National Landscapes in Wales

thumb|359x359px|National Landscapes in Wales From top-right clockwise; [[Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, Wye Valley, Gower, Llŷn, and Anglesey.]]

There are five National Landscapes (), formally Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), in Wales. AONBs are areas of countryside that have been designated for statutory protection, due to their significant landscape value, by initially the Government of the United Kingdom and later Welsh devolved bodies. Of the current five areas designated, four are wholly in Wales, with another spanning the Wales-England border, and in total AONBs account for 4% of Wales' land area.

The responsibility of designating areas in recognition of their national importance is devolved to Wales and performed by Natural Resources Wales (formerly the Countryside Council for Wales), on behalf of the Welsh Government. The designation is also used in England, and Northern Ireland. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty enjoy levels of protection from development similar to those of Welsh national parks, but unlike national parks, the responsible AONB bodies do not have their own planning powers, instead are performed by local authorities. They also differ from national parks in their more limited opportunities for extensive outdoor recreation. The Welsh Government had proposed that the designation be renamed to National Landscapes of Wales, however, they did not follow through with the proposals. In November 2023, all AONBs across England and Wales were to be renamed "National Landscapes".

thumb|Horses on the [[Gower Peninsula, with the Worm's Head in the background.]]

Of the five, the Gower AONB was the first area to be designated in Wales in 1956, and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB is the most recent, designated as the Clwydian Range AONB in 1985, and expanded to the Dee Valley in 2011.

History

The Hobhouse Report by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, published in July 1947 to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, proposed 52 conservation areas in England and Wales, of which under the term "Western", eleven are wholly in Wales, and a further three are situated around the Wales-England border. These areas were selected for their "outstanding landscape beauty" and home to "great scientific interest", which was deemed worthy of protection and management through statutory designation. The Hobhouse Report alongside the 1945 Report to the Government on National Parks in England and Wales by John Gordon Dower, would contribute to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 which created the National Parks and set up the designation later to become "Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty".

Conservation areas proposed in the 1947 Hobhouse Report; with their proposed size; likely to be wholly in Wales:)

* May be wholly in Wales or extend further through the Clun Forest into England.

Designation of the AONBs

AONBs were first designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and prior to devolution, were designated on behalf of the UK Government.

The first AONB to be designated with the status in Wales was the Gower AONB in 1956, designated for its classic limestone coast and local natural habitats, it was also the first AONB designated in the UK. This was followed by parts of the Llŷn Peninsula to be designated an AONB in 1957, with of the AONB's coastline also designated as a Heritage coast. The coasts of Anglesey were designated as an AONB in 1966, with its status confirmed the following year, the status was awarded to the Anglesey Coast to protect its aesthetic appeal and the various landscapes and habitats from inappropriate development. The Wye Valley, spanning parts of both Wales and England, was designated in 1971, to protect the AONBs various features including: limestone gorges, native woodlands, hillforts, castles and the first Cistercian Abbey in Wales. The Clwydian Range was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1985 by the Secretary of State for Wales Nicholas Edwards MP; with proposals to extend it to the Dee Valley by the Countryside Council for Wales and local councils announced in 2010, and approved in November 2011 expanding the AONB to become the current Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.

2015 review

In 2014, Carl Sargeant AM, then Minister for Natural Resources, commissioned for a Review of the Designated Landscapes in Wales, to "ensure that [Wales'] designated landscapes are best equipped to meet current and future challenges while building upon their internationally recognised status".

The initial report called for grouping the AONBs with National Parks as "The National Designated Landscapes of Wales", but opposed any plans to make AONBs and National Parks a single designation, and instead, both designations are "the equivalent designations" with identical Statutory Purposes and Duties, with a further initial recommendation for renaming AONBs to "National Landscapes".

Lesley Griffiths AM, then Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, would describe the crux of the report to be the promotion of the authorities' duty to consider the socio-economic well-being of the AONBs.

The Marsden review also recommended that the Welsh Government empower AONBs and national parks to become centres of innovation and a catalyst for development for regions of rural Wales, but within the designated landscapes' "environmental limits", and to set performance targets for the managing bodies of the designated landscapes.

In March 2018, Hannah Blythyn AM, then Minister for Environment, stated no changes were to be made on how AONBs operate in Wales, including the proposed name change.

Proposed renaming

The initial Marsden review proposed that Wales' five AONBs be renamed to the "National Landscapes of Wales".

The proposals met criticism from AMs, MPs, volunteer groups, and tourist trade organisations, with South Wales West AM Peter Black describing the move to be "misguided" and "should be ignored". Black also questioned how redesignating would work on the Wye Valley AONB, shared with England where renaming may not be applied. The renaming was also proposed for AONBs elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and followed through by the Cotswolds AONB which rebranded itself to the Cotswolds National Landscape in 2020. In November 2023, all AONBs across England and Wales were to be renamed "National Landscapes". The Snowdonia Society, stated the report lacked clarity and echoed the concerns that the report lacked an emphasis on the primacy of conservation, noting that the word "Conservation" was absent in the Future Landscapes document.

