Geography

There are currently 36 areas of outstanding natural beauty in England, the largest being the Cotswolds at 2038 sq km. In terms of size, Cornwall is 8th in the list with 958 sq km.

The Cornish AONB consists of 12 separate areas, most including long stretches of coastline:

Morwenstow & Kilkhampton, Pentire Point to Widemouth, Camel Estuary, Padstow to Bedruthan, St Agnes, Godrevy to Portreath, West Penwith, Lizard to Marazion & Helford River, Mylor & the Roseland to Porthpean, Par Sands to Looe, Rame Peninsula, and Bodmin Moor.

The St Agnes AONB runs south west in a narrow belt along the coast from beyond Cligga Head to Porthtowan, excluding most of St Agnes village but widening to take in the Beacon. It includes, in addition, Trevellas Porth, Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes Head, and Chapel Porth.

Significance

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) were introduced by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. Their designation is simple, even obvious: they are landscapes of outstanding natural beauty. Their statuary purpose is to “conserve and enhance natural beauty, and to take account of the needs of agriculture, forestry, other rural industries, and of the social and economic needs of local communities.”

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) reaffirmed the purpose and confirmed that AONBs “have the highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty”. It also placed a statutory duty on local authorities to produce an AONB management plan. The Cornwall AONB Partnership was formed in 2002 to produce the Plan, and oversee its implementation. The Partnership is made up of 16 organisations, including CCC, the six District Councils, the National Trust, DEFRA, and Cornwall Enterprise. It is chaired by an independent chairman.

Section 85 of the Act “places duties on the relevant authorities to have regard to the purposes of AONBs when exercising or performing any functions in relation to land in AONBs”.

Since the planning and development control of an AONB is administered by the local authority within whose area it is contained, the decisions and forward planning of the latter should observe this requirement. In Cornwall, it falls to the District Councils to carry out that duty.

Now comes the rub:

• the AONB Partnership staff are not statutory consultees on planning applications,
• the AONB management plan is not a material consideration in planning decision making,
• the AONB Partnership office is staffed by four people.

It goes without saying that there are potential planning problems and that, probably, the objectives of the Act are at risk.