Planning permission considerations for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
This is a national designation under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 which covers extensive areas of open countryside that have been identified by the Countryside Agency as having a quality of landscape comparable to National Parks.
AONB designation confers formal recognition that the natural beauty of the area is of national importance and worthy of protection. Planning decisions on proposals to build on land or to change its use are usually made by local authorities through the development control process. Decisions should not be arbitrary but must be considered against criteria, including the statutory development plan and against central government’s policy guidance on issues like the extra protection afforded to designated areas.
There are no AONB’s in the Borough, the nearest being in the Arnside and Silverdale area of South Lakeland District Council, which was designated in December 1972.