The opportunity

Copythorne is a beautiful rural village at the edge of the New Forest, rich in character and community pride. But with growing traffic and limited parking options, that charm is under pressure.

Cars are increasingly parked on pavements, grass verges and road edges - making the village feel cluttered, unsafe and at odds with the natural environment.

This project is about reimagining what respectful, community-first parking can look like in a place like Copythorne and piloting smart, practical ideas that protect both people and place.

The problem we're tackling

Inconsiderate parking on roadsides, verges and pavements is making Copythorne feel less welcoming and less safe.

It harms visual appeal, restricts access for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles, and slowly chips away at what makes the village special.

The challenge

How might we create a village environment where everyone can move safely and easily - whether walking, cycling or driving - while protecting the natural character and beauty of the area?

We’re looking for solutions that are affordable, effective and rooted in local values.

Ideas we're exploring:

These are some of the creative interventions already on the table:

• Green deterrents: Low-maintenance wildflower borders, shrubs or discreet bollards to gently discourage verge parking.
• Street-smart nudges: Community-designed signs or pavement art that encourage respectful behaviour (“Please don’t park on me!”).
• Reporting made easy: Use tools like FixMyStreet to track problem hotspots and guide targeted action.
• Visitor-friendly parking: Create a designated, attractive parking area nearby to ease pressure on residential streets.
• Community-powered monitoring: Solar-powered smart sensors to gather data, raise awareness and justify funding.
• Soft enforcement: Friendly windshield notes, local patrols and public reporting to influence behaviour without confrontation.
• Driveway sharing: Encourage residents with spare driveway space to offer it up informally for short visits.
• Natural street design: Planters, subtle road narrowing and textured edges to gently signal "no parking" zones.

This isn’t about installing more signs or issuing fines, it’s about shaping Copythorne’s future together.

Who's behind this?

Led by residents of Copythorne, supported by the Future Towns Innovation Hub, this project is grounded in local insight and designed for community benefit.

Together, we’re developing a blueprint for rural parking solutions that are gentle, effective and easy to replicate in villages like ours.

Why join us?

If you care about:

• Safer, cleaner village streets;
• Supporting walkability and access for all;
• Blending modern behaviour change with timeless design;
• Proving rural communities can lead their own innovation;

… then Copythorne is your testbed.

This is a live project and we’re looking for people who want to prototype, shape and scale what’s possible - not just comment from the sidelines.

Join us

Help us build a village where the parking works for people, for nature and for the future.

Get involved. Suggest an idea. Test a solution. Let’s protect the beauty of Copythorne, together.