Mendip Hills AONB Unit Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Annual Review 2011-12 Chairman’s Foreword Welcome to the Annual Review 2011-12 in which we highlight the work undertaken and key achievements of the AONB Unit and its Partnership activity. The AONB Partnership has demonstrated that despite local authority funding cuts and diffi culties to sign up to long term funding agreements all the local authority partners have been able to commit suffi cient resources to enable the Partnerships staff team to deliver a wide range of functions and projects locally and to be an effective member of the National Association of AONBs. Richard Benyon MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Fisheries has recognised the fundamental role of AONB Partnerships in meeting environmental objectives and delivering Big Society. AONBs, as of AprilChew Valley2011 Lake receive direct sponsorship from Defra confi rming us as valued members of theVisitor UK’s Centre Woodford protected landscape family. In developing a more mature relationship with Sandford Blagdon Station Pumping government,Heritage we know that changesStation will be necessary. The AONB family has already Burrington beenCentre embracing these changes by reducing expenditure, fi nding more cost-effective WESTON SUPER MARE ways of doing things, pursuing new income streams, and making better use of our largest collective resource – AONB partnership members, staff and volunteers. Hellenge Hill AWT Black Down The Mendip Hills Futures Working325m Group has considered establishing a shadow Lots Grassland, SWT charitable body to the PartnershipGB Gruffy Charterhouse to secure project funding that the AONB Unit, SWT Peak hosted by a local authority, cannot. This work,Reserve together with work commissioned by Compton Bishop the NAAONB, has suggested the option ofUbley working Warren, SWT with an existing body that can host a project fund for the AONB supported by existing trustees and administra- tive structures. This relieves the small AONB team of the requirement to set up and Chancellors Farm, SWT manage a new body in addition to the Partnershiprestricted Committee access and their extensive delivery programme. A number of AONBs have already taken this approach and we Priddy hope to do so this year. Draycott Sleights, SWT Stockhill Forest Rodney Stoke Reserve Financial challenges can trigger new, imaginative, ways of working and there are Cooks Field many opportunities ahead. Partnership workingSWT helps us unlock the full potential of our greatest resource – the people that care passionately about these305m areas and our local authorities are key players in this. With the current0 AONB Management10km Plan 2009-2014 to be reviewed and revised over the nextSomerset 18 months County Council 100038382 to fulfi (2010) l the statutory duties placed on the local authorities by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000 we needWells to & Mendipensure Museum that we continue to work together sharing skills, expertise and resources, to ensure that this nationally designated landscape is conserved and enhanced and can be enjoyed by current and future generations. Cllr Dawn Hill, Chairman , Mendip Hills AONB Partnership 2 Mendip Hills AONB Unit - Annual Review 2011-12 Front cover - Restored AONB boundary marker in Burrington Combe Key Achievements for the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Discovering Black Down ■ Discovering Black Down application to the Heritage Lottery Fund given a Stage 1 Pass and development grant of £9,400 ■ Consultants appointed to consult with site users and community groups to develop Interpretation Plan, Activities Plan and Stage 2 application Volunteers and Young Rangers ■ AONB Practical Task Volunteer Group established ■ Fourth intake of 15 Young Rangers recruited from local schools on the programme of monthly activities ■ 14 Advanced Young Rangers – undertaking wildlife surveys, practical tasks and activities ■ 1,147 hours given by 16 Volunteer Rangers ■ 146 hours given by 2 Young Ranger Assistants AONB Volunteers laying a hedge at ■ 83 hours given by Volunteer Project Assistant Barton Camp Children’s Centre ■ 566 hours given by Practical Task Volunteers Local Support ■ £36483 awarded to 7 projects from the Sustainable Development Fund totalling a value of £58280 ■ £300 from Butcombe Brewery for Visitor map posters distributed to local businesses Planning Protection ■ Revised Guidelines for Horse-related Development for the Mendip Hills AONB Supplementary Planning Guidance. New 2012 Guidelines PDF available on web site ■ AONB Planning Liaison Offi cer responded to: - National Grid Hinkley C Connection project power line consultation and attended 3 Landscape & Views Thematic Group meetings - 5 national consultations