​1.3 Policy context

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Although now known as a National Landscape, ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB) remains the legal term for the designation and so is the terminology used in this section. 

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1.3.1 Legislation

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Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks were brought into being by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and have the same status, and level of protection. National Landscapes are particularly special landscapes, whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard them.  

 

The purpose of the AONB designation was updated and confirmed by the Countryside Commission in 1991:  

• The primary purpose of AONB designation is to conserve and enhance natural beauty. 

• In pursuing the purpose, account should be taken of the needs of agriculture, forestry, other rural industries, and of the economic and social needs of local communities. Particular regard should be paid to promoting sustainable forms of social and economic development, that in themselves conserve and enhance the environment. 

• Recreation is not an objective of designation, but the demand for recreation should be met so far as this is consistent with the conservation of natural beauty, and the needs of agriculture, forestry, and other uses. Reference: Countryside Commission CCP356 (1991). 

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"Natural beauty" includes flora, fauna, geological and physiographic features. These aspects of natural beauty are key components of the landscape. However, landscape is also about visual and sensory tranquillity, the dark night skies, the relationship between people and place, the interaction between nature and culture. It is therefore very important that the cultural dimension of the landscape, including the historical, intellectual and spiritual elements as well as the physical human shaping of the land is fully recognized.  

 

Further to this the European Landscape Convention (ratified by the UK Government in 2006) states "as a reflection of European identity and diversity, the landscape is our living natural and cultural heritage, be it ordinary or outstanding, urban or rural, on land or in water". 

 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) designates the UK’s NLs as Category V – Protected Landscape/seascape – "a protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant ecological, biological, cultural and scenic value". 

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The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 confirmed the significance of AONBs with Section 85 placing a statutory (legal) duty on all relevant authorities to have regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty when discharging any function in relation to, or affecting land within, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Section 89 placed a statutory duty on local authorities to prepare and review a Management Plan for each AONB in their administrative area.  

 

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 places a stronger requirement on partners such as local authorities and public bodies, known as relevant authorities, to conserve and enhance Protected Landscapes – the term used to collectively refer to AONBs and National Parks. It amends the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, placing a revised duty on relevant authorities: 

 

​Section 245 (Protected Landscapes):

“In exercising or performing any functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land in any [Protected Landscape] in England, a relevant authority must seek to further the specified purposes.” 

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This replaces the existing duty to “have regard to” the specified purposes. Defra have produced Guidance for relevant authorities on seeking to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes – GOV.UK . Amendments brought about by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act also grant powers to the Secretary of State to make regulations to: 

• Direct a relevant authority in the discharging of the duty. 

• Require a protected landscape management plan to contribute to meeting any national environmental target set under the Environment act 2021.  

• Set out how a management plan must further the purposes of the designation. 

• Require and set out how a relevant authority must contribute to the preparation, implementation and review of a management plan.  

 

1.3.2 Defra and Natural England policy

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Under the umbrella of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan the work and priorities of the National Landscape, as set out in the Management Plan, are required to contribute to Defra’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.  

 

This sets the UK goals for enhancing the natural environment, including:  

• The target to protect 30% of our land and sea for nature, through the Nature Recovery Network, by 2030 (the so-called "30 by 30" commitment which arises from the UK’s commitments at the COP15 Biodiversity summit).  

• The target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats outside protected sites by 2042.  

 

It also seeks to halt the decline in species abundance by the end of 2030, increasing it to above 2022 levels by 2042.  

 

The ambition is to achieve high quality, accessible, natural spaces with increased biodiversity close to where people live and work, with a focus around the equal distribution of environmental benefits and resources to all.  

 

Specifically, the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework sets the ambition for how Protected Landscapes are expected to achieve three outcomes from the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) which relate to these goals:  

• Goal 1: Thriving plants and wildlife.  

• Goal 7: Mitigating and adapting to climate change.  

• Goal 10: Enhancing beauty, heritage and engagement with the natural environment.  

 

The Protected Landscape targets are non-statutory and create a shared ambition for all 44 of England’s Protected Landscapes. The targets are for the Protected Landscapes as places (the geographic area covered by the designation). Action will be coordinated by Protected Landscape bodies through their statutory management plan, and it will be the responsibility of all stakeholders, partners and land managers in the area to support their delivery.  

