Research on the Forest Byelaws – Presentment Made to the November 2024 Meeting of the Verderers Court

Official Verderer and Verderers and the members of public attending court today, I am Sarah Richards, Vice Chair of the New Forest Association, also known as the Friends of the New Forest.  I am giving this presentment on behalf of the association to report our research on the forest byelaws

All forest organisations recognise that managing growing levels of recreation is vitally important to the conservation of the forest as an internationally important nature rich habitat. The New Forest Association (NFA) believes that such regulation needs to be based on evidence and has thus been monitoring compliance with the primary sources of recreational regulation namely the Forestry Commission Byelaws as well as the recently introduced PSPOs. The most significant of these are prominently reflected in the New Forest Code.

The Verderers may recall that the New Forest Association ran a Byelaw Watch in 2022, and we presented to the court our results showing widespread breaches. Since then, we have conducted two further surveys. In 2023 we asked commoners about the impact of the most common breaches on commoning and during July – September 2024, we re-ran the Byelaw Watch. We thank all those who took part – their contribution is invaluable.

Sadly, we find that compliance has not improved and significantly impacts on commoning.

The 2023 commoners’ survey received 106 responses and was followed up by in depth interviews with commoners from across the forest. The most common breaches observed related to feeding and petting of stock and illegally parked vehicles which was closely followed by off-track cycling and a worrying level of wildlife disturbance. These breaches also had the most significant adverse impact on commoning with stock petting and feeding most prominent at 32%, off-track cycling at 15% whilst illegal parking and stock worrying were both at 13%. Commoners’ general observations referred to the adverse effect of recreation for example ‘High impact on the forest fauna and flora which in turn affects our stock’ and behaviour which showed a ‘Total disregard to authority: the keepers need to act.

Our 2024 Byelaw Watch received over 150 reports and recorded over 3,500 individual breaches of the byelaws. The most frequently reported breaches were:

• Ubiquitous dog waste and litter (with over 2,000 individual items recorded
• Pony petting and feeding (with a combined total of 401 instances)
• Widespread cycling off the cycle network (over 330 instances)

Recorders were encouraged to submit narrative detail of their observations and these are very worrying, including:

• A tiny little girl petting and feeding a donkey
• A child trying to pet an angry cow
• Bikes being ridden through a stream off the cycle network
• Cycling across the heathland
• Electric bikes being used off the cycle network
• Wild camping in Brinken Wood
• A discarded used condom and nappies

It was worrying to hear, that one recorder, who attempted to talk to cyclists who were away from the cycle network, and was told “I will cycle where I like”.

We encourage the Statutory Bodies to take further steps to educate and guide the public on the effect of these breaches but also and importantly to follow this up with enforcement. It is our belief that education will only solve part of the problem, it will only work for those that care and will not combat the sense of self-entitlement encountered by our watchers.  We note previous Verderers’ requests to this effect.

We thus fully support:

• The current PSPOs and steps to extended them with resources devoted to education, monitoring and enforcement
• Campaigns against litter, particularly dog waste and we very much welcome the decision of NFDOG to focus their 2025 campaign on this issue.  We will fully support them and hopefully the NFNPA and FE will do so too
• The immediate adoption of the Cycle Code, the Cycle App corrections and increased network guidance to cyclists advocated by the Deputy Surveyor. These measures should not be dependent on the proposed extensions to the cycle network. They are essential to responsible recreational management.  Selective enforcement of more flagrant breaches would also address the arrogance of those who believe they can do what they like.

RETURN to REPORT ON NOVEMBER VERDERERS COURT