National Landscapes and the strengthened statutory duty
AONBs became National Landscapes in 2023, and the duty on decision makers was strengthened from having regard to the statutory purpose to seeking to further it. That shifts what evidence has to show.
The National Landscape planning duty changed in 2023, and the change matters. Public bodies, including local planning authorities and the Planning Inspectorate, must now seek to further the statutory purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty in these areas, rather than merely having regard to it. The designation itself is unchanged in law: a National Landscape is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated under Part IV of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, renamed in 2023 as a matter of presentation.
For a rural owner, the practical effect is that a decision maker can no longer discharge the duty by noting the designation and moving on. There has to be something positive in the decision.
What the designation protects and who manages it
There are 34 National Landscapes in England, designated for the national importance of their natural beauty. Natural England designates them. Each is managed by a partnership, conservation board or local authority grouping, which prepares and reviews a management plan under section 89 of the 2000 Act.
Natural beauty in this context is wider than scenery. It takes in landform, land cover, field patterns, tranquillity, dark skies, cultural associations and the way settlements sit in the land. That breadth is why a well-screened building can still cause harm, if it brings lighting, noise and traffic into a quiet valley.
The designation has no development plan status of its own. The local plan policies and the national policy do the work, with the management plan as a material consideration.
The statutory duty on decision makers and how it changed
Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 originally required relevant authorities to have regard to that statutory purpose when exercising functions affecting land in an AONB. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 strengthened that wording so the authority must seek to further the purpose.
The difference is between a consideration and an objective. Under the old formulation an authority could lawfully grant permission for something that harmed the designated area, provided it had taken the designation into account. The new wording requires the authority to look for ways to advance the statutory purpose, which in practice means asking what the proposal contributes rather than only what it damages.
Read it as raising the evidential bar on both sides. An applicant who can show a positive contribution, through landscape restoration, hedgerow management, dark sky lighting design or public access, is offering the authority a way to discharge its duty. And an applicant offering nothing beyond mitigation is leaving the officer with a harder report to write.
Case law on the new wording is still developing, so the honest position is that the practical weight varies between authorities and the direction of travel is clear while the detail is not.
The major development test in designated areas
National policy sets a distinct test. In National Landscapes, National Parks and the Broads, planning permission should be refused for major development other than in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated to be in the public interest. The National Planning Policy Framework in its August 2026 edition carries the test, and what counts as major development for this purpose is a judgement for the decision maker rather than the figure used for application fees or statutory determination periods.
That distinction causes real confusion. A scheme of eight dwellings is not major development for fee purposes, and may still be treated as major development in a National Landscape if its scale and effect warrant it. The reverse also happens.
Where the test applies, the assessment covers the need for the development, the cost of and scope for meeting that need elsewhere or in another way, and any detrimental effect on the environment, the landscape and recreational opportunities, together with the extent to which that effect could be moderated.
| Element of the test | What the evidence has to show |
|---|---|
| Need | Why the development is needed, with the policy or operational basis for it |
| Alternatives | The cost of and scope for meeting the need outside the designated area |
| Effect on landscape | The assessed effect on natural beauty, tranquillity and recreation |
| Moderation | What design, siting and mitigation can realistically reduce |
| Public interest | Why, taken as a whole, the circumstances are out of the ordinary and serve the public interest |
Answer each one separately. A statement that runs them together reads as advocacy and gives the officer nothing to quote.
Landscape and visual evidence expected
For anything beyond a modest householder scheme, expect to provide landscape evidence prepared to recognised methodology. A full Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment is proportionate for a scheme of any scale, with viewpoints agreed with the authority before the photography is taken.
Three elements carry the most weight. Viewpoints selected with the officer rather than by the applicant alone. Winter and summer views where screening is vegetation. And an honest statement of residual effect after mitigation, because an assessment concluding no residual effect from a new building in open countryside will not be believed.
The baseline should work from the published landscape character assessment for the area, and the design response should be traceable to it, as landscape character areas and how they shape design sets out. Where the setting of a registered park or garden is also engaged, that has its own test, covered in registered parks and gardens and the setting test.
Design responses that have worked
Patterns recur in approved schemes within designated areas, and they are unglamorous. Buildings sited against existing built form, woodland or landform rather than in the middle of a field. Simple forms with long low roofs instead of complex outlines. Dark recessive materials, matt finishes and no reflective glazing on elevations visible from high ground.
Lighting deserves separate attention. A dark sky lighting strategy with downward-directed luminaires, warm colour temperature, timers and no uplighting addresses one of the commonest objections in rural designated areas, and it is inexpensive to design in and costly to retrofit.
Access tracks and parking frequently cause more landscape harm than the building. A bound gravel track following a contour reads very differently from a tarmac drive cut across a slope with engineered cut and fill.
Management plans and their weight
The management plan for each National Landscape is a material consideration, and it is the document most applicants ignore. It usually identifies the particular qualities of each part of the area, the pressures on it, and the actions the partnership wants to see.
Read it and quote it. A proposal whose landscape mitigation matches an objective in the management plan is far easier for an officer to support, because the duty to seek to further the statutory purpose can be evidenced against a published local objective. The partnership is also often a consultee, and its response carries weight with the case officer.
Checking boundaries and setting
Check the boundary before anything else. Designation boundaries follow features that were relevant at designation, so a site 50 metres outside can be in a different policy position from one 50 metres inside. Natural England's mapping and the national planning data service both publish the boundaries, and the authority's own policies map will show them alongside local designations.
Being outside the boundary does not remove the issue. Development outside a National Landscape that affects views from or into it engages the setting of the designated area, and the duty applies to functions affecting land in the area rather than only to land within it. A wind turbine, a large agricultural building or a lit yard on the edge of the boundary will be assessed on its effect inside it.
Where the site sits just outside, say so plainly in the Planning Statement and address the setting rather than hoping nobody mentions it.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. The strengthened duty is recent, its application is still being worked out through decisions and case law, and local policy varies, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Are National Landscapes and AONBs the same thing?
Yes. National Landscape is the name adopted in 2023 for areas designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty under Part IV of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The legal designation, its boundaries and the statutory framework are unchanged, so planning documents and legislation still use the older term.
What does seek to further the purpose mean in practice?
It requires a decision maker to look for ways to advance the conservation of natural beauty rather than simply taking the designation into account. For applicants it means offering something positive, such as landscape restoration, hedgerow management, dark sky lighting or public access, rather than mitigation alone.
Is major development in a National Landscape defined by unit numbers?
No. What amounts to major development for the purposes of the national policy test in designated areas is a judgement for the decision maker, based on the nature and scale of the proposal and its effect. It is not the same as the major development definition used for application fees or determination periods.
Does the duty apply to sites outside the boundary?
It applies to functions affecting land in the designated area, so development outside the boundary that affects views from or into the area is caught. A large building, turbine or lit yard close to the boundary will be assessed on its effect within it, and the setting should be addressed openly.
How much weight does the management plan carry?
It is a material consideration, and a useful one. Each National Landscape management plan under section 89 of the 2000 Act identifies the qualities and pressures of the area and the actions the partnership wants. Mitigation that matches a published objective gives the officer evidence that the statutory duty has been furthered.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.