National Landscape (AONB) campaign
Why National Landscape (AONB) designation is the best answer for the Cambrian Mountains
What is designation, and why should the Cambrians be designated?
Designation is a legal order which gives an area a special new legal status. National Landscape (formerly called Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is one particular category of legal status, and the one we say is appropriate, and urgently needed, for the Cambrian Mountains. You can read more about what it means and why are campaigning for it here
The page below explains who are responsible for making an Order, and what we’re now doing to make it happen.
Who designates?
The decision to designate is, in theory, a decision for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as the responsible body. In reality, there is a lot more involved. The primary purpose of National Landscape status is “foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the area”. In other words, although designation clearly advertises the beauty of an area to all and sundry, it does so not for the benefit of the world at large but as a means to sustain the local communities themselves. Economic development is not NRW’s responsibility or even area of expertise: NRW’s legal duty is to “pursue sustainable management of natural resources” and “apply the principles of sustainable management of natural resources”. NRW receives a Remit Letter at the start of each financial year setting out what the Welsh Government wants it to achieve during that year.
So, in reality, the Welsh Government and the local County Councils of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys are just as much concerned with any proposal to designate as NRW itself.
What’s the process?
NRW is not going to initiate this project unless it expects to be listened to. In order to draw up an Order for designation, NRW needs the Welsh Government to include in its annual Remit Letter a request for NRW to consider the proposal. In turn, in order to make that request Welsh Government needs to be convinced that the idea will be popular. To persuade them, in 2022 the Society Petitioned the Senedd to hold a debate on the idea of designating the Cambrian Mountains. The Petition raised the profile of our region significantly amongst politicians, both nationally and locally. The 21,000 signatures we received, 90% of which came from Wales, also demonstrated enormous public support in the three relevant counties and the rest of Wales for designating the Cambrians as the first AONB in mid-Wales. At the end of the debate, the Minister for Rural Affairs expressly stated that “the door is open” provided we could show sufficient local enthusiasm.
In our meetings with Councils, the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales after the debate we felt that the potential appropriateness of the designation was implicitly acknowledged. The issues which remain are those of:
- demonstrating that local communities in all three counties see the benefits of designation outweighing the risks; and
- finding budget to set up and run an effective AONB.
What’s happening now?
We cannot do anything towards the budget issue as such, except demonstrate the net positive economic benefits AONBs in other areas have delivered. We can, however, remind everyone that the original National Parks and AONBs were designated in the 1950s, when the United Kingdom was considerably less wealthy than it is today, and seek to build a consensus across the local population that being recognised as a National Landscape is likely to be good for the future of the region.
As with any big proposal, at present people in and around the Cambrians hold a range of opinions on National Landscape status. Some – including some of the most enthusiastic supporters – are misinformed; some understand all of the factors and come to different views depending upon what importance they attach to one factor over another. Many see no reason to consider the idea at all, but would simply like life to go on as it used to be without the bother and uncertainty of change. That, of course, is not an option: farms continue to be sold for plantation as forestry; developers are accelerating their proposals for huge wind farms on the highest points. If we do nothing, change will happen anyway.
What we do need to do is engage with all of those who are interested, to make sure that the opinions they hold and express are based on
- a real understanding of what National Landscape status could achieve, and
- a fair assessment of the upsides against any perceived downsides.
We are confident that people who understand the potential benefits and the context in full are likely to support the proposal.
How we’ll get there
Educate politicians and the public as to National Landscape’s benefits
Through direct conversations and publications, and through our website, we seek to explain the positive opportunities for the local communities which National Landscape would bring. It would be:
- Make farmers within the region eligible for additional Government support through the new Ffermio Bro programme;
- Pro-people working in the area;
- Support for community projects and development;
- A facilitator for collaborative working/a large scale projects coordinator, helping landowners access the government funding for that sort of work; and
- Bringing more recognition/ esteem to the region, its products and services, so boosting businesses of all kinds across mid-Wales.
Reduce confusion and misconceptions as to National Landscape’s objects
- There is a widespread misconception that National Landscape status is the same as or a stepping stone towards a National Park (which involves a new planning authority and specific new planning restrictions). This is not true. Gower AONB is the oldest in the UK and has never become a new planning authority or National Park;
- In the face of the nature emergency, the existing designated landscapes are facing criticism for their failure to halt loss of biodiversity. The fact is, however, that conserving nature was never one of their objectives. It is likely that Welsh Government may in the future change the law to add conservation of biodiversity as an additional function for designated landscapes, and they are already gearing up to try to improve their records in this respect. But past failure to do something which they were never instructed to do, is not a good reason to rule out National Landscape status as part of the solution for the future;
- Small communities are already facing the culture clash of incomers moving from towns and cities across England and Wales, and there is naturally a concern that becoming a National Landscape would simply be more outsiders telling locals what they can and can’t do. In fact, a National Landscape is run by a partnership between the relevant local authorities – in our case Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys – and so just as much subject to local control as any other county council action.
Build the economic case for designation
It has to be faced that running a National Landscape requires some budget – a commodity in very scarce supply these days – so local people cannot be expected to support it if they see the consequence being less money spent on other things they already need. This is another multi-faceted question, involving assessment of:
- The impact of National Landscape branding on visitor numbers and spend, both in the immediate area and also the rest of Mid-Wales;
- The potential for increased investment/ employment as a result of increasing economic activity in the area;
- analysis of the returns to local authorities from the most probable other options (Afforestation, wind farms, ongoing upland farming and abandonment of some farms as the existing generation of farmers retire and younger people move away)
- multiplier effects of increasing attractiveness as an area to live/work e.g. more younger people and families – increasing economic turnover and tax revenues, but also increasing demand for services.
In the case of our potential National Landscape, those interests clearly have to include not just those who visit for recreation but also the people who live and work in the uplands: farmers, foresters, incomers seeking peace away from the madding crowds. Designation would inevitably increase the number of visitors to the uplands. Although this carries big potential benefits for tourist-facing businesses and the communities which support them it will also, as a minimum, increase the traffic load on the narrow roads and the pressure on very limited parking or other facilities. Further, experience in Wales’ National Parks and AONBs post-lockdown has demonstrated all too clearly that many newcomers to the countryside do not respect the Countryside Code or even understand that truly rural areas are not city parks. Litter, trespass and rudeness are unfortunate realities even among those visitors whose appreciation of the value of unspoilt spaces brings them here in search of it. National Landscape management would help to educate those visitors to mitigate these problems, which are already increasing in the area.
How you can help
Everyone can help the campaign by talking and writing to friends, neighbours, visitors and councillors about the benefits their community could get from National Landscape designation.
if you’d like some pointers as to how you can help, please do get in touch, through the contact form or by email to secretary@cambrian-mountains.co.uk.