National Landscapes: what changed beyond the name

The rename of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to National Landscapes in 2023 changed the name and nothing in the statute. The designation still sits under Part IV of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the boundaries are unchanged, and the legal term in the legislation remains area of outstanding natural beauty. What did change, separately and at almost the same time, is the duty on decision makers, and that change matters far more to anyone drafting an application than the new branding does.

What the rename did and did not do

National Landscapes is the collective identity adopted by the family of designated areas and their managing bodies. It is used on signage, in management plans and in public communication.

It is not a new designation. No area gained or lost protected status, no boundary moved, and no policy test changed because of it. Where an adopted local plan refers to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, that policy continues to apply to the same land.

For drafting, use both terms at first mention and then pick one. A planning statement that says "the site lies within the Cotswolds National Landscape, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" removes any doubt for an officer working from an older plan and for a committee member working from a newer one.

The duty on decision makers

Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 places a duty on public bodies in relation to land in these areas. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 strengthened that duty from having regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty to seeking to further that purpose.

The shift from passive regard to active furtherance is the substantive change. In practice it means a decision maker has to show what the proposal does for the designated landscape, rather than recording that the designation was considered. Applicants who treat the landscape section as a mitigation exercise now get asked a harder question: what does this scheme positively contribute?

Answer it in the application. Habitat restoration, hedgerow reinstatement, removal of an eyesore building, public access improvements, dark sky lighting design and the use of local materials are the kinds of things that answer the furtherance question. Our note on the duty on decision makers in National Landscapes deals with how the duty is applied in practice.

The major development test

The National Planning Policy Framework applies a specific test to major development in National Landscapes, National Parks and the Broads. Permission should be refused other than in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated to be in the public interest, and the assessment covers the need for the development, the cost of and scope for developing elsewhere or meeting the need in another way, and any detrimental effect on the environment, landscape and recreational opportunities together with the extent to which that could be moderated.

Major here does not mean the same thing as major in the Development Management Procedure Order. It is a judgement for the decision maker, taking account of the scale and setting of the proposal, and a scheme well below ten dwellings can be major development in this context if it would have a substantial effect on the designated landscape. Verify the current wording and policy code in the Framework before citing it, because the August 2026 edition replaced paragraph numbering with policy codes.

Where the test applies, the evidence has to be structured around it. Three sections, one per limb, each with its own evidence, is far more persuasive than a general landscape narrative.

Permitted development in designated areas

These areas are article 2(3) land for the purposes of the General Permitted Development Order, which restricts householder rights in the same way conservation area designation does. Side extensions, two-storey rear extensions, roof extensions, cladding and some outbuildings fall outside permitted development, and chimneys, flues and solar installations are restricted on elevations fronting a highway.

Agricultural and commercial rights are also narrowed. Part 6 agricultural development carries additional restrictions in these areas, and several Part 3 change of use rights are unavailable. The same restrictions apply in National Parks and the Broads, where the statutory purposes add a further layer, as our note on the National Park purposes test explains.

Check for article 4 directions on top. Some authorities have removed further rights in designated landscapes, particularly around agricultural buildings and hard surfacing.

One further point on agriculture. A large modern barn that would pass unremarked elsewhere can be the dominant feature in a shallow valley, and managing bodies comment on siting and colour more often here than anywhere else. Offering a recessive cladding colour and a position against existing built form at the notification stage usually settles it.

Management plans and design guidance

Each designated area has a statutory management plan prepared and reviewed by the relevant local authorities. These plans identify special qualities, landscape character types, pressures and objectives.

They are not development plan documents, so they do not carry the weight of an adopted policy. They are material considerations, and officers use them, which makes them worth reading before design rather than after refusal. A management plan that identifies the loss of traditional field boundaries as a pressure tells you exactly what the landscape section of your application needs to address.

Many areas also publish design guidance covering materials, roof forms, boundary treatment, lighting and the siting of new buildings in relation to landform. Using that guidance and saying so is one of the cheapest ways to improve an application.

The landscape evidence a scheme needs

For a small scheme, a proportionate landscape appraisal with photographs from the nearest public vantage points, a description of the landscape character type from the published assessment, and a planting and boundary plan is usually enough.

For anything larger or more prominent, a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment prepared to the recognised guidelines is expected, with viewpoints agreed with the officer in advance. Agreeing viewpoints first is the single most useful step, because an assessment from viewpoints the council did not choose invites the response that the worst view was omitted.

Lighting deserves separate attention. Several designated areas hold dark sky status or are working towards it, and an external lighting scheme designed to the relevant obtrusive light guidance, with lux contours and a curfew, often removes an objection outright.

Illustrative example: a replacement dwelling in a National Landscape, slightly larger than the bungalow it replaces. The application leads with the furtherance duty rather than the size comparison: removal of a 1960s flat-roofed building visible from a ridge path, reinstatement of 120 metres of hedgerow, a lighting scheme with no upward spill, and local stone to match the boundary walls. The size increase becomes a secondary point.

Where the boundary sits and how to check it

Boundaries follow physical features and can run along a road, a field edge or a watercourse, so a site can be partly inside and partly outside. Check the mapped boundary on the Defra MAGIC map and against the council's own policies map, and where the line crosses the site say so explicitly in the application with the area of each part.

Setting matters too. Development outside a designated area that affects views into or out of it is assessed for that effect, and an application that ignores the point because the red line sits beyond the boundary invites an objection from the managing body.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. Enter the site postcode on PlanScope to see which landscape and ecology documents a designated area scheme is likely to need.