27-585: The Surrey Hills National Landscape is a 422 km (163 sq mi) National Landscape in Surrey , England. It comprises around one quarter of the land area of the county and principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge . It was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in May 1958 and was redesignated as a National Landscape in 2023. The Surrey Hills National Landscape borders
54-684: A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), lies within the area. Surrey Hills National Landscape is surrounded by an Area of Great Landscape Value, which covers a further eight percent of the county. The Surrey Hills area has three long-distance walks running through it: the North Downs Way , the Greensand Way and the Pilgrims' Way . Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB ; Welsh : Ardal o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol , AHNE )
81-572: A fierce fight by conservationists. The subsequent development, known as Falmer Stadium , was officially opened in July 2011. The Weymouth Relief Road in Dorset was constructed between 2008 and 2011, after environmental groups lost a High Court challenge to prevent its construction. Writing in 2006, Professor Adrian Phillips listed threats facing AONBs, which he says include uncertainty over future support for land management, increasing development pressures,
108-611: A football stadium in the Sussex Downs AONB , and, larger than any other, a £1 billion plan by Imperial College London to build thousands of houses and offices on hundreds of acres of AONB land on the Kent Downs at Wye . In September 2007 government approval was finally given for the development of a new football ground for Brighton and Hove Albion within the boundaries of the Sussex Downs AONB, after
135-512: Is one of 46 areas of countryside in England , Wales , or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England and Wales have also adopted the name National Landscapes . Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance by the relevant public body: Natural England , Natural Resources Wales , and
162-586: Is the highest). Blackheath Common is also part of the area. The northern ridge of the hills, predominantly formed by chalk , is separated from the southern ridges, which are predominantly greensand , by the Vale of Holmesdale , which continues into Kent. The North Downs provide a haven for rare plants and insects. Parts of the area are owned and managed by the National Trust , including Ranmore Common , Leith Hill and Box Hill . Chiddingfold Forest ,
189-796: The Kent Downs AONB to the east and the South Downs National Park to the south west. The highest summit of the Surrey Hills National Landscape, Leith Hill near Coldharbour , is 294 metres (965 ft) above sea level. It is part of the Greensand Ridge , which traverses the National Landscape from west to east, and is the second highest point in south-east England ( Walbury Hill at 297 metres or 974 feet above sea level
216-645: The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 as the AONB designation. The purpose of an AONB designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the designated landscape. There are two secondary aims: meeting the need for quiet enjoyment of the countryside and having regard for the interests of those who live and work there. To achieve these aims, AONBs rely on planning controls and practical countryside management. As they have
243-806: The New Forest National Park in 2005 meant the subsumption of South Hampshire Coast AONB into it. East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB East Hampshire and Sussex Downs AONBs were replaced in 2010 by the South Downs National Park . (Ynys Môn) (Bryniau Clwyd a Dyffryn Dyfrdwy) (Gŵyr) (Dyffryn Gwy) (partly in England) Notes The following are formal proposals for new AONBs submitted to Natural England : The 2019 Landscape Review Report additionally favourably mentions proposals not listed in Natural England's list: from Sandstone Ridge and
270-463: The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act , in 1988. Strictly speaking, this is not a national park, but the differences are sufficiently small that this entity is always regarded as being "equivalent to" a national park. The New Forest was designated a national park on 1 March 2005. The South Downs , the last of the 12 areas chosen in the 1947 Hobhouse Report, was designated as South Downs National Park by
297-547: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency respectively. On 22 November 2023, following a 2022 Landscapes Review policy paper, the AONBs in England and Wales adopted a new name, National Landscapes ( Welsh : Tirweddau Cenedlaethol ), and are in the process of rebranding. The name "area of outstanding natural beauty" is still the designated legal term. In place of the term AONB, Scotland uses
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#1732776592404324-651: The Strangford Lough and Lecale Coast AONBs being merged to form a single AONB in 2010. AONBs vary greatly in terms of size, type and use of land, and whether they are partly or wholly open to the public. The smallest AONB is the Isles of Scilly , 16 km (6.2 sq mi), and the largest is the Cotswolds , 2,038 km (787 sq mi). AONBs cover around 15% of England and 4% of Wales. AONBs in England and Wales were originally created under
351-468: The Vale of Belvoir . The Cheshire Sandstone Ridge was subsequently shortlisted for AONB designation in 2021. On 8 October 2024, Natural England launched a statutory and public consultation for proposed plans to designate part of the Yorkshire Wolds as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to
378-472: The AONB designation was first put forward by John Dower in his 1945 Report to the Government on National Parks in England and Wales . Dower suggested there was need for protection of certain naturally beautiful landscapes that were unsuitable as national parks owing to their small size and lack of wildness. Dower's recommendation for the designation of these "other amenity areas" was eventually embodied in
