New Forest - Additional Information

Progress is being made to bring superfast broadband to more of the New Forest. Some more cabinets have gone live, but we are also currently experiencing delays with a small number of cabinets in the National Park area. This is due to the protected nature of the land, environmental constraints and the number of additional stakeholders involved. These parties include: New Forest National Park Authority, New Forest District Council, Natural England, New Forest Verderers, and the Forestry Commission.

We are working to ensure that we accommodate the requirements of all statutory bodies as efficiently as possible and obtain the necessary licenses and consents in a timely manner.

Hampshire Superfast Broadband team is working with BT Openreach and stakeholders in the New Forest to define guidelines and working practices that should enable BT Openreach to secure the necessary permissions to work within the park. Additional resources have also been allocated to minimise the delay. 

We understand that the delays are disappointing news for residents in the affected areas, but we would like to assure residents that the majority of cabinets within The New Forest have been delivered on time and we are working to resolve the cause of the delays for the small number of cabinets affected. 

We update this page with additional information when it becomes available.

May 2019 Update

Due to ongoing wayleave issues in the New Forest, there have been some delays with siting and building cabinets within the perambulation of the forest. 

Openreach continue to work closely with the Forestry Commission to ensure expectations are being met. In the meantime, Openreach have intensified their focus in the New Forest area by allocating additional engineers with the hope of reducing some of the delays we are experiencing.

Beaulieu 1

The cabinet went live in September 2017 and is accepting orders. The location of the roadside cabinet location can be viewed here.

Bucklers Hard 2 - also known as Beaulieu 2

This cabinet was upgraded in November 2017. It is live with superfast bradband and accepting orders. Residents should contact their internet service provider to upgrade to the new speeds.

Burley 1

This cabinet went live on 11th October 2017 and is accepting orders. The roadside cabinet location can be viewed here.

Brockenhurst 1

The upgrade to this cabinet was completed on 4th January 2018 and it is now taking orders for superfast broadband.

Brockenhurst 2

Cabinet to be located on pavement on Rhinefield Road. A 56 day notice request has been submitted to the National Park for permission to complete the work. This is a requirement of the New Forest National Park Authority. When the notice period is complete, work will commence. The location of the existing roadside cabinet can be viewed here.

Update June 2018

Whilst the 56 day notice period requesting permission to complete the work on Brockenhurst 2 has ended, there have been further developments which have stalled progress. We are currently waiting for Openreach and the Forestry Commission to agree national terms of reference that will allow Openreach to undertake work on Crown Estate Land. Until this agreement has been made Openreach is not allowed to undertake any new work on Crown Estate land, including Forestry Commission land in the New Forest. As such Brockenhurst 2 is on hold until an agreement between these two parties has been reached. The County Council is working with both the Forestry Commission and Openreach to help broker a solution.

Update January 2019

The location of the cabinet has been agreed and we are awaiting the final sign off on the wayleave from the Forestry Commission.

East End 1

This cabinet went live in December 2016. Residents should contact their internet service provider to upgrade to the new speeds.  The roadside cabinet location can be viewed here.

Fordingbridge 2

This cabinet went live in July 2017. Residents should contact their internet service provider to upgrade to the new speeds. The location of the roadside cabinet can be viewed here.

Sway 3

A new location for the cabinet has been found, which is within the perambulation of the forest. Results from a site survey conclude that the new site is on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, so we are commissioning an ecology report. We have also submitted an application to Natural England for approval of the cabinet location and for work to be carried out in its vicinity. Once all the approvals are confirmed, we will issue a 56 day public, which is a requirement of the New Forest National Park Authority.  When the notice period is complete, work will commence.

Update June 2018

We are currently waiting for Openreach and the Forestry Commission to agree national terms of reference that will allow Openreach to undertake work on Crown Estate Land. Until this agreement has been made Openreach is not allowed to undertake any new work on Crown Estate land, including Forestry Commission land in the New Forest. As such Sway 3 is on hold until an agreement between these two parties has been reached. The County Council is working with both the Forestry Commission and Openreach to help broker a solution.

Update January 2019

We are awaiting the final sign off on the wayleave from the Forestry Commission.

Update July 2019

We are pleased to announce that following a concerted effort from Openreach to overcome some of the issues in the vicinity of Sway 3, residents on this cabinet will now be able to order a broadband service.

Exact speeds available will vary depending on the distance a property is from the cabinet.

Sway 8

Due to the high cost of the upgrade to this cabinet and the technology due to be used, further investigations are being made into how best to upgrade this cabinet. We have commissioned a survey to look at the possibility of building Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) connections. Please check back on this page for further updates.

Update January 2019

We have now completed our survey and are planning to build an FTTP solution. This will take place during 2019.