Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty STATUTORY MANAGEMENT PLAN 2009 Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty STATUTORY MANAGEMENT PLAN 2009 This document and its accompanying Action Plan (published separately) have been subject to both public and partner organisation consultation. The Plan and particularly its Policy Response statements and Management Objectives have been subject to both Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) as required by European and UK legislation. This document takes account of the outcomes of both the SEA and AA processes carried out between April 2008 and March 2009 and the amendments introduced by each sequential re-assessment following earlier amendment during formal and informal consultation periods. The document has been subject to earlier partial public and partner consultations during the various drafting stages. The review has considered the Visions and Management Objectives proposals in detail and has also been subject to continuous review by members of the AONB Executive Committee. The full suite of papers on the review is available online at www.arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk Prepared by David Askew, AONB Officer for the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Executive Committee on behalf of Lancaster City Council, South Lakeland District Council, Lancashire County Council and Cumbria County Council Contact address: Arnside and Silverdale AONB The Old Station Building Arnside Carnforth Lancashire LA5 0HG Telephone: 01524 761034 Email: [email protected] Website: www.arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk 1 2 Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty STATUTORY MANAGEMENT PLAN 2009 INDEX ForEworD: Colin Peacock, Chairman of the AONB Executive Committee Page 5 Section 1 INTRODUCTIoN 1.1 Aims and Objectives of the Management Plan Page 7 1.2 Plan Preparation and Public Consultation Page 10 1.3 Management Arrangements within the AONB Page 13 Section 2 BACKGROUND AND CoNTEXT 2.1 History and Purpose of AONB Designation Page 21 2.2 Designation of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Page 23 2.3 Legislative Context Page 25 2.4 National and Regional Policy and Guidance Page 26 2.5 The Strategic and Local Planning Policy Context Page 28 Section 3 SPECIAL QUALITIES AND CHArACTEr 3.1 The Landscape and Natural Assets of the AONB Page 33 3.2 Landscape Character and Distinctiveness Page 34 3.3 Geology and Geomorphology Page 37 3.4 Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Page 40 3.5 Coastal Habitats Page 45 3.6 Historic Landscape and Archaeology Page 46 3.7 Settlements Buildings and Designed Landscapes Page 48 3.8 Rural Industries Page 51 3.9 Travelling To and Within the AONB Page 52 Section 4 DEVELoPING A VISIoN FOR THE AoNB 4.1 AONB Present and Future Page 55 4.2 The Vision for Conserving and Enhancing the AONB Page 55 Section 5 Principal ISSUES and FORCES FOR CHANGE 5.1 Introduction Page 57 5.2 Issues and Forces for Change Page 61 5.3 Landscape and Rural Land Management Page 62 5.4 Seascape and Coastal Management Page 64 5.5 Natural Heritage Page 66 5.6 Historic Environment and Cultural Heritage Page 68 5.7 Sustainable Communities – People, Jobs and Services Page 69 5.8 Access, Recreation and Enjoyment Page 71 5.9 The Built Environment – Residential and Other Development Page 72 5.10 Traffic and Transport Page 74 5.11 Environmental Education and Awareness Page 75 5.12 Sustainability and Renewable Energy Page 76 5.13 Organisation and Management of the AONB Partnership Page 78 3 Section 6 PoLICY rESPoNSES AND MANAGEMENT oBJECTIVES 6.1 Introduction Page 79 6.2 Landscape and Rural Land Management Page 80 6.3 Seascape and Coastal Management Page 84 6.4 Natural Heritage Page 87 6.5 Historic Environment and Cultural Heritage Page 90 6.6 Sustainable Communities – People, Jobs and Services Page 92 6.7 Access, Recreation and Enjoyment Page 94 6.8 The Built Environment – Residential and Other Development Page 96 6.9 Traffic and Transport Page 99 6.10 Environmental Education and Awareness Page 101 6.11 Sustainability and Renewable Energy Page 103 6.12 Organisation and Management of the AONB Partnership Page 106 Section 7 INDICATORS AND MoNITORING 7.1 Introduction Page 107 7.2 Indicators Page 108 Section 8 REVIEw NoTES 8.1 Current Review Page 113 8.2 Future Review Page 113 Section 9 APPENDICES AND GLoSSArY 9.1 IUCN Protected Areas and International Classification Page 115 9.2 Core Functions of the AONB Unit Page 117 9.3 Local Authority Planning Notes Page 118 9.4 Glossary of Terms Page 121 9.5 Abbreviations Page 124 9.6 Further Reading Page 126 9.7 Acknowledgements Page 127 LIST oF MAPS Section 1.1 Boundary map of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Page 6 Section 2.1 National map showing the AONBs of England, Wales and Northern Ireland Page 19 Section 2.2 Part of the national map showing the proposals of the Hobhouse Committee Report 