The Friends of Ballard Water Meadows
Friends of Ballard Water Meadows aim to conserve the site, its flora, fauna and wildlife habitats as a community resource and promote its use by local people and visitors to New Milton, as a place for the quiet enjoyment and study of the countryside.
The Friends of Ballard Water Meadows was initially established within the framework of The New Milton Town Partnership and became so firmly established, that it is now an independent body in its own right.
Informal discussions to form the Friends of Ballard Water Meadows began a
few years back. This 
informal group gradually
become the basis of the now established members and committee. We are all
local residents of New Milton with the common intention of working to improve
Ballard Water Meadow for the benefit of the community. We work with the
consent of and in partnership with New Milton Town Council who own the land.
Through that membership and the charity status we assume, we are able to
apply for some grants and funding. To maintain the project we need ongoing
funding for items such as insurance and equipment. The support of the wider
local community is therefore essential. At the first annual general meeting
the group adopted a formal constitution and a committee was formally
elected.
The committee members are
Chairman - Richard Prime
Vice Chairman - -Steve Clarke
Secretary - Enid Knight
Assistant Secretary - Christina Davies
Treasurer - Ann Prime
Liaison with Land Owner - Sandy Fagan
Membership Secretary - Lynn Corbin
Fundraiser - Glenys Ryan
Committee Members - Eric Dicks, Ruth Welch, Barbara Johnson
Community Involvement
The public nature of the site provides a great opportunity to involve local
residents in the management of the meadow. The Friends of Ballards Meadow are
now firmly established and a great deal of work has already been undertaken.
In the future, guided walks to raise people's awareness of the value of the
site might be considered. The involvement of local schools and other academic
establishments will continue to be developed and local businesses will be
asked to continue their support for the meadow.
Volunteers
To maintain such a large area of meadow and woodland requires helpers and a
little healthy exercise. If you would like to become an active member of the
'Friends' we meet on Friday and Sunday Mornings in the meadow.
You can also support us by becoming a member. Our membership fee for the year
is £5 and all income from membership fees goes directly into the project.
To become a Member
The Friends of New Milton Memorial Centre
The New Milton Memorial Centre offers facilities that are not available
elsewhere in the New Forest 
area, such as a very large
main hall and a proper raised stage with wings. It is therefore ideal for
hiring for dramatic productions and for parties, dances, talks and
conferences. The rates are extremely reasonable.
The Friends Group was formed a few years back, to help place the
Memorial Centre once again at the hub of the Community of New Milton. The
Friends Group and various Management and Trustee Committees have been
exploring all avenues in respect of the future of the Centre, ranging from
minor renovation of the facilities right through to a full-scale
redevelopment of the site with a new Memorial Centre building.
The Friends Group have three main short-term aims :-
- To raise funds for the Centre to keep it
going until its able to produce sufficient income from lettings.
- To promote the Centre as a viable hiring
venue for community groups and businesses.
- To improve its appearance, using donated
materials and volunteer labour, to make it more attractive and comfortable. f
It is hoped that these
short-term measures may allow the Management Committee the time to work
through the longer term issues of bringing the Memorial Centre back to once
again playing an important role in the Community of New Milton. Play your
part by becoming a Friend of The New Milton Memorial Centre. It costs
nothing. Better still, if you can offer your skills, time and energy to help
in these refurbishments, then the Friends group would like to hear from you.
The Friends of New Milton Station
Who are the Friends?
Formed in 2007, the "Friends" are a group of volunteers who seek the
refurbishment and improvement 
of our local
station. The group meets regularly in the Town Hall.
What is our vision?
We plan to spruce up the station area, making it more interesting, attractive
and welcoming hence restoring it to the vital part of the local community
that it used to be. The station environment will be improved for the benefit
of the travelling public and the local residents encouraging a sense of civic
pride. The station is a key asset of the town and we should recognise that
and treat it as such.
Why are we important?
It is now formally acknowledged by the Government, that station maintenance
can rarely be justified on commercial grounds and the industry needs to
attract private sector funding. This means that unless we take responsibility
and act locally then the station facilities will not get any better and
probably will deteriorate further. Also there is no one definition within the
rail industry of what passengers want and need from their stations so it is
vital that the community get involved and make their views known. The real
benefit of a local group is that it has the potential to influence station
development in a way that best suits the needs of the community rather than
relying on a "one size fits all" approach if left to the train operators and
Network Rail.
