Planning

AONB is a national designation recognised in the planning system, and in government policy AONBs are deemed to have the same level of landscape quality as National Parks.  The planning system has an important role in preventing inappropriate development from harming the special qualities of the AONB.  It also has an important role in facilitating appropriate and sustainable forms of development, which are necessary to ensure the active management of the landscape.

The responsibility for planning policy and decisions within the AONB rests with two unitary authorities.  Click on these links for more information :

The local authorities have a legal duty under S85 Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purposes of the AONB in carrying out planning and other functions.  In addition, the statutory AONB Management Plan, though not part of the Local Development Framework, contains policies on many issues and is a material consideration in planning decisions.

The Government’s Planning Portal website can be accessed for general information about all aspects of planning.

The AONB Partnership works to a Planning Protocol agreed with the local authorities, outlining the roles of the planning authorities and the Partnership in relation to planning matters in the AONB.

Planning Consultation Responses

To see recent responses made by the AONB Partnership to planning consultations, please click below:

A summary of current planning policies relevant to the AONB was compiled for the AONB Management Plan review in 2008.  This can be downloaded below. (The AONB Partnership will endeavour to update this summary as necessary).

Frequently asked Questions

What is the role of the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership in respect of planning matters?

  • The Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership is a non-statutory consultee with regard to planning policies and decisions. Principally through its staff team, and in particular the Planning and Landscape Officer, the AONB Partnership will provide expert advice to the local authorities on the development of policy and guidance affecting the AONB, and on the impact of larger planning applications on the Shropshire Hills landscape.
  • Whilst both aspects of this work are important, priority is given to policy formulation and the development of supplementary guidance. Comments on planning applications will be limited to significant developments which are likely to have an effect on the natural beauty of the AONB, eg. tourism, industrial or transport developments, housing, energy generation or telecommunications.
  • Our policy and pro-active work is focussed on input to Local Development Framework Documents, development of additional guidance eg. on design and support for Parish Plans and Village or Town Design Statements.
  • The AONB Partnership’s Planning Protocol outlines in detail the roles of the Partnership in relation to planning matters.  Since local authority reorganisation in Shropshire, this Protocol is in the process of being renewed with Shropshire Council.

Is the AONB likely to affect my proposed development?

  • If the proposed development might damage or harm the natural beauty and special qualities of the AONB, it may not be allowed, or it may need to be adapted. To find out more about policies and guidance relevant to your proposal and the likelihood of it being approved contact the relevant local planning authority.
  • To find out if you are within the AONB check the map on our website. The AONB boundary can be viewed at a larger scale on the government’s MAGIC website. The AONB may be a consideration in larger development proposals outside the AONB boundary, if the proposals might have a significant impact on the AONB.

I’m upset about a planning application in the AONB. What should I do?

  • Your first point of contact should be the local planning authority. You may be able to see details and plans for the application on their website or otherwise at their offices. You will also be able to find out what other comments have been made about the application. Comments from the AONB Partnership, and indeed the decisions made by the planning authority, will usually be linked closely to relevant policies or planning guidance, so you may want to find out more about these.
  • If you wish to object to an application, this will carry much greater weight if you can refer to approved policies or guidance. You are perfectly entitled to make comments yourself to the local authority on any effect you feel a proposed development may have on the AONB. Views from local people are important and local authorities take such comments seriously.

Why does the AONB Partnership not object to more planning applications?

  • There are approximately 500 planning applications per year in the AONB, and the staff team’s capacity is limited. The local planning authorities themselves will consider the impact of proposed development on the AONB, and this remains the principal means of informing decisions. National experience from among AONBs shows that the limited time of the staff teams is best spent at the proactive end of planning (ie. in the development of policy and guidance).
  • In addition, AONBs have a secondary purpose to promote sustainable forms of development which in themselves support the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty. This means that the AONB Partnership may actually support certain developments which it feels contribute to a living and working, sustainable landscape.

How does the AONB designation affect development within a town?

  • The only town within the Shropshire Hills AONB is Church Stretton. The landscape setting and character of towns within an AONB is usually important, and Church Stretton is certainly no exception.  The AONB designation was designed primarily to areas of valued landscape rather than towns and other designations such as Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings may in some cases be more relevant.
  • A Town Design Statement was published for Church Stretton in January 2008 with the support of the AONB Partnership. This provides an excellent account of the existing character of the town and how new development can be sensitively designed to fit in.

Agricultural Buildings Design Guide

A Design Guide for Agricultural Buildings was published by the AONB Partnership in December 2010. To download please click here (5.8Mb).  This focuses mainly on design aspects for new agricultural buildings, but encourages consideration of existing buildings and those of historic value.

Pre-application Advice

For pre-application advice, the Council’s Development Management Team should be your first point of contact.  The AONB Partnership’s Planning & Landscape Officer is able to offer advice on certain more significant development proposals at a pre-application stage.  This can help to align proposals at an early stage with the AONB’s purposes and the AONB Management Plan.   This may include advice that a proposal is likely to be incompatible with the AONB, or ways in which it could be amended to be more compatible , e.g. through appropriate design, scale or mitigation measures such as landscaping.  The AONB Partnership will not however provide any endorsement which may be cited in a planning application as giving our support.  Neither should the fact that discussions with the AONB Partnership may have taken place be deemed to indicate our support.  The views expressed at pre-application stage by officers of the AONB Partnership staff team will always be without prejudice to the possible response of the Partnership to any ensuing planning application.  Such responses may be the subject of consultation with AONB Partnership members.

Shropshire Council may require for certain types of development a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA), sometimes as part of a wider Environmental Statement.  This is to help inform the determination of the application by the Council, including in relation to the AONB.  Its content may inform any consultation response by the AONB Partnership, but this is not the reason why it may be required.  The AONB Partnership may choose to comment on LVIA reports, but is not an arbiter of whether such studies are of a standard to meet the Council’s requirements.  Neither will we provide routine guidance on the LVIA process, which is established nationally both in and out of protected landscapes, and the accepted methodologies are set out in the Landscape Institute’s second edition “Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (2002)”.
The AONB designation should be considered not just in relation to visual amenity.  The natural beauty remit of the AONB includes considerations of biodiversity, heritage, tranquillity and the way in which the many natural and human elements of landscape combine, and these aspects should all be taken into account in relation to decisions affecting the AONB.  Applicants are recommended to look at relevant policies and sections of the AONB Management Plan.