27-711: The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent , England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London / Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover , including a small section of the London Borough of Bromley . The AONB also includes the Greensand Ridge , a prominent sandstone escarpment which lies south of the chalk escarpment of
54-499: A degree in architecture at St John's College, Cambridge . In 1929, Dower married Pauline Trevelyan, whose father was Charles Trevelyan ; this introduced him into a campaign to protect the wild areas of Britain. Dower prepared a report in the late 1930s, but it was put to one side when the Second World War broke out and he was called up as a Royal Engineer. During his time in the army, Dower contracted virulent tuberculosis and
81-564: 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,
108-589: 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
135-533: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB ; Welsh : Ardal o Harddwch Naturiol Eithriadol , AHNE ) 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
162-627: 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
189-848: 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
216-634: 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
243-563: 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). John Gordon Dower John Gordon Dower (2 September 1900 – 3 October 1947) was an English civil servant and architect , who, as secretary of
270-466: 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
297-651: 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
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#1732843926594324-696: The Kent Downs, stretching from Farnham to the English Channel and reappearing within the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale in France. High Weald AONB lies to the south east, separated by a distance of just over 2km at Bough Beech Reservoir . As part of the management of the AONB, Village Design Statements have been adopted by 14 per cent of villages within its boundaries, going on to form part of Supplementary Planning Guidance , recognising
351-523: 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
378-565: The North Downs. It was first designated as an AONB in July 1968 and covers 878 square km (326 square miles). The AONB's highest point is Toy's Hill , at 250m above sea level, and its boundaries include three main rivers: the Darent , Medway and Stour . To the west, Surrey Hills AONB adjoins the Kent Downs AONB, and includes a continuation of the North Downs chalk ridge which runs through
405-674: The Standing Committee on National Parks , produced in 1945 the first post-war official report which set out what National Parks in England and Wales should be like. Dower was born in Ilkley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire , in September 1900. His father was a Methodist lay preacher and was a director of a steel firm in Leeds . Dower was educated at a local school in Ilkley and he then studied for
432-922: 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
459-589: The character of the historic landscape and distinctiveness of settlements. Among the named parts of the Downs are: The North Downs Way runs through the full length of the AONB, the Stour Valley Walk passes through the east of the AONB, and the Greensand Way to the south of Sevenoaks . 51°17′N 0°35′E / 51.29°N 0.58°E / 51.29; 0.58 This Kent location article
486-617: 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
513-520: 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
540-592: 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
567-504: The name National Landscapes . Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance by the relevant public body: Natural England , Natural Resources Wales , and 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
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#1732843926594594-711: The national parks was: This report, and a subsequent one by Sir Arthur Hobhouse , laid the foundations for the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 which created the National Park system. Dower was a keen rambler and fly-fishermen. he had also once been president of the Ramblers Association. He died from the effects of tuberculosis in Cambo House, near Morpeth , in October 1947. His family scattered his ashes on Ilkley Moor . John and Pauline Dower had
621-530: 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
648-571: 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 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
675-546: 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
702-455: 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
729-571: Was invalided out of military service. While convalescing at his home in Kirkby Malham , he was asked to compile a report again into the national parks. As he was too ill to drive, Pauline took them around the country so he could make notes, even being detained by the Home Guard in Cornwall. Dower's report was completed in 1943, but it was not published until 1945. The central tenet for the creation of
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