and 38 local authority consultations - Of the above, 20 proposals were deemed as major or potential for signifi cant impact on the AONB, including solar and wind turbine proposals, new visitor attractions proposed by Longleat Estate at Cheddar Gorge, two new urban villages in North Somerset and a Ski Dome Leisure Centre at Weston-super-Mare. - Landscape issues relating to ‘Fracking’ were researched and Bristol Water’s proposed new Cheddar Reservoir were commented on. Mendip Hills AONB Unit - Annual Review 2011-12 3 Mendip Hills AONB Projects Discovering Black Down project will help conserve the heritage landscapes, wildlife habitats and archaeology of Burrington Commons. The site is of national importance for landscape, wildlife and archaeology and attracts signifi cant numbers of visitors who enjoy the open landscape and views from the highest point in the Mendip Hills (325 metres). The Black Down Advisory Group worked with consultants, Rural Environment Practice (REN) to develop the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) application that secured a HLF fi rst round pass and development grant of £9,400 enabling the development stage of the project to be undertaken: - Interpretation and Signing Plan - to identify the ‘story’ of the area, the themes and the interpretative media to be used - Activities Plan – to develop a diverse range of learning and community Erosion problems on Black Down involvement opportunities - Volunteer Recruitment Plan – to maximise opportunities for local communities, access user groups and students from schools/colleges/universities to be involved - Submit Stage 2 Application (Sept 2012) for the full grant to fund the 3 year delivery phase of the project The Stage 2 application, if successful, will result in a HLF grant of £195,995 as part of a total project valuing £250,000, including the appointment of a Project Offi cer to deliver the three-year programme of works. AONB Gateway Signage and Visitor Information AONB Boundary Markers (9) designed and installed in 2006 have been cleaned, cleared of vegetation and painted to stand out at key entrance points to the AONB. AONB Visitor Map Panels have been placed at 5 visitor stopping points – Burrington Combe, Axbridge lay-by, Cheddar Gorge National Trust shop, Chew Valley Lake Visitor Visitor information map in Burrington Combe Centre and Ubley lay-by. AONB Banners for venues with limited display space, have been produced for Wells and Mendip Museum, King Johns Hunting Lodge (Axbridge) and Weston Super Mare Museum/Tourist Information Centre. AONB Visitor Guide celebrating 40 years of designation as a protected landscape the 2012 guide has been restyled. The cover uses a collage by Shipham textile artist Anne Carpenter, and whilst the map remains the main feature, the promotion of popular walking and recreational routes in the area has been emphasised along with sites to visit. Traditional highway fi ngerpost signage - the Mendip Hills AONB Unit is undertaking a phased project to restore the traditional black and white fi ngerposts at high profi le junctions. Restoration of fi nger posts in other AONBs and National Parks have had a positive impact on tourism but have also provided an improvement to the environment. With funding from the Mendip Hills AONB Sustainable Development Fund the fi rst 10 posts repaired are on the route from Two Trees at the top of Burrington Combe, to West Horrington via Charterhouse and Priddy. A new ‘collar’ with the name of the junction, the grid reference and ‘Mendip Hills’ are being added to each post to aid visitors and to Renovated AONB boundary marker at Chew Stoke raise awareness of being in the AONB. Strawberry Line Signage – linked to the North Somerset Council Strawberry Line Management Plan 2012- 2016 the AONB Unit has liaised with Cheddar and Axbridge Parish Councils to install ‘Cheddar’ and ‘Axbridge’, GWR heritage style signage to increase awareness of the route and villages/towns to support local business. 4 Mendip Hills AONB Unit - Annual Review 2011-12 Volunteers from Near and Far AONB Young Ranger Scheme The Mendip Hills AONB Young Ranger Scheme has been running since 2005 offering a two-year programme to 15 young people every other year. The Young Rangers have the opportunity to progress to Advanced Young Rangers and then onto the adult Volunteer Rangers. - The third intake of AONB Young Rangers completed their 2-year programme with a celebration camp at Fernhill Farm July 2011 and gained the John Muir Explorer Award - Two Young Rangers represented the Mendip Hills AONB at the Europarc International Junior Ranger camp hosted by Weeribben Wieden National Park in the Netherlands - In August 2011 the Young Rangers hosted a group of young people from the Isles of Scilly on a day of activities at Cheddar