FRIENDS OF THE FOREST -- FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

February 2006

THE CASE FOR AONB STATUS FOR THE FOREST OF DEAN

What are AONBs?

AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) are areas of countryside recognised in law as being of such high landscape quality that their distinctive character and natural beauty should be safeguarded in the nation’s interest.

There are 36 AONBs in England which have been designated because of their outstanding qualities which include flora, fauna, historic and cultural associations, as well as fine landscapes and scenic views.

AONBs are equivalent to National Parks regarding the priority to be given to safeguarding their special character, and they are recognised internationally as Protected Landscapes.

AONB purposes

The purpose of AONB designation is:

• To formally recognise areas of high landscape quality; and
• To encourage action to conserve and enhance them.

Designation is not about fossilising the countryside. Rather it is about ensuring that the area evolves in a way that respects local character and distinctiveness, and that the essential qualities of the area are safeguarded and, where possible, enhanced.

Achieving the purposes

Local authorities are primarily responsible for achieving AONB purposes through their planning function and more generally. But all public bodies now have a duty of regard for the purposes of AONBs when undertaking their work.

Local authorities are encouraged to set up AONB partnerships bringing together relevant interests, and they are required to prepare management plans setting out how they will care for the area. There is also now a power to set up special managing bodies known as Conservation Boards (as in the Cotswolds).

In pursuing AONB purposes, there is a specific requirement to take into account the social and economic needs of local communities. In practice, there is increasing recognition that achieving the purposes of AONBs can bring much wider benefits.

A Forest of Dean AONB: where would the boundaries be?

The boundaries would be determined on the basis of landscape quality. The Countryside Agency has the responsibility to designate AONBs and would lead the process, which would involve extensive consultation with the local authorities and the community. Designation has to be confirmed by the Minster before taking effect.

Studies conducted over many years have already indicated that much of the district would meet designation criteria. Indeed, the area was proposed for designation in the Dower and Hobhouse reports in the 1940s which led to the system of National Parks and AONBs in England and Wales, and would have been designed in 1971 along with the Wye Valley but for the conclusion of the local authorities at the time that the powers of the Forestry Commission to meet amenity and recreation needs made designation unnecessary.

What benefits would AONB status bring to the Forest?

In its AONB literature, the Countryside Agency states: “Designations of this kind rather than being a constraint are increasingly providing opportunities for sustainable economic growth that may not be available in other rural areas. The national importance of these landscapes makes them the focus for many initiatives aimed at balancing landscape conservation with the need to sustain rural communities. The conservation and enhancement of the landscape itself may lead to land-related employment, high quality of 1ife for residents and visitors, and the retention and attraction of investment.”

For the Forest of Dean, AONB status should bring a range of benefits, including:

• A better looked after environment.
• Wider recognition of the special qualities of the area leading to greater economic activity.
• Higher levels of funding, both National and EU.
• New, highly skilled small businesses attracted by a quality environment.
• Longer staying visitors bringing higher financial returns to tourism.
• An increased skills base and a wider range of employment opportunities.
• More vibrant communities as a result of greater prosperity, increased leisure opportunities, and a general raising of the standing of the area.
• Formal recognition that the district is an area to be proud of, worthy of careful management for the benefit of both our and future generations.

Annex 1 to this note gives examples of the wider benefits of AONB designation evident elsewhere.

The high quality landscape and peaceful environment of the Forest of Dean has already attracted an increasing number of small businesses into the area. Currently over 80% of businesses in Forest of Dean District are small employing 20 staff or less. Many of them are high intellectual value companies, whose lead specialists are reliant on the support of locally recruited labour. Based upon evidence from other parts of England and Wales the trend towards a small business, high value based economy would be sustained by formal recognition of the area as an AONB, since it would guarantee the retention of those qualities that attract these new small businesses.

Therefore, rather than being a restraint to achieving change for the economic benefit of the local community, AONB designation would be a catalyst.

Many reports have been written recently which address the economic worth of AONBs, protected landscapes, and sustainable environments. A number have attempted to put a value on that worth.

National Trust report on the socio-economic value of the South West’s protected landscapes, 1999:

• By the late 1990s 78% of holidays to the South West were motivated by the region's conserved landscapes, leading to an industry annually worth £3.7 billion, and 54,000 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs.

SW Environmental Prospectus, 1999:

• Excluding tourism, other businesses capitalizing on the high quality environment and protected landscapes of the SW generated £744 million in output annually and provided 55,000 jobs.

South West Tourism Report, 2003:

• By 2002, the economic value of the South West Coastal Path alone was worth a minimum annual worth of £48M.

Cornwall AONB Team Study, 2005:

• The worth of the SW Coastal Path has increased further to the extent that it is currently contributing £97M each year to the economy of Cornwall.

One North East Report, 2004

• The annual contribution worth from the protected landscapes of North East England is a £700M business turnover and 14,000 FTE jobs.
• A quality landscape and environment was a critical factor or a significant influence on 49% of businesses who had relocated to the North East.
• 63% of business respondents believed landscape quality and environment reflected positively on their business performance.
• 75% of businesses thought landscape and environment deterioration would have a negative impact on their businesses.

South East England Kentish Downs AONB Report, 2003-4:

• The Kent Downs AONB is a capital resource that underpins much economic activity in Kent.
• Its high quality environment helps attract businesses, contributes to the quality of life that people in the county value so highly and supports a substantial visitor economy.

'Valuing our Environment - the Economic Impact of the Environment of Wales'

• Its quality environment is fundamental to prosperity in Wales.
• £6bn GDP is directly dependent on the environment.
• Sustainable use and management of the environment contribute around £1.8bn in wages in Wales, and account for 1 in 6 jobs.
• Over £6bn of business turnover in Wales, associated with over 117,000 jobs and £1.2bn of wage incomes, can be directly attributed to the management and use of the Welsh environment.

