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Planning consideration

Areas of outstanding natural beauty

Land protected by law to conserve and enhance its natural beauty

Design stage
On the platform
Tags

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Synonyms
  • Protected sites
  • AONB
  • National Landscape
  • Areas of outstanding natural beauty
Legislation
Expected number of records
34
Frequency of updates
Ad hoc
Useful links
Technical specification
No specification added

Background information

Each planning consideration we work on passes through the stages of our design process, where we research and answer specific questions to help us collect more information.

Backlog

  • Who asked for 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty' data?

    This has been identified as a constraint from PlanX

  • What is the driver for the request?

    Specific user requirement

  • Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

    • Modern planning software
    • Faster local plans

Screen

  • What is the 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty' consideration?

    An area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) is land protected by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW Act). It protects the land to conserve and enhance its natural beauty.

  • Is there legislation that defines 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty'?

    Yes

    • What is the legislation that defines 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty'?

      Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, section 82, subsection 1 -

      “Where it appears to [Natural England] that an area which is in England but not in a National Park is of such outstanding natural beauty that it is desirable that the provisions of this Part relating to areas designated under this section should apply to it, [Natural England may], for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area, by order designate the area for the purposes of this Part as an area of outstanding natural beauty.”

      There is also guidance on meeting the natural beauty criterion.

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty' gets designated?

      There is no legislation covering how AONBs get designated.

      Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, section 83 - “Procedure for designation orders”

      There is further guidance on the designation process.

    • What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty'?

      Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, section 83, subsection 9 -

      “It is the duty of [Natural England] and the [NRBW] to secure that copies of any order under section 82 relating to England or, as the case may be, to Wales, are available for inspection by the public at all reasonable times— at the office of [Natural England] or, as the case may be, the [NRBW] at the offices of each local authority whose area includes any part of the area to which the order relates, and at such other place or places in or near that area as [Natural England] or, as the case may be, the [NRBW] may determine.”

  • Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Areas of outstanding natural beauty'?

    Natural England

    SoS for EFRA (to confirm, refuse, modify or vary)

  • Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

    • Local authorities
    • Natural England

  • Is the Areas of outstanding natural beauty a trigger?

    Yes

    • What needs to be done because Areas of outstanding natural beauty has acted as the trigger?

      Lighting assessment Nutrient neutrality assessment The NPPF (Chapter 15) also states that “great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Broads and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which have the highest status of protection in relation to these issues.

  • Is the Areas of outstanding natural beauty something to consult during plan making?

    Yes

    • Provide information about when Areas of outstanding natural beauty is used during plan making

      The presence of AONBs will likely to be covered within Local Plan policies, along with other strategic environmental designations. These policies may set out certain requirements set by the LPA which have to be considered when submitting a planning application either within or nearby to a AONB.

  • Is there any Areas of outstanding natural beauty data already available?

    Yes

  • Do we think the data should come from a single source?

    Yes - this data exists nationally, provided by Natural England.

  • Will a data standard be required?

    No

Research

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Areas of outstanding natural beauty?

    Yes

    • Document a stage of the high-level lifecycle of a Areas of outstanding natural beauty

      • Item 5

        name
        Submission
        actors
        Natural England and SoS DEFRA
        impact
        AONB can be confirmed, refused, modified or varied
        output
        Order
        description

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

    We do not know how this data is created, further research is required. We expect that, based on the attribution, this data is produced using Ordnance Survey basemaps.

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    Planning applications based in areas of outstanding natural beauty will be dealt with efficiently, as the area will be highlighted as being under the highest protection.

  • N / A

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Areas of outstanding natural beauty?

    Natural England

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Areas of outstanding natural beauty? How do we expect them to use Areas of outstanding natural beauty?

    Developers/landowners/site promoters, planning professionals, local communities

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    There are numerous planning needs for having AONB data on the platform. Firstly, AONBs are an important land designation, and the presence of which is recognised to be significant by both planners and non-planners.

    The presence of AONBs will likely to be covered within Local Plan policies, along with other strategic environmental designations. These policies may set out certain requirements set by the LPA which have to be considered when submitting a planning application either within or nearby to a AONB.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Areas of outstanding natural beauty data?

    Developers/landowners/site promoters, planning professionals, local communities

  • What are some potential uses of Areas of outstanding natural beauty data?

    There are numerous planning needs for having AONB data on the platform. Firstly, AONBs are an important land designation, and the presence of which is recognised to be significant by both planners and non-planners.

    The presence of AONBs will likely to be covered within Local Plan policies, along with other strategic environmental designations. These policies may set out certain requirements set by the LPA which have to be considered when submitting a planning application either within or nearby to a AONB.

  • What's the value of adding Areas of outstanding natural beauty data to the platform?

    There are numerous planning needs for having AONB data on the platform. Firstly, AONBs are an important land designation, and the presence of which is recognised to be significant by both planners and non-planners.

    The presence of AONBs will likely to be covered within Local Plan policies, along with other strategic environmental designations. These policies may set out certain requirements set by the LPA which have to be considered when submitting a planning application either within or nearby to a AONB.

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Areas of outstanding natural beauty data available?

    N / A

3 updates

  • Claire Miller (05 June 2025)

    Please can we keep this as AONB, as this is what it remains designated within legislation, and is the term used in practice

  • Claire Miller (26 September 2024)

    As per some research we did, summarised in this blog on an analysis of local plans and local area requirements, we're confident that this consideration acts as an INPUT to the process of creating a local plan.

  • Kieran Wint (03 September 2024)

    The frequency of updates for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty data is 'Ad hoc', as per the metadata at data.gov.uk stating that the frequency of updates are not planned.

Last updated: 2025-08-07 15:21:16