Background
252.The 1949 Act gave the then National Parks Commission (now the Countryside Agency in England, the Countryside Council for Wales in Wales) the power to designate AONBs, subject to confirmation of a designation order by the Secretary of State (now the National Assembly, in Wales). The only criteria were that the areas designated should be outside National Parks, and should appear to the designating agency to be of such outstanding natural beauty that the provisions of the 1949 Act should apply to them. Thirty seven AONBs were designated in England between 1957 and 1995, and five in Wales between 1956 and 1985 (the Wye Valley AONB straddles the border and is included in both totals).
253.The 1949 Act gave local planning authorities whose area includes all or part of an AONB the power (subject to certain restrictions) to take all such action as appears to them expedient to accomplish the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the AONB. AONBs have been accorded a high degree of protection in the planning system. But no statutory duties were placed on local authorities to manage AONBs in a particular way.
254.Although many local authorities, supported by the countryside agencies, have made considerable progress in the sympathetic management of AONBs, standards of management have varied. Following a number of earlier reports and extensive consultation, the then Countryside Commission (now the Countryside Agency) in 1998 produced a report entitled ‘Protecting our Finest Countryside: Advice to Government’ (CCP 532). It contained a number of proposals for ensuring that AONBs were better and more consistently managed. Some of the proposals were taken up by Lord Renton of Mount Harry in a private member’s bill introduced in the House of Lords in 1999, but which failed to become law.
255.There was considerable support for the addition to the Bill of provisions relating to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Government included provisions during the passage of the Bill.