405-620: The AONBs (the Cotswolds and the Chilterns), which extend into a large number of local authority areas, have their own statutory bodies, known as conservation boards. In 2019 the Glover Report made various recommendations regarding the future of AONBs – the report's 'central proposal' being to bring National Parks and AONBs together as part of one 'family of national landscapes' – but as at 1 November 2020
432-874: The Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6 . c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency , which became Natural England when it merged with English Nature in 2006. The Act provided the framework for the creation of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales , and also addressed public rights of way and access to open land. The Act
459-538: The Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (NI) Order 1985. There are growing concerns among environmental and countryside groups that AONB status is increasingly under threat from development. The Campaign to Protect Rural England said in July 2006 that many AONBs were under greater threat than ever before. Three particular AONBs were cited: the Dorset AONB threatened by a road plan, the threat of
486-762: The Secretary of State Hilary Benn in March 2009, making 15 national parks in total. The structure set up by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 was amended by: Further amendments are made by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 , under which English Nature , the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service merged on 1 October 2006 to form new bodies called Natural England and
513-978: The United Kingdom: 33 in England, four in Wales , one on the England–Wales border , and eight in Northern Ireland . The first AONB was established in 1956 on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales , and the most recent to be designated is the Tamar Valley AONB , established in 1995. More recent changes include the Clwydian Range AONB being extended in 2012 to form the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB, and
540-703: The government has yet to respond to those recommendations. However, the Cotswolds Conservation Board announced in September 2020 that they were re-styling the area name and it is now known as the Cotswolds National Landscape. All English and Welsh AONBs have a dedicated AONB officer and other staff. As required by the CRoW Act, each AONB has a management plan that sets out the characteristics and special qualities of
567-529: The impacts of globalization, and climate change . More subtle threats include creeping suburbanization and horsiculture . Poet Laureate Simon Armitage wrote a poem "Fugitives", commissioned by the National Association of AONBs, which he read on Arnside Knott on 21 September 2019 to launch the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act . South Hampshire Coast AONB The establishment of
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#1732776592404594-616: The landscape and how they will be conserved and enhanced. The AONBs are collectively represented by the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (NAAONB), an independent registered charity acting on behalf of AONBs and their partners, which uses the slogan "Landscapes for Life". AONBs in Northern Ireland was designated originally under the Amenity Lands (NI) Act 1965; subsequently under
621-550: The original 1949 Act. However, further regulation and protection of AONBs in England and Wales was added by the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 , under which new designations are now made, In the National Planning Policy Framework (March 2012), the government stated that AONBs and national parks have equal status when it comes to planning decisions on landscape issues. Two of
648-549: The same landscape quality, AONBs may be compared to the national parks of England and Wales . National parks are well known in the UK; by contrast, there is evidence to indicate many residents in AONBs may be unaware of the status. However, the National Association of AONBs is working to increase awareness of AONBs in local communities, and, in 2014, successfully negotiated to have the boundaries of AONBs in England shown on Google Maps . There are 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in
675-455: The same legislation as the national parks , the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 . Unlike AONBs, national parks have special legal powers to prevent unsympathetic development. AONBs in general remain the responsibility of their local authorities by means of special committees that include members appointed by a minister and by parishes, and only very limited statutory duties were imposed on local authorities within an AONB by
702-416: The similar national scenic area (NSA) designation. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty enjoy levels of protection from development similar to those of UK national parks , but unlike national parks the responsible bodies do not have their own planning powers . They also differ from national parks in their more limited opportunities for extensive outdoor recreation. The idea for what would eventually become
729-513: Was passed in 1949 with all-party support, as part of the reconstruction of the UK by the Labour government after World War II . The Act followed reports by: The first 10 British national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in mostly poor-quality agricultural upland . An eleventh 'national park' in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads was set up by a special Act of Parliament ,
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