An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an area of countryside with significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government; or the Environment and Heritage Service on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The Countryside Agency in England is a statutory body with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. ... The agencies responsible for the government of the United Kingdom consist of a number of ministerial departments (usually headed by a Secretary of State) and non-ministerial departments headed by senior civil servants. ... The Countryside Council for Wales (Welsh: Cyngor Cefn Gwlad Cymru) is the United Kingdom Governments wildlife conservation authority for Wales. ... Official logo of the Welsh Assembly Government The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) (Welsh: , LlCC) was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007. ... The Environment and Heritage Service is the United Kingdom Governments conservation agency for Northern Ireland. ... The Northern Ireland Executive as established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is the (currently suspended) executive body for Northern Ireland, answerable to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ...

Overview

The primary purpose of the AONB designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, with 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. Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system by which the British government seeks to maintain a balance between economic development and environmental quality in the United Kingdom. ...

As they have the same landscape quality, AONBs may be compared to the national parks of England and Wales. AONBs are created under the same legislation as the national parks, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Unlike AONBs, national parks have their own authorities, have special legal powers to prevent unsympathetic development, and are well known to many inhabitants of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. By contrast, there are very limited statutory duties imposed on local authorities within an AONB and there is evidence to indicate many residents in such areas may be unaware of the status. However, further regulation and protection of AONBs was added by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, and the Government has recently stated that AONBs and national parks have equal status when it comes to planning consent and other sensitive issues. The Brecon Beacons National Park, looking from the highest point of Pen Y Fan (886 m/2907 feet) to Corn Du (873 m/2864 feet). ... Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always (see National Parks of England and Wales), declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. ... The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is the UK Act of Parliament which created the Countryside Commission (which later became the Countryside Agency), provided the framework for the creation of national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, and also addressed public... The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is a UK act of parliament which came into force on November 30, 2000. ...

There are 35 AONBs in England, four in Wales, one (Wye Valley) that is in both England and Wales and nine in Northern Ireland. The most recently confirmed is the Tamar Valley AONB in 1994. AONBs vary greatly in terms of size, type and use of land, whether they are partly or wholly open to the public. All English and Welsh AONBs have a dedicated AONB officer and other staff. The smallest AONB is the Isles of Scilly (1976), 16 km², and the largest AONB is the Cotswolds (1966), 2,038 km². The AONBs of England and Wales together cover around 18% of the countryside in the two countries. The National Association for AONBs is an independent organisation acting on behalf of AONBs and their partners. Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley, viewed from the Devils Pulpit near Tidenham The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important protected landscape area straddling the border between England and Wales. ... The Calstock Viaduct crossing the River Tamar. ... St Martins taken from the helicopter to Penzance View from Tresco, the second largest member of the Isles of Scilly For the area of Surrey, see Scilly Isles, Surrey. ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... The Cotswolds is the name given to a range of hills in central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, a hilly area reaching over 300 m or 1000 feet. ...

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.^[1] Three particular sites were cited: the Dorset AONB threatened by a road plan, the threat of a football stadium in the Sussex Downs AONB, and, larger than any other, a £1 billion plan by Imperial College to build thousands of houses and offices on hundreds of acres of AONB land on the Kent Downs at Wye.^[2] Imperial College have now withdrawn their plans for development, seemingly to the disappointment of both Ashford Borough and Kent County councils (September 2006). The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE, formerly Council for the Preservation of Rural England ) is a voluntary anti-urbanist, pro-nature organisation. ... Royal School of Mines Entrance Imperial College London is a college of the University of London which focuses on science and technology, and is located in South Kensington in London. ... Wye College Wye is an historic village in Kent, England, located some 12 miles from Canterbury. ...

Scotland

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 does not cover Scotland. Instead Scotland has National Scenic Areas. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is the UK Act of Parliament which created the Countryside Commission (which later became the Countryside Agency), provided the framework for the creation of national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales, and also addressed public... This article is about the country. ... National Scenic Area is a conservation designation specifically for Scotland, administered by Scottish Natural Heritage. ...

See also

• National Scenic Areas
• Conservation in the United Kingdom
• European Landscape Convention

National Scenic Area is a conservation designation specifically for Scotland, administered by Scottish Natural Heritage. ... This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom. ... The European Landscape Convention, also known as the Florence Convention, was initiated by the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe. ...

References

1. ^ Campaign to Protect Rural England
2. ^ save-wye.org

External links

• National Association for AONBs