the New Forest Local Information
Practical local information for the New Forest: bin collection days, parking, council tax bands and planning, each one linked back to the official source.
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New Forest Roadworks This Week: B3347 Sopley and Hythe Road
The B3347 at Sopley shuts round the clock this week and Hythe Road stays closed into November. Pikes Hill, Lyndhurst, shuts for up to 26 days from 19 October.
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Local Info
New Forest Bin Days: Garden Waste Is £72.50 Plus £31
Rubbish and recycling alternate fortnightly, food waste weekly, glass every four weeks. Garden waste costs £72.50 a year plus a £31 bin charge, bulky items £49.
Local Info
Parking in the New Forest: £1.50 an Hour in the Forest
Forestry England's 129 forest car parks began charging on 20 April 2026, and blue badges do not exempt you. Council tariffs, free car parks and parking clocks.
Local Info
New Forest Council Tax Bands 2026/27: All 37 Parishes
Band D runs from £2,285.33 in Exbury and Lepe to £2,477.18 in Totton and Eling. The full A to H table for every parish, what rose, and who bills you from 2028.
Local Info
New Forest house prices: £380,310, 9% below 2022 peak
The average New Forest home sold for £380,310 in June 2026, still 9.2% below the 2022 peak. Prices by town and property type, from Land Registry sales.
Local Info
New Forest to London trains: 1hr 32, £7,988 a year
Brockenhurst to Waterloo takes 1hr 32 at best, two trains an hour, £7,988 for an annual season. Times and fares from every New Forest station.
Local Info
Things to do in the New Forest: cheaper until 1 September
Beaulieu £24.80, Hurst Castle £9.50, Buckler's Hard village free. Twelve New Forest days out with prices checked this week, before VAT goes back up.
Local Info
New Forest planning: 1.53 years of housing land, not five
New Forest District can show 1.53 years of housing land against the five it needs. The Local Plan review, the 8,910-home gap and what is being decided now.
Bins
New Forest Christmas Bin Collections 2026: What to Expect
New Forest District Council publishes Christmas collection changes at the start of December. Last year every day from 25 December to 9 January moved.
Schools
New Forest School Term Dates 2026/27: Half Term Splits Three Ways
Hampshire's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026, but Priestlands takes two weeks to 6 November, Arnewood 19 to 30 October, Ballard breaks up 16 October.
Trains
New Forest Christmas Trains, Buses and Parking 2026: What Is Set
SWR has not published Christmas 2026 yet. Last year the final Waterloo train for the New Forest left at 19:35 on Christmas Eve; none ran on 25 or 26 December.
Recycling
New Forest Tip Opening Times: 9am to 4pm From 1 October, Book First
Efford, Marchwood and Somerley tips open 9am to 4pm from 1 October to 28 February, close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and need a booking.
Half Term
October Half Term in the New Forest 2026: Dates and What Is On
Hampshire's half term is 26 to 30 October 2026, but Priestlands and Arnewood take two weeks. Beaulieu, Exbury, Hurst Castle and Moors Valley dates and prices.