NFDC March update

In this communication:   

Council Tax for 2024/25

At our full council meeting on Monday, we set our part of the 2024/25 Council Tax bill.

Your Council Tax to New Forest District Council will be £199.79 for the year (average band D property).

This is an annual increase of £5.80 (2.99% increase) for our part of the bill.

Your bill also includes the Council Tax you pay to Hampshire County Council, your town or parish council, the police, and fire and rescue service. New Forest District Council keeps 9p from every £1 you pay in Council Tax.

You’ll get your Council Tax bill in the post in March, which will detail how much you pay for the year and the breakdown of what goes to each organisation.

The money we keep from your Council Tax bill helps to pay for the essential services we provide, like supporting people at risk of becoming homeless, planning permissions for new and existing properties, waste and recycling collections, caring for the coastline and public open spaces, and supporting local businesses.

Our services are also funded by Business Rates, government grants and fees and charges.

Information about Council Tax, including how to pay and applying for a discount, is available on our website.

For support with paying your Council Tax, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01590 646111.

Corporate Plan consultation update

Thank you to the people and organisations who took the time to read our draft corporate plan and give us their comments as part of the consultation in December and January.

The Corporate Plan is an important strategy at New Forest District Council and shapes the way the council works.  It brings together strategic and service objectives, helping the organisation to work towards the same vision, values, and priorities.

The draft Corporate Plan was developed from insight from our residents survey with interviews with over 700 people, and with input from councillors and officers.

Consultation respondents were supportive of our ambitions and 75% agreed with our vision for the New Forest. 68% of respondents agreed with our priority themes of people, place, and prosperity. 

All comments and suggestions have now been carefully considered and final amends are being prepared in readiness for publication in early April, after Cabinet on 3 April 2024.

You can view the draft Corporate Plan on our website.

Plans for new waste and recycling services

As part of our plans to improve recycling for the district, we will be making changes to household waste and recycling collections from spring 2025.

Our goal is to reduce household waste, increase recycling, and provide a more effective service.

We have been reviewing when we will make changes to household waste and recycling collections, following the government’s latest update on national plans for waste disposal.

From spring 2025, we are planning to:

There will be a stage 2 of service change, where we will:

We cannot start stage 2 of this service change until new recycling facilities in Hampshire are ready. Hampshire County Council are working with us, and the other local authorities in the county, to confirm how new materials will be collected and sorted. This work is currently in progress and means that new recycling facilities will not be ready until 2026 at the earliest.

We have already made changes to how we collect garden waste. Our new garden waste wheeled bin collection service starts from 1 April 2024. From April 2024, we will only collect garden waste using wheeled bins, instead of the bags we currently use.

We will keep you updated as we progress with service changes and provide lots of information on the new system. For now, you can read more information about our plans to improve recycling on our website.

Household glass collection dates up to March 2025

We collect glass bottles and jars from households every four weeks.

To view and print your glass collection days up to March 2025, search your postcode on our website.

Your collection day will stay the same. For example, if we usually collect your glass on a Tuesday, we will still collect it on a Tuesday.

We can send you text messages to remind you when your glass will be collected, or to let you know if there are changes to your collection. To sign up for free, register your details on our website.

In the past, we have sent print copies of our glass collection calendar with Council Tax letters. To help reduce how much paper we use, we are now only sending print copies of the glass collection calendar on request. To request a printout of your collection days, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit one of our local information offices.

Thank you for recycling glass, it all makes a difference. For more information on how to dispose of glass in the New Forest, visit our website.

Funding available for energy efficient upgrades

You can apply for funding to improve the energy efficiency of your home with the Warmer Homes programme.

If you live in a house with a mains gas supply, you can receive up to £10,000 towards installing the measures. If your house does not have a mains gas supply, you could receive up to £25,000.

The funding is available on a first come, first serve basis until March 2025 for both homeowner occupiers and private rental tenants.

You can apply for funding if you have an energy performance certificate rating (EPC) of E, F, or G and either an annual total household income of £30,000 or less, before housing costs and bills, or be on means tested benefits.

There is also reduced funding available for households with an energy performance rating of D. You can find out the energy performance rating of your home on the GOV.​UK website.

Find out more about the Warmer Homes programme on our website.

You can use our free Cosy Homes tool to find out how you can make your home more energy efficient. You can create a refurbishment plan to make your home warmer, reduce your carbon footprint, and cut energy bills. All you’ll need to get started is your postcode and an idea of how much money you want to spend.

New community garden designed for BBC Gardeners’ World

We’re supporting local groups to create a new community garden in Bramshaw.

The garden will first be displayed at BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair in Beaulieu from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 May 2024. After the event, the garden will be moved to Bramshaw Village Hall, where regular users of the hall can enjoy and help care for the space.

The garden has been designed and built by home-schooled children in Bramshaw and adult participants of Solent Mind, in collaboration with local award-winning designer Leigh Johnstone. The space has been named “A Forest of Calm” and aims to reflect the benefits that being creative and connecting with nature can have on our mental wellbeing.

We have supported and funded the design project together with our partners Culture in Common and the New Forest National Park Authority. This is part of our continued commitment to enhance the artistic and cultural opportunities available to our residents.

Find out more on our website.

Protecting yourself from fraud

40% of crime in England and Wales is due to fraud.

By staying vigilant and taking a moment to stop, think, and check whenever we’re approached, we can help to protect ourselves and each other from fraud.

The ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign aims to raise awareness about how you can:

You can find this advice, and information on how to report fraud, on the GOV.​UK website.

Help with childcare costs

You can find information about the help available for childcare costs on the GOV.​UK website.

This includes free childcare options, child benefit, free school meals, and more.

Find cost of living advice on our website.

Please share this email with your family and friends.  They can sign up to receive them in future at https://www.newforest.gov.uk/emails