AONB

Appointments have been made to England's National Park Authorities (NPAs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Conservation Boards.

Chris Woodley-Stewart, Director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: "We know that art in the landscape helps people engage with and understand their surroundings, and this piece will help tell a story of the North Pennines' lead mining past and also of the landscape as we see it now.

Councillor Lezley Picton goes on to say that the "AONB is the jewel in the crown of the county".

"The AONB is a statutory designation to conserve and enhance natural beauty covering 23 per cent of Shropshire and has been in place since 1958.

She stepped up her recording after the AONB Partnership launched its Wildwatch scheme, which encouraged people to report their sightings and later a similar project covering invertebrates such as butterflies, moths, bees, hoverflies, dragonflies spiders and bugs.

"Nevertheless, it is possible to seek to address these and, in particular, there are actions that can and should be taken within the AONB itself to reduce light pollution."

The proposal to remove AONB status from Gower and the other such areas across the country has been made by an independent panel commissioned by the Government.

And while it spans only 26 square miles, making Cannock Chase's AONB the smallest area to be designated as an AONB in mainland Britain, it incorporates the parklands of Shugborough, Beaudesert, Tixall, Wolseley and Hatherton.

But what the AONB designation does is give the area - in the eyes not only of officialdom but also tourists - a status it would otherwise not enjoy.

But the AONB, which is normally consulted on sensitive planning matters, had been omitted from the consultations.