Here’s something you can do during lockdown – or into December for that matter.

Take time to identify the most distinctive and attractive buildings in the New Forest and nominate them for the New Forest National Park Authority’s Building Design Awards 2021.

Residential schemes, non-residential schemes, conservation projects and ‘green buildings’ are all eligible for an award.

Now in their sixth year, the Awards have previously recognised everything from a new art gallery space on the Beaulieu Estate and a new-build housing scheme in Lyndhurst; to a traditional thatched cottage in Woodgreen and the Peppa Pig building at Paulton’s Park.

Leo Randall, chairman of the New Forest National Park Authority’s planning committee said, “Through our planning policies, detailed design guidance and decisions, we’re constantly looking to support quality building design in the National Park.

“Now is an especially important time to recognise good standards of building through these awards. Throughout Covid-19, numbers of planning applications have remained high in the National Park. The call for nominations coincides with us reviewing the National Park Design Guide, as well as the high-profile Government reforms to national planning policy which reinforce the importance of good design in building development.”

As the sole local planning authority for the 220 square miles of the New Forest National Park, the NPA receives more than 900 planning applications each year and approves more than 85 per cent of these.

Nominations can be made by anyone living in or visiting the New Forest and must be for a high-standard design that has been completed in the last three years.

The NPA looks forward to receiving nominations from local residents, visitors, developers and parish councils – and those nominating their own buildings.

Nominations are invited in the following categories:

1. Best residential scheme (household extensions, new dwellings, conversions to residential)

2. Best non-residential scheme (industrial units, boat sheds, outbuildings not in residential use)

3. Best conservation project (extensions to a Listed Building, restoration of a Listed Building, repair of a Building at Risk)

4. Best green building – showcasing sustainable construction and materials

Nominations are open until 31 December 2020 and the winners will be chosen in the New Year by a panel of members drawn from the National Park Authority’s Planning Committee.

Submit your nomination at www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/buildingawards.