In March 2018, Minister for Environment Hannah Blythyn AM stated no changes were to be made on how AONBs operate in Wales.

Each AONB has a dedicated AONB officer, other staff, and alongside the other AONBs in England and Wales are collectively represented by the "National Landscapes Association", previously the "National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty" (NAAONB).

AONBs are classified as a Category V landscape by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has overall responsibility for AONBs nationally in Wales but the AONBs are locally managed by local authorities with the support of Joint Advisory Committees (JAC), local communities and partnerships. The areas are:

Gower National Landscape () – which spans of the Gower peninsula. The AONB covers almost the entire peninsula (excluding some eastern urban areas), and is located within the City and County of Swansea on the south-west coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel. Referred to colloquially as "the Gower", it was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an AONB in 1956.
Llŷn AONB () – which spans or around a quarter of the Llŷn Peninsula, covering much of the coastline and the ex-volcanic hills. The peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from mainland north-west Wales, and south-west of the Isle of Anglesey. The AONB was created in 1956, and is one of the most scientifically important in both Wales and the United Kingdom. of the AONB's coastline is Heritage coast.
Anglesey AONB () – which was designated as a AONB in 1966, in order to protect the aesthetic appeal and variety of the island's coastal landscape and habitats from inappropriate development. The AONB covers most of Anglesey's coastline, as well as inland areas, such as Holyhead Mountain and Mynydd Bodafon. The AONB covers around , about a third of the county, making it Wales' second-largest AONB, and largest until 2011. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in Southern Britain. The River Wye () is the fifth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the river passes through the settlements of Rhayader, Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye, but the area designated as an AONB surrounds only the 58-mile stretch lower down the river, The AONB is in land area, increasing from before 2011, and it is also a proposed national park.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

!AONB / AHNE

! class="unsortable" |Photo

!Established

!Area

!Local authorities

!Map

|Anglesey

()

|150x150px

|1967

|Anglesey

|frameless|179x179px

|Clwydian Range and Dee Valley

()

|150x150px

|1985

|Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham

|frameless|179x179px

|Gower

()

|150x150px

|1956

|Swansea

|frameless|179x179px

|Llŷn

|150x150px

|1957

|Gwynedd

|frameless|179x179px

|Wye Valley

()

(partly in England)

|150x150px

|1971

|Monmouthshire,

|frameless|179x179px

Proposed areas

thumb|[[River Ceiriog, in the proposed Ceiriog Valley, from the bridge at Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog.]]

Cambrian Mountains — launched in November 2006, the campaign by Cambrian Mountains Society to make the area an AONB, campaign on the basis that AONB status would "boost the local economy, and help agriculture, heritage and culture". The area's bid to become a national park has been in the works since the 1960s, reaching the Welsh Office in 1973, where it was ultimately rejected. The campaign continues to propose that the area should become a national park, advocating for any type of environmental protection for the area. Welsh ministers expressed openness to the idea in 2023, however progress on the bid would be delayed to 2026 as ministers focus on a Clwydian Range and Dee Valley national park.
Ceiriog Valley and Y Berwyn — The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) started the consideration of the area into an AONB in February 2011 alongside proposals for the then Clwydian Range AONB. A final report published in March 2012, concluded that AONB status for Y Berwyn (which includes the Ceiriog Valley) is "desirable for the statutory purpose of conserving and enhancing the area’s natural beauty", but further work is to be done by the CCW to investigate alternatives to AONB status before a final decision is to be made.
Expansion of the Gower AONB — first proposed in 2005, the Gower Society calls for an extension of the Gower AONB, and submitted a proposal to the National Assembly for Wales in March 2012. The Gower Society have also proposed for the AONB to become a national park, however such proposals have not been acted on by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Gwent Levels — In July 2019, John Griffiths AM for Newport East called for the area to be awarded AONB status following the scrapping of the proposed M4 relief road, which if followed through would've passed through the proposed area. Griffiths states that AONB status would protect the area from similar proposals. The Gwent branch of the Wales Green Party sponsored a petition to make the area an AONB.
Towy Valley (Tywi Valley) – In April 2023, the Carmarthenshire Residents Action Group launched a campaign for the Towy Valley to become an AONB to protect the area from "harmful developments", with proposed electricity pylons used as an example.
Mid Wales – In April 2023, a petition was launched for a Mid Wales AONB covering the Upper Wye Valley and the water catchment areas of at least the rivers Irfon, Ithon and Elan.

Rating

In November 2021, a Which? review listed Gower as the top-rated AONB in Wales (10th in the UK); followed by Wye Valley (15th), Llŷn (20th), Clwydian Range and Dee Valley (21st), and Anglesey (26th).

Notes

External links

Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB Website
Wye Valley AONB Website
Llŷn AONB Website
The National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty Website

National Landscapes in Wales

History

Designation of the AONBs

2015 review

Proposed renaming

Proposed areas

Rating

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links

References