applications

The New Forest is nationally significant for its ancient and veteran trees, and this is treated as a material planning consideration — meaning tree impact can carry more weight here than in a typical Hampshire planning application. If you’re applying for an extension, new build, or any development within the park, a properly prepared BS5837 tree survey isn’t just good practice — it’s often essential to avoid delays or refusal.

Getting the application right first time

A few things the NFNPA specifically looks for in tree work applications:

  • Clear, specific descriptions of proposed works — vague terms like “lop” or “trim” are likely to cause delays or be queried
  • Accurate identification of the tree(s) against the relevant TPO schedule
  • Supporting evidence where works are proposed due to condition, subsidence, or structural concerns

Decisions are typically made within six to eight weeks, with a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if that timescale is exceeded — but incomplete or poorly evidenced applications are the most common cause of delay in the first place.

Local knowledge, done properly

We regularly work with homeowners, architects, and developers across the New Forest National Park — including Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, Sway, Beaulieu, Lymington, Fordingbridge, and the surrounding villages — and understand exactly how NFNPA applications differ from NFDC ones. Whether you need a BS5837 survey for a planning application, TPO consent for tree work, or advice on a property with overlapping Conservation Area and TPO status, we’ll make sure your application is prepared correctly the first time.

Get in touch for a free quote on tree surveys and TPO advice within the New Forest National Park.