ECA Architecture and Planning were appointed by New Forest District Council (NFDC) in July 2025 to prepare a masterplan for the promenade and adjacent open space at Hurst Road, Milford on Sea.
We worked for NFDC in consultation with Milford-on-sea Parish Council to create a masterplan and design code to support funding applications from the Environment Agency and CIL.
Our engagement work included presentations at meetings, an interactive survey and a workshop style meeting with stakeholders. We also engaged with Councils technical (Coastal and Parking teams) to ensure the designs met technical requirements. We worked closely with our associated Quantity Surveyors and undertook a value engineering exercise which took a design led approach and ensured we adhered to the projects agreed objectives.
We were later taken on to prepare detailed designs for particular elements:
There is significant potential to create an attractive coastal park and promenade here at this strategic location at the end of Christchurch Bay and The Solent, to benefit residents in the wider New Forest area. The masterplan is a spatial strategy to enable a phased cohesive programme of investment to benefit all those that live and visit the area. Complex issues which the design overcame include:
- An access strategy which prioritises pedestrians over cyclists
- Retention of sufficient car parking, whilst allowing unused spaces to be converted to coastal garden areas
- Access for coastal maintenance team enhanced
- Consideration of potential storm damage, coast erosion and use of contemporary coastal plating techniques
- Increase activity for all ages with new structures (climbing walls and look out shelters)
- Maximise the potential for beautiful sea views
- Design led approach to this strategic location with strong links to nautical history
