Campaigners are set to present a petition of more than 10,000 signatures urging the New Forest not be split under local government reorganisation.
As reported, the government confirmed last month that the area will be divided in two from April 2028 in a shake-up of local councils, with the Waterside joining a new authority which includes Southampton, and the rest of the Forest joining with Winchester, East Hampshire and parts of the Test Valley.
The New Forest will be split into two unitary councils from April 2028 (picture: NFDC)
New Forest District Council (NFDC) was strongly opposed to a potential split and had urged to be part of a rural area which includes Test Valley, Winchester and East Hampshire.
Now a petition has been launched by lifelong New Forest resident James Hartley-Binns and his wife Emily in a bid to fight the plans, with James saying that pairing Southampton with the Waterside is like “chalk and cheese”.
The pair, who live in Dibden Purlieu, created the petition days after the council merger was announced on 25th March. It now has more than 10,000 signatures.
James and Emily Hartley-Binns launched the petition to keep the Forest whole
James said: “We do not see ourselves as part of Southampton; New Forest is where our heart is.”
He said the aim of the petition – set to be handed over at NFDC’s full meeting on Monday – encourages it to seek legal advice from a barrister on the decision, rather than jumping straight into a judicial review.
“It seems that the government has broken its own local government reorganisation (LGR) criteria by splitting the district,” James said.
“The outcome of the advice from legal counsel would give NFDC options, and that is the moral thing to do. We want to take some reasonable steps to get the government to make a change.
“We are heartbroken over this; this is our home. It is not just about boundaries.”
James also feels the Waterside will be more neglected when the merger happens, and he anticipates the area will have fewer councillors and representation.
Sir Julian Lewis supports the Forest staying whole
Conservative MP for New Forest East, Sir Julian Lewis, said: “This is a shameful and partisan attempt to override the historic cultural link between the Forest and the Waterside at the behest of Labour-dominated Southampton City Council.
“It ignores the government’s own presumption against interfering with boundaries for blatant party-political advantage.”
Meanwhile, Marchwood resident Elain Chivers (77) said she was concerned about the rights of Commoners: “All of us in the Waterside area wanted to stay in the New Forest because that is where the natural allegiance is.
“My husband was a Commoner, and he would be turning in his grave at this. Living in the New Forest is a different way of life. I can cross the road, walk 10 minutes, and I am in the Forest.
“We have been totally and utterly ignored. What was the point of this farce?”
To sign the petition visit change.org/p/keep-the-new-forest-together-stop-the-government-s-lgr-carve-up