The AONB Management Plan

The AONB Management Plan 2021-2026

The AONB Management Plan sets out the vision for the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the priorities for its management over a 5 year period. It is a statutory document of the four local authorities under Section 89 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

The Management Plan formulates Local Authority policy “for the carrying out of their functions in relation to” the management of the AONB. The Plan is a material consideration in the respective Core Strategies and Local Development Plans / Local Development Frameworks of the constituent local planning authorities and for Neighbourhood Development Plans.  The Plan also provides objectives and support for positive landscape change, particularly to those bodies that make up the Wye Valley AONB Joint Advisory Committee and the wider AONB Partnership. 

It also provides guidance to the local communities and many landowners, residents and visitors in the area.  There is even a Residents’ Charter to follow. The Management Plan is thus for all the bodies and individuals whose actions affect the AONB and who can play an important part in helping to conserve and enhance the outstanding landscape of the lower Wye Valley, for the benefit of both current and future generations.  The Management Plan emphasises the value of the outstanding landscape and the added value brought by the designation and the role of the partners in the AONB in supporting society’s needs through the integrated approach to land management.

You can download a copy the Wye Valley AONB Management Plan 2021-2026 from this link:

Wye Valley AONB Management Plan 2021-26 (finalised)

Sections 89-90 of the Countryside & Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 require local authorities to review adopted and published AONB Management Plans at intervals of not more than five years. The CRoW Act also requires local authorities to ‘act jointly’ in the preparation and review of AONB Management Plans.

Herefordshire Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Gloucestershire County Council and Monmouthshire County Council have formally delegated the publishing, reviewing and monitoring of the AONB Management Plan to the AONB Partnership. The Wye Valley AONB Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) and Technical Officers Working Party (TOWP) oversee the review conducted by the AONB Unit.

The State of the AONB Report 2021 can also be downloaded through the link below. This document accompanies the Management Plan and collates the available data on the extend and condition of a range of features and Special Qualities in the AONB.

State of the AONB Report 2021 final

Previous versions of the AONB Management Plan, including the drafts and the responses to public consultations, are available on request from the AONB Manager.