An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is land protected by the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000. Section 82(1) of the CRoW Act defines an AONB as “an area which appears to Natural England to be of such outstanding natural beauty that it is desirable that the protective provisions of Part IV of the Act should apply to it for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the area’s natural beauty.” There are currently 34 AONBs in England.

Natural England has a discretionary power under S.82 of the CRoW Act, to designate Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Natural England is the government’s adviser on the natural environment, with special responsibilities for creating National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and reviewing their boundaries. They also have a wide range of other responsibilities for the natural environment. More information about their work is at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england.

It is Natural England’s responsibility to decide whether to designate an area as AONB. Any decision will be made by Natural England’s Board, having considered the evidence and the results of the statutory and public consultation. Any designation Order would not take effect however unless and until confirmed by the Secretary of State (Defra), after a legal Notice Period has been undertaken. The Secretary of State has the power call a Public Inquiry to assist in their decision making if so minded.

In deciding whether to designate an AONB, or to vary an existing AONB boundary, Natural England must first consider whether the land has outstanding natural beauty and then whether designation is desirable for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the area’s natural beauty. This decision requires Natural England to address three broad questions:

• Does the landscape have sufficient natural beauty to be considered outstanding?
• Is it desirable for the purpose set out above, to designate this landscape as AONB?
• Where should the boundary be drawn?

The management of AONBs is usually the responsibility of a Joint Advisory Committee made up of the relevant local authorities. In addition a Partnership including a wide range of interested stakeholder organisations is also set up to help guide the management of the area.

The Joint Advisory Committee, working with an AONB Partnership leads on the preparation, monitoring and review of the AONB Management Plan on behalf of its constituent local authorities. The AONB Partnership also plays a leading role in developing an image and sense of identity for the AONB and in developing and supporting initiatives that implement the AONB Management Plan policies. The work of an AONB Partnership is achieved through an AONB Management Unit taking forward a range of initiatives that promote the special character of the area, establish partnerships, secure funding, ensure implementation and monitor effectiveness.

In recognition that AONBs are nationally important landscapes, 75% of the Unit’s core costs are funded by central government through DEFRA with 25% of core costs from the local authorities with land in the AONB, to reflect their statutory responsibilities towards the AONB.

Once an area has been selected for consideration for designation, it will be considered in detail, using the guidance referred to above. This guidance explains how Natural England normally expects to apply the statutory designation criteria in practice when assessing landscapes for designation.

Natural beauty is not exhaustively defined in the legislation. It is also a very subjective characteristic of a landscape and ultimately involves a value judgment. In deciding whether an area has natural beauty, Natural England must therefore make a judgment as to whether people are likely to perceive a landscape as having sufficient natural beauty.

In order to make these judgments (some of which are subjective) in a transparent and consistent way, the Guidance sets out the criteria that Natural England uses. These include landscape and scenic quality, relative wildness, relative tranquillity and contributions made to natural beauty by natural and cultural heritage features and associations.