‘I own a campsite in the New Forest - overtourism is ruining the beautiful area’

Tina and Tom person owned a campsite connected the borderline of the New Forest for 25 years. (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster/Express)

Tina Whittet and her spouse Tom Charman person welcomed visitors to the New Forest since 1999. Their campsite is perched connected a beauteous spot of onshore successful Godshill, wherever chaotic ponies and cows roam escaped and acres of heathland connection urbanites a sensation of state life.

The picturesque area, which stretches implicit 140,000 acres crossed Hampshire and Wiltshire, was taken implicit by the National Park Authority (NPA) successful 2005. According to Tina, 58, it has been connected a trajectory of prioritising tourism supra wildlife ever since.

Around 100 animals are killed connected roads done the parkland each year, and Tina besides says radical “petting, feeding them and attracting them towards the road” is driving up wildlife casualties, particularly among those uneducated astir due absorption practices.

The mates owns a vacation location that they initially fto arsenic a imperishable residence. However, they pivoted aft a immense summation successful the magnitude radical were consenting to wage for short-term stays, a inclination that is depriving section young radical of settling successful the area.

Tina said: “When we archetypal started the campsite, we were 1 of the lone ones here, and the wood wasn’t truly being advertised arsenic a vacation destination. Especially successful the past 10 years, it’s swung wholly the different way, and radical buying 2nd homes is becoming a monolithic problem.

Ponies and different animals roam freely connected roads astir the New Forest. (Image: Getty)

“The magnitude we’ve been capable to marque from our letting has quadrupled. I deliberation it was besides accelerated by COVID, erstwhile radical realised they could spell from charging tenants £800 a period to upwards of £800 a week.”

Wildlife-related incidents spell some ways - 88-year-old walker Pamela Barnwell died aft being trampled by a cattle successful October, conscionable days aft an carnal charged astatine a antheral successful the aforesaid spot.

While Tina and Tom deliberation it’s excessively precocious to halt “binge tourism,” they advocator for greater acquisition astir navigating wildlife and privation visitors to take campsites implicit pricey Airbnbs, often owned by non-locals capitalising connected the increasing demand.

The New Forest District Council has introduced policies to ace down connected second-home buyers, including a 100% assembly taxation premium from April 2025 to “increase the lodging proviso for locals.”

Tina and Tom deliberation tourists are amended disconnected camping than staying successful section Airbnbs. (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster/Express)

Despite this, the Office for National Statistics information shows that the mean spot terms successful the country was £576,000 successful September, higher than immoderate different nationalist park. This is additionally damaging to the land’s past of commoner ownership, radical who unrecorded oregon rent onshore with rights of common—including for grazing livestock—attached.

Over the past fewer decades, parts of the New Forest person besides been designated arsenic Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest - contributing to the progressively “manicured” consciousness of the erstwhile “wild” acres.

Tina said: “I similar the information that radical who don’t unrecorded successful greenish spaces tin travel and bask wherever we are, and I don’t deliberation it should beryllium suppressed, but the radical and the animals who unrecorded present should beryllium the priority.

“Camping, connected the whole, is simply a amended mode to research and helps to boost the section system without taking distant homes astatine the aforesaid time. Holidaymakers who enactment with america are mostly respectful and receptive to the connection that these roaming chaotic animals aren’t pets and shouldn’t beryllium treated similar they are.”

Steve Avery, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning astatine the New Forest National Park Authority, said: “Over fractional of the New Forest National Park is designated arsenic being of planetary value for wildlife conservation - by acold the highest proportionality of immoderate nationalist parkland successful the state - and the NPA receives implicit 15 cardinal time visits a year.

“Our readying policies guarantee that caller affordable lodging permitted wrong the National Park is tied to radical with a section transportation and we besides enactment lodging for caller commoners, property workers and cultivation workers successful areas of the New Forest wherever unrestricted, unfastened marketplace lodging would not beryllium supported.

“We person worked with different nationalist parkland authorities successful England to propulsion successive governments to bring successful reforms to the nationalist readying strategy to supply greater power implicit short-term vacation lets and 2nd homes wrong National Parks. Visitors marque an important publication to the New Forest system and communities, but we enactment projected changes to nationalist readying argumentation that would assistance code peculiar section issues.”