The Malvern Hills AONB, Malvern and Ledbury Area Tourism Economic Assessment, 1998/99

This study found that

• The AONB was enormously important to the local economy.
• 1.11m day trips and 0.14m overnight visitors were being made to the area.
• £28 million being spent by visitors in the local economy.
• 740 FTE jobs were supported directly and 200 FTE jobs indirectly.
• There was close social and economic symbiosis between all the Malvern townships and the countryside on their doorstep.

Wye Valley AONB, In Touch, November 2005

• Every £1 of financial support provided by the four Local Authorities which work in partnership with the AONB attracts at least another £3 to benefit the area.

The Blackdown Hills Rural Partnership

• The Rural Partnership has a £1.4 million programme for adding value to local food and drink, forestry and woodlands, and arts and crafts products through the creation of a Blackdown Hills brand.

Other branding initiatives

• Similar branding initiatives to the Blackdown Hills are being set up in other protected areas, making the link between a high quality landscape and local products and helping producers expand their markets and achieve a premium for their products. Examples include South Downs Lamb, Chilterns Choice and the Peak District Environmental Quality Mark

Special Government Funding, 2005

• In 2005 the Government introduced a Sustainable Development Fund for AONBs, recognising the role that AONBs can play in delivering wider benefits. The fund has been designed to support projects that bring social, environment and economic benefits and is available to organisations, businesses and community groups.

Many other examples are can be found in the literature. All highlight the potential of AONBs and other protected landscapes to be real economic generators for their communities. There is no reason why the Forest of Dean area should be an exception.

ANNEX 2

PROTECTED LANDSCAPE BOUNDARY MODIFICATIONS MEETING THE TEST CRITERIA

The Countryside Agency currently operates four key tests to guide the decision making process when considering protected landscape boundary modifications and possible candidate areas for new designations. They are defined in four words: Intent, Evidence, Benefits, and Priority. In the following paragraphs we have attempted to demonstrate how the Forest of Dean area meets those test criteria.

INTENT

The Forest of Dean has long been recognised as a distinct area worthy of conservation with its own unique physical and cultural character. A case for National Park designation was made as long ago as 1930 in evidence to the Government’s first National Parks Committee (the Addison Committee). No National Parks were created at that time but 10,700 ha of the area controlled by the Forestry Commission in the Forest of Dean did become the first National Forest Park in England in 1938. The 1945 Dower Report on National Parks in England and Wales named The Forest of Dean and Lower Wye Valley in a list of “other amenity areas” which merited some kind of national protection and status in the future. The subsequent Hobhouse Committee report, which paved the way for legislation to create National Parks and AONBs, identified a 232 square mile area of the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley as meriting protection, a much more extensive area than the 1938 Forest Park

In 1959 the National Parks Commission started its consideration of a possible Forest of Dean and Wye Valley AONB based on the Hobhouse recommendations, although it was not until nearly ten years later that the Commission and the local authorities drew up boundaries. The local authorities preferred boundary excluded the Forest of Dean area. They concluded at the time that the Forest of Dean formed a distinct landscape separate from the Wye Valley and that designation as an AONB was not necessary as the Forestry Commission would have adequate powers for meeting amenity and recreation needs under the impending Countryside Act of 1968.

In 1998, in response to a strong lobby to give the Forest of Dean "special status", and concern over the threat of major increases in aggregates quarrying and its environmental impact, the Government asked the then Countryside Commission to advise if the Forest of Dean should be designated as an AONB. In response, the newly created Countryside Agency reported in 1999 that their research indicated that the Forest of Dean met the criteria for a national landscape designation.

EVIDENCE

Within the last decade a considerable wealth of further evidence has been assembled that confirms the importance of the area’s landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity, and historic and cultural heritage.

The 1999 Land Use Consultants (LUC) report Forest of Dean - Review of Special Status - demonstrated the diversity of landscapes in the Forest of Dean district ranging from the core Forest to its “green necklace” landscapes. The report concluded that these landscapes were of a quality which met national criteria for AONB designation.

Other evidence is to be found in the raft of studies that the Countryside Agency has funded over the last six years as part of the Forest of Dean Integrated Rural Development project. In particular, a landscape assessment has identified 15 character types, and a range of 42 character areas, substantiating views on the quality of the District’s landscapes and adding weight by recognising the pressures on many of these landscapes and the need for a properly implemented strategy, not just to preserve and safeguard them, but, where possible, to enhance them.

Other studies have demonstrated the rich biodiversity of the District with several areas recognised as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protected Areas (SPAs) under the European Habitats and Wild Bird Directives, its wide ranging geodiversity, its archaeological and industrial archaeological importance; and that its history and culture are in many ways unique.

BENEFITS

As well as the landscape protection under planning law that AONB status would provide, experience from other parts of the country is that AONB status would bring with it a much wider range of benefits. The economic arguments for designation are addressed in Annex 1. Other benefits, highlighted in the main text, include: stimulating environmental improvements, better access to funding support, new business and job opportunities, formal recognition of the special qualities of the District, and more vibrant communities as a result of a general raising of the standing of the area.

Many of the district’s special features are fragile. AONB status could provide the mechanisms to ensure their protection and enhancement for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

PRIORITY

Having waited nearly sixty years, formal recognition and legal designation of the Forest of Dean area for its special landscapes and features is long overdue.

Designation would provide a proven mechanism for safeguarding and enhancing the special features of the area, but also, by giving the area formal recognition of its special qualities, it would deliver much needed economic benefits.

Designation has become more urgent with the removal of the local special landscape area designation in the Forest of Dean District’s new Local Plan.

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