 

Most of these changes follow recommendations made within the Landscapes Review 2019, an independent review of Designated Landscapes (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in England, commissioned by the Government and led by Julian Glover.  

 

"The Review aims not to diminish the character or independence of our designated landscapes, or to impose new burdens on them and the people who live and work in the areas they cover. Instead, its purpose is to ask what might be done better, what changes could assist them, and whether definitions and systems which, in many cases date back to their original creation, are still sufficient.”  

 

The Landscapes Review produced 27 proposals, including:  

• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) strengthened with new purposes, powers and resources, renamed as National Landscapes.  

• The state of nature and natural capital in our national landscapes should be regularly and robustly assessed, informing the priorities for action. 

• Strengthened management plans should set clear priorities and actions for nature recovery including, but not limited to, wilder areas and the response to climate change, (notably tree planting and peatland restoration). Their implementation must be backed up by stronger status in law. 

 

1.3.3 Other key policies / considerations.  

 

National Planning Policy Framework 2024 . The NPPF applies to the whole of England including the protected landscapes, setting out that planning policies and decisions should recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside. The NPPF and Planning practice guidance form important material considerations with regard to development management and planning and confirm that: 

• The scale and extent of development in National Landscapes should be limited.  

• Where there are no relevant development plan policies, or the policies which are most important for determining a planning application are out of date, the NPPF introduces a presumption that planning permission should be granted, unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits. (This is often referred to as the “tilted balance”). However, the tilted balance may often be disapplied in respect of planning affecting the Quantock Hills National Landscape. That is because the NPPF makes clear the tilted balance is not triggered in cases where the application of its policies that “protect areas or assets of particular importance” (including National Landscapes) provides a strong reason for refusing the development proposed.  

• There is a presumption that planning permission should be refused for major development in National Landscapes other than in exceptional circumstances, and where it can be demonstrated that the development is in the public interest.  

• Policies for protecting National Landscapes may mean that it is not possible to meet objectively assessed needs for housing and other development in full (where the application of policies in the Framework that protect areas or assets of particular importance provides a strong reason for restricting the overall scale, type or distribution of development in the plan area).  

• National Landscapes are unlikely to be suitable areas for accommodating unmet needs arising from adjoining, non-designated, areas.  

 

Paragraph 189 of the NPPF states:

"Great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Broads and National Landscapes which have the highest status of protection in relation to these issues. The conservation and enhancement of wildlife and cultural heritage are also important considerations in these areas and should be given great weight in National Parks and the Broads. The scale and extent of development within all these designated areas should be limited, while development within their setting should be sensitively located and designed to avoid or minimise adverse impacts on the designated areas". 

 

Paragraph 190 of the NPPF states:

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"When considering applications for development within National Parks, the Broads and AONBs, permission should be refused for major development other than in exceptional circumstances, and where it can be demonstrated that the development is in the public interest. Consideration of such applications should include an assessment of: a. the need for the development, including in terms of any national considerations, and the impact of permitting it, or refusing it, upon the local economy; b. the cost of, and scope for, developing outside the designated area, or meeting the need for it in some other way; and c. any detrimental effect on the environment, the landscape and recreation opportunities and the extent to which they can be moderated."

 

While "major development" is not defined Footnote 67 of the NPPF explains:

"For the purposes of paragraph 190 and 191, whether a proposal is ‘major development’ is a matter for the decision maker, taking into account its nature, scale and setting, and whether it could have a significant adverse impact on the purposes for which the area has been designated or defined". 

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Local Nature Recovery Strategies. The Management Plan needs to account for the Somerset’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy which is currently being developed. As a responsible authority Somerset Council is preparing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy as part of a statutory duty under the Environment Act 2021, working with stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors to agree priorities for nature recovery, mapping the existing nature rich areas and establish shared proposals for actions to recover nature.  

 

Climate action planning. The Management Plan will be informed and influenced by Somerset’s Climate Emergency Strategy. 

 

Local Plans. Planning policy and decision that affect the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty and character of the National Landscape are the responsibility of local authorities, in the case of the Quantock Hills, this is Somerset Council. Development should complement the character of the landscape, be sustainable and be of appropriate scale and nature. 

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Any development proposal must be in accordance with Somerset Council Development Plan, including core strategies, local plans, neighbourhood plans and any supplementary planning documents adopted by the authority. This includes adopted local plans in the former Somerset districts of Somerset West and Taunton, and Sedgemoor.​
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