Forestry England looks after over 1,500 woods and forests. This includes around half of the New Forest National Park including most of its green space that is accessible to the public. We probably do much more here than you think.
Our work includes planting thousands of trees, conserving wildlife, managing vegetation and restoring heathlands and rivers. We help millions of people each year enjoy the area by providing hundreds of miles of paths and cycle routes,10 campsites and 130 car parks across the forest. Our rangers patrol the area every day of the year and help address anti-social behaviour including fly-tips and preventing wildfires.
Caring for the New Forest is a big job and costs millions of pounds every year.
Car parking changes at the New Forest
As an organisation, we currently receive less than 20% of our core funding from the government with the rest having to be found from our own activities including things like timber sales and car parking charges. In Spring 2026, parking charges will be introduced at all of our car parks in the New Forest.
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To be the first to know when New Forest car park charges will be introduced and to hear more from us on this, sign up below.
Questions you may have
Forestry England looks after around half of the New Forest National Park including most of its green space that is accessible to the public. Its work includes tree planting, conserving wildlife, managing vegetation, and restoring heathlands and rivers. It helps millions of people each year enjoy the area by providing hundreds of miles of paths and cycle routes, 10 campsites, and 130 car parks across the forest. Its rangers patrol the area every day of the year and help address anti-social behaviour including fly-tips and preventing wildfires.
Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s forests. It currently gets less than 20% of its core funding from the government with the rest having to be found from its own activities including timber sales and car parking charges.
Caring for the New Forest has become increasingly expensive. This includes the price of materials needed to repair and maintain car parks which have increased by more than 50% over the last three years. At the same time, higher levels of damage to trails and car parks have been caused by prolonged bad weather and increasing usage.
We can no longer continue to carry out this work without additional funding.
Charging for car parking will play a vital role in us being able to continue to look after this precious landscape for everyone to enjoy.
The money raised by parking charges will help us continue our critical work and avoid closures of car parks or trails. The scheme will also significantly boost the numbers of rangers on patrol to look after the Forest.
The price of parking will be in line with other similar locations in the area. Prices will start at £1.50 for one hour, £3 for 2 hours, £5 for 4 hours and £8 for over 4 hours.
Tickets will be transferrable between all Forestry England car parks in the New Forest making it easy to visit several locations with one payment.
We know the Forest is an important area for the local community and that many people come here several times a week to spend time in nature.
Local people and regular visitors to the New Forest will be able to purchase a Forestry England membership. For the equivalent of only £2 a week members can park as often as they like in any of the 130 car parks we look after.
Those supporting the New Forest through commoning activities and other key working forest tasks will still park for free.
We want to ensure the scheme is sensitive to the natural environment of the Forest so will limit the number of pay machines, signs and equipment needed.
A small number of payment machines will be available in some of the largest and busiest car parks. None of these will issue tickets. You will just need to pay for parking by entering your car registration.
In the case of poor mobile signal, payments can be made after leaving up until midnight the following day.
A dedicated team will monitor the scheme and be on hand to provide information on how to use the new system. They will also help protect any locations being used for unofficial, damaging or dangerous parking including at entrances to car parks, at access points to forest properties and on verges.
The New Forest will join many other forests across the country where Forestry England already charges for parking to help fund our work to care for the nation’s forests.
Charging for parking, subject to the appropriate consents being in place, could begin in spring 2026.
More information on charges, membership and timescales will be shared later in the year once plans have been fully developed and all necessary consents are in place. Updates will be provided on this page.
Sign up to our mailing list using the below form to receive more information on membership ahead of charging beginning.