New Forest District Council required a clear understanding of how its off-street car parks were currently performing and how they could continue to support town centres, visitor destinations and local communities in the future. This meant establishing a strong evidence base across the Council’s car park portfolio, examining utilisation levels, demand patterns and operational pressures across different locations.
The resulting strategy needed to translate this analysis into a set of practical recommendations that would guide the future management of the Council’s car parks, supported by a deliverable programme of actions to ensure the service remains efficient, financially sustainable and responsive to changing travel patterns.
The commission was delivered in two principal stages. Stage 1 focused on establishing a robust evidence base through a comprehensive car park study covering the Council’s off-street parking portfolio.
Our team undertook a detailed assessment of the number, distribution and capacity of car parks across the district, analysing utilisation levels, demand patterns and operational performance to understand how effectively existing provision was serving residents, businesses and visitors.
This work identified locations where parking supply was well aligned with demand as well as sites that were underperforming and may present opportunities for alternative uses or regeneration.
As part of this work, we were subsequently recommissioned by the Council to undertake a detailed options appraisal of selected underperforming car parks to explore potential alternative uses that could deliver greater economic or community value.
In addition, Ethos carried out a solar feasibility study across the Council’s car park estate to identify sites with the greatest potential for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, supporting the Council’s wider environmental and carbon reduction ambitions.
Stage 2 involved the preparation of the Car Park Strategy itself. Building on the evidence gathered during Stage 1, our team developed a clear strategic vision supported by a series of objectives, policies and actions designed to guide the future management, improvement and optimisation of the Council’s car park assets.
The strategy established a structured implementation framework to support delivery over the short, medium and longer term.
Stakeholder engagement formed an important component of the commission. A two-stage consultation programme was delivered combining digital engagement and targeted stakeholder outreach, enabling residents, businesses and visitors to provide feedback on the existing parking service and the emerging strategic direction.
Across both phases of consultation, more than 2,500 stakeholders participated, providing valuable insights that helped shape the final strategy.
The Car Park Strategy provided New Forest District Council with a clear and comprehensive framework for the future management and optimisation of its off-street parking portfolio. Developed from a robust evidence base and informed by stakeholder feedback, the strategy established a long-term direction for how the Council’s car parks can continue to support town centres, local communities and visitor destinations across the district.
The strategy set out a clear vision supported by a series of strategic objectives, policies and deliverable actions, enabling the Council to prioritise investment, improve the performance of its car park estate and respond to evolving travel patterns. Alongside the strategy, the supporting studies delivered through the commission, including the options appraisal of underperforming sites and the solar photovoltaic feasibility assessment, provide the Council with practical tools to explore opportunities for regeneration, improved asset management and the integration of renewable energy infrastructure within its car park portfolio.
