New Forest
New Forest is a town or village in Hampshire, England, with a population of around 163,000. There are two bus stops and the nearest railway station is Brockenhurst, 6 km away. In June 2026, there were around 2 recorded street crimes, most commonly anti-social behaviour. Covers 57 towns with local open-data for the whole authority.
On deprivation, New Forest is among the least deprived areas in England (IoD2025). It is home to around 175,785 residents at roughly 234 people per km².
My Area Score
Excellent
Ranked 30th of 294 English council areas — better than 90% of them.
A percentile blend of eight open measures (100 = best in England); bars show this area’s England-wide percentile on each. See the rankings · methodology
Weather
8°CPatchy rain nearby
- Today: 11° / 6° · 27% rain
- Tomorrow: 12° / 7° · Overcast
Source: WeatherAPI
Daylight
Sunrise 07:05Sunset 16:34
9h 30m of daylight today
Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec
Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk
Air quality
42US AQI · Good
Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)
Source: WAQI · Christchurch Barrack Road, United Kingdom
Air pollution (PM2.5)
- 5.7 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
- 4.3% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution
Lower is better for both figures.
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024
Crime
3 reported · August 2026▲ 200% YoY
- Anti-social behaviour1
- Public order1
- Violence & sexual offences1
Neighbourhood team: New Forest Heart · Hampshire
Local policing priorities
- OP FORESTGUARD
Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)
Road safety
337 reported road collisions (2025)
96 killed or seriously injured · 440 casualties · 19.2 collisions per 10,000 residents
Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)
Food hygiene
2 food businesses within 2 miles
- 0 rated 4–5 ★ (0 top)
- 1 rated 0–2 (poor)
Source: Food Standards Agency
Flood risk
Buses & trains
- Nearest station: Brockenhurst (6.0 km)
- 2 bus stops within ~½ mile
Live trains from Brockenhurst (6.0 km):
Loading live departures…
Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail
House prices
£384,564 average▼ 0.2% YoY
Across New Forest · to 2026-08
Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)
Private rents
£1,244 average monthly rent▲ 1.7% YoY
- 1 bed £864
- 2 bed £1,132
- 3 bed £1,391
Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08
Affordability
10.3× house price to earnings
A typical home costs 10.3 times median annual pay (10.2× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).
Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025
Property sales
2,495 property sales in the last 12 months
12 months to May 2026
A busier or quieter market is not by itself good or bad. Monthly counts are small and volatile, so only the annual total is shown.
Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI, 12 months to 2026-05
Fuel prices
- Cheapest petrol: 158.9p · Esso (11.9 km)
- Cheapest diesel: 191.9p · Esso (11.9 km)
3 stations within ~8 miles
Source: CMA fuel price scheme
EV charging
25 charging locations within ~8 km
- 4 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
- Fastest nearby: 50 kW
- Nearest: Rhinefield House Hotel (2.8 km)
Source: Open Charge Map
Population
175,785 residents in New Forest · 234/km²
- Under 16: 15%
- 16–64: 55%
- 65+: 29%
Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)
Internal migration
- Moves in from elsewhere in the UK9,107
- Moves out to elsewhere in the UK7,608
- Net moves+1,499
Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025
Deprivation
Among the least deprived areas in England
Ranked 239 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)
2% of neighbourhoods are in England’s most deprived 10%
Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025
Council tax
£2,420 a year · Band D, 2026-27
Most homes here are Band D (23% of 83,530)
Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27
Schools
84 schools · 21,771 pupils
53 primary · 9 secondary · 22 other
Ofsted: 21 of 22 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (95%)
66 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)
Secondary schools:
- Hounsdown SchoolGood
- Lift New ForestGood
- The Arnewood SchoolInadequate
- Applemore College
- Noadswood School
- Priestlands School
- Ringwood School Academy
- Testwood School
- The Burgate School and Sixth Form
Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · New Forest
Care & health services
1,439 CQC-registered services
- Care homes483
- GP practices166
- Dentists324
- Homecare agencies359
- Hospitals & hospices35
CQC ratings: 89% of rated services Good or Outstanding
Source: Care Quality Commission · Hampshire
Planning decisions
254 applications decided
90.6% granted · 230 granted, 24 refused
Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2
Council control
Conservative (minority)
- Lab 1
- Con 24
- LD 14
- Grn 2
- Ref 2
- Oth 5
Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)
Amenities nearby
- Parks & greens1
Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)
Local businesses
9,125 active business enterprises in the area
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)
Local economy
£733 median full-time weekly pay
2.3% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits
£30,441 disposable income per head (2024)
Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI
Energy efficiency
41% of homes rated EPC C or above
Most common band: D · 81,051 certificates
9.6% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)
Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty
Health
Life expectancy: 86.2 yrs women · 81.1 yrs men
Healthy life expectancy (Hampshire): 65.1 women · 64.2 men
63% of adults overweight or obese
Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025
Wellbeing
- Life satisfaction7.8
- Feeling worthwhile7.9
- Happiness yesterday7.5
- Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.0
Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23
Local petitions
Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in New Forest East:
- Remove sentence reductions for guilty pleas in controlling and coercive cases515 local signatures · 105,832 nationwide
- Ban on sale of disposable BBQs327 local signatures · 22,327 nationwide
- Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks273 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
- Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills161 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
- Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth160 local signatures · 113,305 nationwide
Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05
Notable places nearby
Knightwood Oak · 0.6 kmThe Knightwood Oak is a pedunculate oak and the largest, and perhaps most famous, oak tree in the New Forest, in southern England. It is also known as the Queen of the Forest. It is over 500 years old and has a girth…
Bolderwood, Hampshire · 1.0 kmBolderwood is an area of the New Forest in Hampshire. Bolderwood hosts a deer sanctuary with a public deer observation platform. As a result, the public car park at Bolderwood is the most visited in the New Forest. Fr…
New Forest · 1.2 kmThe New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by Wil…
Portuguese Fireplace · 1.5 kmThe Portuguese Fireplace is a war memorial in the New Forest National Park, near the village of Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England. It is located on the road between Bolderwood and Emery Down, approximately 2 km (1 mi) fro…
Warwickslade Cutting Railway · 1.9 kmThe Warwickslade Cutting Railway was a light railway temporarily built to fill in the Warwickslade Cutting, a straight drainage ditch dug circa 1850 in the New Forest of south-east England, with imported gravel and cl…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)
Towns in New Forest
- Alderholt
- Ashley (New Forest)
- Ashley Heath
- Ashurst
- Barton on Sea
- Bashley
- Beaulieu
- Blackfield and Langley
- Blackhill
- Bransgore
- Breamore
- Brockenhurst
- Burley
- Burley Street
- Cadnam and Bartley
- Christchurch (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
- East Boldre
- East Wellow
- Everton (New Forest)
- Fordingbridge
- Frogham
- Godshill (New Forest)
- Hangersley
- Hightown (New Forest)
- Holbury
- Hordle
- Hyde (New Forest)
- Hythe and Dibden Purlieu
- Keyhaven
- Landford and Nomansland
- Lymington
- Lyndhurst
- Marchwood
- Martin (New Forest)
- Milford on Sea
- Minstead
- Mount Pleasant
- New Milton
- Ower (Copythorne)
- Ower (Fawley)
- Pilley
- Redlynch and Woodfalls
- Ringwood
- Rockbourne
- Sandleheath
- Sandy Down
- Sopley
- Sway
- Thorney Hill
- Tiptoe
- Totton
- Verwood
- Walhampton and Portmore
- West Wellow
- Woodgreen
- Woodlands
- Wootton (New Forest)