The New Forest, which is located between Southampton and Hampshire, has become England’s eighth National Park.

The decision to declare the New Forest as a National Park was confirmed on 28 June by rural affairs minister, Alun Michael.

Martin Fitton, chief executive of the Association of National Park Authorities (ANPA), said: “We warmly welcome this new addition to the family and look forward to working with a brand new National Park Authority as soon as it is created.”

In a statement, ANPA also said that the Countryside Agency “has long believed that the New Forest strongly merited National Park status, as its landscape fits the statutory criteria for National Park designation.”

New Forest District Council (NFDC) said it was delighted to receive the status, but was disappointed in the size of the area that was assigned as a national treasure.

NFDC claimed that the boundaries of the new National Park do not reflect the true extent of the area that needs to be protected.

Barry Rickman, deputy leader, said: “The exclusion of the towns of Lymington and Ringwood, Dibden Bay, Bransgore, Milford and large areas to the north of Totton comes as a surprise and a disappointment.

“We are also disappointed that the composition of the Park Authority will not be tailored to the unique needs of this area and the organisations which have guarded it well for generations.”

NFDC is worried that, by not declaring the entire New Forest as a National Park, the interests of the people living in areas left outside the zone might be endangered – an outcome the council says it will work hard against.

The New Forest is the first English area to be given National Park status since 1949.