The New Forest District Council is scheduled to meet on 13 October 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including market supplement payments, a report from the cabinet, and a motion concerning government housing targets. Attendees will also consider the readoption of the Christchurch Bay & Harbour Flood Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy, and the adoption of the Air Quality Strategy. The meeting will be held at the Council Chamber in Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

Local Government Reorganisation and Public Assets

Councillor Alex Wade is scheduled to propose a motion concerning the government's agenda to encourage councils to build more homes and reform the planning system. The motion notes that the New Forest District faces challenges in providing affordable housing due to limited space within the New Forest National Park. It also highlights that the council is required to use the standard method housing need figure, which currently stands at 1,511 dwellings per annum.

The motion recommends that the Leader of the Council write to relevant government ministers and local Members of Parliament requesting that the government consider a proposal where any sale of a public asset is offered to a fellow public body first, rather than necessarily to the highest bidder from the private sector. It also recommends that the council engages with the LGA¹ to seek wider support for a campaign that allows public assets to be maintained for the wider community benefit and not sold off solely for profit.

New Waste Collection Service

The council is scheduled to discuss the review of the new waste collection service, following the Extraordinary Council meeting held on 28 August 2025, where concerns were raised about the initial rollout. The discussion will likely cover the contents of the report to inform its debate, and then recommendations to Cabinet to support the actions of the motion outlined at agenda item 3, with a recommendation to the Council to that effect in the meeting on the 15th September.

The previous meeting heard from residents about issues such as missed collections, overflowing bins, and animals accessing food waste. The council also considered a motion to suspend phases 2 and 3 of the rollout, but this was lost.

The Cabinet is expected to report back to the council with its recommendations, following a review of the financial implications of any delay to future phases of the waste rollout, and the implications of this. The Environment Act² has a deadline of March 2026 for the implementation of food waste collection, and £2.5 million of funding is at risk if the council does not meet this requirement.

Car Parking and Keyhaven River Fees

The council is scheduled to consider proposed changes to car parking fees and charges from 1 January 2026. They will also consider proposed changes to Keyhaven river fees and charges from the same date. The proposed changes are referenced in paragraph 53 and 54 of the Medium Term Financial Plan, and detailed in appendix 5 and 6.

Medium Term Financial Plan

The council is scheduled to discuss the Medium Term Financial Plan, and the report pack indicates that the council's MTFP continues to be prepared on a going-concern basis, until such a time that LGR plans for the District are backed by appropriate legislation. The revised MTFP forecasts, as outlined within the report and appendices, are scheduled to be adopted. Options identified to close the budget gap for 2026/27 and through to 2029/30 are scheduled to be developed further. The reporting timeline as set out in paragraph 82 is scheduled to be agreed.

Christchurch Bay & Harbour Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy

The council is scheduled to consider the readoption of the Christchurch Bay & Harbour Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy. The cabinet will note that there is no statutory duty upon NFDC as the Coast Protection Authority to undertake coast protection works, nor does the adoption of the Strategy bind NFDC to commit to the provision of any funding for the delivery of the identified options. The cabinet will also note that throughout the development of the Strategy, extensive engagement and consultation was undertaken with residents & wider communities, key stakeholders, and officers & members.

The council will be asked to approve and adopt the revised Strategy, with the recommended leading options identified in the Christchurch Bay & Harbour Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy for the New Forest District Council area, subject to securing the necessary funding contributions. The council will also be asked to commit to developing a Funding Strategy that will seek to identify and aim to secure the necessary funding contributions to enable the national or local leading options to be implemented via future capital schemes and maintenance of existing/new schemes, noting that the exact amount of contributions will need to be confirmed as schemes are developed.

The report pack notes that the Environment Agency assurance process focused on affordability, investment planning, and the starting points of the options for some of the management units. Partnership funding requirements for the first 20 years had reduced from £39 million to £13 million, which the Service Manager for Coastal acknowledged as posing a significant challenge, with investment planning to identify the potential funding sources being a key element of the process.

Air Quality Strategy

The council is scheduled to adopt the Air Quality Strategy, following a public consultation. The draft strategy had been considered by Cabinet in February 2025, where the public consultation was approved. The Portfolio Holder for Community, Safety and Wellbeing will report that 96 responses were received, and he thanked all respondents for their feedback. The Air Quality Strategy has also been considered and supported by the Housing and Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

The Environmental Protection Team Manager will provide an overview of the report and explain that the Strategy had been developed by the Environmental Health team with support from colleagues throughout NFDC as well as partners in Hampshire County Council and the National Park Authority, the Environmental Centre and local industry. The consultation ran between March and May 2025. and it sought views on the draft Strategy, with particular focus on the six priority areas identified within the Strategy as well as general views on air quality. Feedback was generally supportive of the Strategy and the proposed process to implement measures to continue to identify and improve air quality going forward. The main concerns raised related to planned development and transport, providing clearer public information on local air quality and developing collaborative working to include the public and the Council's partners. The consultation resulted in only minor changes to the Strategy, and these were noted within the appendices to the report. The feedback will help the Council steer decision making on air quality going forward with some public involvement when plans are developed.

Appointment of Chief Operations Officer / Deputy Chief Executive

The council will be asked to approve the appointment of Richard Knott, currently Strategic Director for Housing and Communities, as Chief Operations Officer / Deputy Chief Executive. The appointment panel consisted of Councillor Jill Cleary, Leader of the Council, Councillor Steve Davies, Deputy Leader of the Council, and the Leader of the Opposition. The attendees were asked to complete an exercise as part of the assessment, relating to the new post's role as Senior Responsible Officer for the development and oversight of an enterprise-wide PMO³, assessing work in progress, and producing a briefing note summarising the key challenges and the council's assurance framework to ensure successful delivery of the council's priorities.

The report pack notes that by virtue of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2001 (as amended), approval of appointment of a Chief Officer of the District Council is required to be done by Council.