It was a warm gentle afternoon in a busy Alnmouth. I eventually found a parking space, at the front overlooking the golf course, one of England's oldest links courses, with lovely - some might say outstanding - natural beauty. I walked appropriately in front of the course, past the dunes and back up the street to my first meeting of the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership Board...
...where they elected me chair. Nobody else wanted to do it, which was one reason; another was that previously the chair was one of the Councillors appointed to the partnership board; I'm one of four such councillors and the only one who lives in the area and wasn't already chair of something.
It's good thing to be involved in; it doesn't actually have any powers but it has influence.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were formed after the Second World War, at the same time as National Parks, to ensure their preservation for the nation's benefit. As a generalisation, National Parks were more isolated and had more protections than AONBs but the primary purpose is still to conserve and enhance the natural beauty.
There are over 30 AONBs in England and Wales; the nearest one to ours is the N Penines. The Northumberland Coast AONB runs from Cocklawburn to Amble. The County Council has the legal authority over the AONB and has to provide support and staffing and has a legal duty to pursue the AONB's objectives.
The main area most people come across the AONB is on planning and access issues where it is one of the statutory consultees. The national planning framework gives the highest level of support to protecting the AONB from excessive development (that is hard to see from some of the developments that have taken place in the area in the last few years, but hopefully recent successes can strengthen the AONB's authority in this field).
But the AONB does more than this: it gives advice and assistance to the community to improve the management of the area and to assist the development of the local economy. It works through a partnership Board where a number of special interest groups and relevant bodies - eg farmers, parish councils, tourist businesses, Natural England - are repesented. An important function (mandated on the Council) is to prepare a Management Plan every five years setting out what makes the Area special and the action plan to conserve and improve it.
The next management plan is due to run from 2014 to 2019 so I've become involved at an interesting time. Whatever the plan says, however, the beauty of the area will remain.
It's good thing to be involved in; it doesn't actually have any powers but it has influence.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were formed after the Second World War, at the same time as National Parks, to ensure their preservation for the nation's benefit. As a generalisation, National Parks were more isolated and had more protections than AONBs but the primary purpose is still to conserve and enhance the natural beauty.
There are over 30 AONBs in England and Wales; the nearest one to ours is the N Penines. The Northumberland Coast AONB runs from Cocklawburn to Amble. The County Council has the legal authority over the AONB and has to provide support and staffing and has a legal duty to pursue the AONB's objectives.
The main area most people come across the AONB is on planning and access issues where it is one of the statutory consultees. The national planning framework gives the highest level of support to protecting the AONB from excessive development (that is hard to see from some of the developments that have taken place in the area in the last few years, but hopefully recent successes can strengthen the AONB's authority in this field).
But the AONB does more than this: it gives advice and assistance to the community to improve the management of the area and to assist the development of the local economy. It works through a partnership Board where a number of special interest groups and relevant bodies - eg farmers, parish councils, tourist businesses, Natural England - are repesented. An important function (mandated on the Council) is to prepare a Management Plan every five years setting out what makes the Area special and the action plan to conserve and improve it.
The next management plan is due to run from 2014 to 2019 so I've become involved at an interesting time. Whatever the plan says, however, the beauty of the area will remain.
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