Community

Lou

“I've had the privilege of living across the Forest all of my life, and I genuinely couldn't imagine being anywhere else. The beauty, the community, the space... it's something special. The thought of splitting the Forest is both saddening and worrying. It feels like a move that risks chipping away at what makes the Forest whole and that should concern everyone. Let's stand together, protecting what makes this place what it is."

Jane

“I am passionate about the New Forest. This Ancient, very special place. I grew up here, with the ponies wandering into our garden, in Hythe, by pushing the gates open. My great grandfather was the farm manager at a big estate near Lymington. My Grandfather was the village policeman at Lymington, then Fordingbridge and finally in Fawley. My ex-father-in-law was a local blacksmith and farrier based in Mopley, well known to many at the time. I spent many many hours on long rides through the forest on my horses. My first pony at 15 being forest bred. So yes, these are my roots and this area has my heart.”

Lynda

“I live in Southampton and fully support this. I have signed the petition. It is plain and simply wrong!!!"

Jenny

"I love the New Forest. I was born and bred here and my parents and grandparents. Also my Great Grandparents before them. They lived and worked in and around the Forest their whole lives. It's such a beautiful place and should be kept just the way it is and has always been."

Stephen

“Before its royal designation, the area was known as Ytene, a sparsely populated Saxon landscape of heath and timber that William the Conqueror seized and transformed into the New Forest in 1079. This "afforestation" claimed roughly 150 square miles of southern Hampshire, bounded by the River Avon to the west, the River Test to the east, and the Solent coastline to the south. The new boundaries were strictly enforced to protect royal deer, often at the expense of the local population, until the Charter of the Forest in 1217 restored essential rights to the "commoners." These limits, established nearly a millennium ago, still define the unique character and geography of the forest today and should not be changed at all.”

Meryl

“I can walk from my home and be on the forest in under 5 minutes. It takes me 35 minutes on a good day to reach the city centre when I absolutely have to go there (never my first choice of a destination)."

Alan

"It may be lost on people here that the business rates from Marchwood Port and Fawley Oil Refinery will be diverted to Southampton City making the New Forest poorer. I think people need to be aware."

Claire

“Don't do it. It has ruined the characters of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole by lumping them together as BCP. Dorset towns and regions have also found merging councils to form a large homogeneous beast isn't a great idea."

Simon

"Important and great initiative. New Forest unique national treasure that is old but ever new. The forest must remain one and resist this politically driven split. Power to your campaign."

Wendy

“I love being in the New Forest and believe the proposals do not make any sense, not just for us but Eastleigh and North Baddesley as well. How can Southampton understand the needs of such disparate communities and I presume that will be the base.”

Malcolm

“We used to live in Southampton but moved as we both love the New Forest. We have now been on the Waterside for 40+ years."

Julie

"The Waterside hosts many pairs of breeding Oystercatcher. I grew up seeing them nesting here. Even more critically, many birds including Black-tailed Godwits, Whimbrel, Curlew, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Dunlin, Knot, Wigeon and Teal travel here in the winter to feed on the saltmarshes that were once also on Southampton side before being built on. Many of these birds travel great distances. I have seen colour ringed individuals from the Netherlands and Iceland that return to the New Forest Waterside every single year after breeding abroad. Many of these species are already facing severe declines."

Wendy

“We can achieve more together - New Forest Together."

Sam

"I wonder how Southampton residents would have reacted if they were to be joined with Portsmouth. Seems logical that 2 maritime ports and 2 cities are joined together, rather than what they are proposing by splitting our beautiful forest area."

Rebecca

“I'm not a Forrester, I live in Bournemouth and love the forest. You don't have to be a member of the community to see the obvious logic to your stance and the value in cultural preservation.”

Pauline

“I can trace my ancestors back 400 years and do not want to be split up from the New Forest."

Jayne

"I am nearly 60 years of age. I was born in Beaulieu and my family have lived in this area for over 100 years. My cottage is an old foresters cottage, being the first dwelling built in Holbury and I have commoning rights as do many of the neighbouring properties. With the greatest of respect, Southampton and Eastleigh do not understand the rural aspect of this area. We should be aligned to the Forest and not to a City we have nothing in common with."

Jodie

“Dibden Purlieu literally means 'the deep valley at the edge of the forest' in old English / Norman French, it's mentioned in the Doomsday book. How can it not be part of the forest!!"

Keith

"I always thought the River Test / Southampton Water were natural, political boundaries between Southampton and the New Forest."

Elain

"My motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it. Sadly that's what they do without considering the damage that will be done in the process."