Planning Practice Note
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
INTRODUCTION
AONBs are areas of high landscape quality designated by the Countryside Agency under the terms of section 87 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Their purpose is the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty, which includes the protection of flora, fauna, geology and the landscape. In landscape terms AONBs are considered to have equal status to the National Parks.
The Countryside Agency has 3 main policies for AONBs. These are ranked in order of importance:
- the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty of the area;
- taking account of the needs of agriculture, forestry, rural industries, and the economic and social needs of local communities;
- meeting the demand for countryside recreation.
There are 40 AONBs. 35 of them are in England, 4 in Wales and one partly in each. The English AONBs have a total area of 20,393kmē which represents about 15% of the country.
THE SHROPSHIRE HILLS AONB
The Shropshire Hills AONB was designated on 11 March 1959 and was the 7th to be designated. It has an area of 80,400ha. Of this 67,200ha lies in South Shropshire. This is about:
- 84% of the AONB;
- 65% of South Shropshire.
The remainder of the AONB lies in Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Atcham and Telford & Wrekin Districts.
The AONB covers the higher ground of the Clee Hills, Wenlock Edge, The Wrekin, the Stretton Hills, the Long Mynd, Stiperstones, the Rorrington and Bromlow Hills, and Clun Forest. It does not include the lower lying land around Ludlow, Craven Arms and Bishop's Castle or much of Corvedale. Nor does it include any of the North Herefordshire or Welsh hills.
The recently completed Landscape Character Assessment for Shropshire may lead to a re-evaluation of the extent of the AONB including the inextricable links to its market towns.
THE JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (JAC)
While AONBs enjoy many of the policy objectives of the National Parks, they do not have the same administrative structure. It is clear that the conservation and enhancement of the AONB cannot be achieved by regulation alone. Management of the AONB, by consensus of all those bodies and individuals who live and work there, is essential.
Accordingly the JAC for the Shropshire Hills AONB was set up in 1987 under the auspices of Shropshire County Council in collaboration with the District Councils already mentioned, and a broad range of statutory and non-statutory organisations involved in rural issues.
Purpose of the JAC
The purpose of the JAC is to bring together all those who have a role to play in the future of the AONB and who share the common aim of conserving and enhancing its natural beauty.
The aims of the JAC, through its Management Plan, are to:
- raise awareness of the importance of the Shropshire Hills;
- give local people an opportunity to become involved in influencing how the landscape should be managed;
- illustrate the types of pressures that face the Shropshire Hills, and suggest courses of action by using existing resources and generating other sources;
- provide an agreed framework for co-ordinated action by all those involved in its current management with common aims;
- provide a framework for monitoring and review of issues and objectives and the setting of future targets.
Membership and structure of the JAC
The membership of the JAC covers some 38 organisations representing:
- farming and land owning interests;
- wildlife and recreation interest;
- the local authorities.
The JAC is supported by the AONB Officer and the Shropshire Hills Partnership, which are based at Craven Arms.
PLANNING THE MANAGEMENT OF THE AONB
The new statutory duty
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 introduced a new duty for Local Authorities to produce Management Plans for AONBs.
The Management Plan
The first statutory Management Plan for the Shropshire Hills was formally launched on 12th July 2004. The plan aims to strengthen active conservation of the area's natural beauty and was influenced by many people with an interest in the future of this special landscape.
CONTACTS
AONB Officer and Shropshire Hills Partnership Tel: (01588) 674080
© Copyright South Shropshire District Council,
Stone House, Corve Street,
Ludlow, Shropshire, SY8 1DG.
Tel: (01584) 813000
Fax: (01584) 813128
e-mail: planning@southshropshire.gov.uk
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Subscribe to changes to this page here.Author: Planning and Building Control. Last Updated: 13/2/2007.