1947 Page 24 Section 3.1 Map showing the Local Landscape Character Areas of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB. Page 36 Section 3.4 Maps showing the protective designations of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB. Page 41-3 Section 3.6 Map showing the historic landscape features of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB. Page 49 4 ForEworD The area known as the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is one of the gems of the world’s landscape. Everything comes together: the rock, the soil, the water and the weather, to make one of the most biodiverse areas outside of the tropics. Nowhere else packs such a variety of landscape - the sands, the crags, the woods, the grasslands, the mosses - into an area about five miles by six. To “conserve and enhance” such an area should be our duty and our joy. The mechanisms for this are a bit more prosaic. The Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000 charged local authorities with a duty to prepare management plans for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The first such plans had to be submitted to the Secretary of State by March 31st 2004 and, thereafter, revised every five years. In Arnside and Silverdale we have had management plans for many years. But the CRoW Act plans were to be much more comprehensive, based on a vision of how the AONB should be in the years ahead and covering the whole range of activities and actions that could affect this. The 2004 plan was developed with extensive public consultation including meetings, exhibitions, and discussions. We were pleased that the Countryside Agency, the then Government body that oversaw AONBs, reckoned our plan to be one of the best. In 2007 we started to consider its review. Consultation has, again, been wide-ranging. The visions in the 2004 plan have been confirmed and we have updated the language and taken the opportunity to add information on climate change and new sections on renewable energy and sustainability and on the coastal and marine environment. The plan has been subject to a formal Strategic Environmental Assessment and, because our area is so rich in sites protected under international and European treaties, its impact on them has had to be evaluated by an Appropriate Assessment. The review has been a major exercise and particular recognition should be given to the AONB Officer, David Askew and the AONB Managers, Ian Henderson and, after his retirement, Lucy Barron, who have driven it forward. We are also indebted to our consultant, Sue Hunter, whose expertise on the marine environment and on all the formal processes has been a godsend. The Technical Officers Group and the Executive has been brainstormed, think- tanked and post-it noted to distraction, yet still came up with a vast amount of useful ideas. Drafts have been put out to consultation with the public and our partner organisations, including Natural England and other agencies and a myriad of helpful suggestions incorporated. And this now is it – the final version, approved by the Executive of the AONB partnership, agreed by Cumbria and Lancashire County, Lancaster City and South Lakeland District Councils to be their management plan for Arnside and Silverdale AONB for the next five years and accepted by Natural England as meeting the requirements of the CRoW Act. As such it will be a core document of the “Local Planning Framework” and have real clout in the planning system. It is there to be used when applying for grants, allocating resources or developing policy. Alongside it will be an Action Plan. This will be a separate document so it can be regularly reviewed. The AONB Executive Committee is confident that the implementation of this Plan will play a major role in conserving and enhancing the area for the future and looks forward to another five years of positive and productive partnership working. Now, go out and revel in the outstanding natural beauty! Colin Peacock (Chair, AONB Partnership) March 2009 5 Boundary Map of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB 6 1 Section 1 INTRODUCTIoN 1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN 1.1.1 Context The Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a unique landscape of national importance that extends to approximately 75 square kilometres overall, including 30 square kilometres of intertidal sands & mudflats. This Management Plan is a statutory document that sets out, through its visions, policy responses and management objectives, the framework for future local authority policies for the Arnside and Silverdale AONB, including those within local development frameworks. Its importance is underlined by the duty contained in Section 85 of the CRoW Act 20001, that public bodies, including Lancashire and Cumbria County Councils, Lancaster City Council and South Lakeland District Council, must have regard to the statutory purpose of AONBs in carrying out their functions.