Agenda item

(Elliott Lorimer - 30 minutes - including opportunities for questions)

Report attached.

Elliott Lorimer, Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Unit, explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the AONB Management Plan that requires renewal every five years.  The current plan runs from 2009 – 2014 so there is a need to review the plan and update as necessary for the period 2014 – 2019.  Once reviewed, the plan will be presented to DEFRA in March 2014.

Elliott explained that the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 provides the statutory basis for the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of AONBs, and:

·  defines the role of the statutory agencies, in particular their responsibilities for the designation of AONBs and as consultees in planning matters;

·  requires local authorities and Conservation Boards to state their policies for management of their AONBs through preparing and publishing a Management Plan; and

·  Requires all relevant authorities to demonstrate their commitment to AONBs by having regard to AONB purposes in their plans and activities.

Specifically, and in relation to Local Authorities Section 89 requires the relevant authority [i.e. the local authority or local authorities jointly], or Conservation Board to “prepare and publish a plan which formulates their policy for the management of the area of outstanding natural beauty and for carrying out their functions in relation to it”, within three years. The plan must be reviewed within five years of its original publication and at similar intervals thereafter.

In implementing the current plan the Partnership agreed four key AONB outcomes as part of a business planning process carried out in 2011:

1.  An outstanding landscape of natural and cultural heritage;

2.  Resilient and sustainable communities;

3.  A strong connection between people and the landscape:

4.  A dynamic and effective AONB Partnership.

The AONB Business Plan identifies strategic priorities under each key outcome and actions link directly to the implementation of the Management Plan.  It therefore seems a logical step to adopt these four key outcomes as the framework for the Management Plan review, particularly as there is a fairly close fit with the National AONB Family objectives outlined above.

Elliott also explained that the current plan outlines six objectives, each with a specific vision of the AONB in 2014.  These themes are set out in Table 1 below, with objectives rationalised to fit under the four key outcomes identified above along with a summary of important changes since 2009:

Table 1

Review process – next steps

Elliott explained that the first stage of the Review process will be to establish a small review working group (ideally officers and JAC members), which will undertake an examination of the current plan and report to the Joint Advisory Committee on the scope and extent of the Review. 

In light of the flexibility offered by Defra in its advice on the extent of the review, where issues and actions are well-established and agreed upon by AONB partners, a 'light touch' approach will be adopted.  Other sections may require a more in-depth review to reflect policy, regulatory or societal change and the challenging economic conditions.

Once the scope and extent of the review has been agreed by the JAC, the second stage for the working group will be to develop a draft plan, ideally adopting the four key AONB outcomes as its framework.

Table 2 below attempts to summarise a proposed timetable for the Review of the Plan, detailing the various stages.  Each of these stages will be open to widespread comment from all interested parties, partly through circulation of review documents, but also using on-line consultation, public consultation events and local information.

Table 2 – Proposed Review Timetable

Resolved: The Forest of Bowland AONB Joint Advisory Committee noted the report presented, and noted the review timetable and process outlined in the report.