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Formal Statutory and Public Consultation on Proposed Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - now closed

Natural England held a formal Statutory and Public Consultation on the proposed Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)* from 8th October 2024 to 13th January 2025. This consultation has now closed. The consultation gave people an opportunity to tell Natural England what they thought about the proposals.

*AONBs were recently rebranded as National Landscapes. Legally however, Natural England can only designate an AONB. To avoid confusion, all documentation and consultation material refer to AONB throughout. If an AONB is subsequently designated, it would then be known as a National Landscape.

The consultation was statutory for the relevant local and combined authorities (East Riding of Yorkshire Council, North Yorkshire Council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority), however, Natural England decided that it should be extended to other stakeholders and the public. 

Response forms were provided to give people the opportunity to comment on the proposals and to submit evidence. Responses could be submitted online, or via email or the post.

Formal responses could be submitted by completing an online response form on the consultation portal at:

Alternatively, a printed consultation pack and response form could be requested by emailing the project mailbox YorksWoldsDesignationProject@naturalengland.org.uk or by telephoning 0300 060 3900.

All supporting documents, including the technical assessments that were carried out, are available to view and download on the consultation portal. During the consultation period, printed copies of these documents were also available to view at face-to-face drop-in events (see below) and in the following locations:

Webinars & face-to-face drop-in events

A number of online webinars were held during the consultation. The webinars provided information about the proposals, and how to participate in the consultation. Two webinars were open to the public, whilst a further two webinars were open to members of the NFU, CLA, farmers, farming groups and land interest groups. All of the webinars covered the same content, and a recording of the webinar held on 9th October can be found below.

In addition, ten face-to-face drop-in events were held throughout the area, where people were able to view the maps and documents, and speak to a member of our team.

These events were held in the following locations and/or on the following dates:

The Proposed Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Interactive map

The interactive map below identifies the Proposed Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The proposed boundary has been digitised at 1:25,000 scale against Ordnance Survey mapping. This may differ slightly from what is shown on the basemap or aerial imagery used in the online map. This interactive map should therefore be considered indicative. The boundary of the Proposed Yorkshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty shown on detailed Ordnance Survey maps can be viewed on the consultation portal.

A screenshot image of the interactive online map, which is provided to be an indicative view of the area proposed for designation, shown both as black outline and as transparent green fill. Clicking on the map image will redirect you to the interactive online map.
Click on the map to view interactively and in more detail

Presentations

The following presentation, which runs for approximately 21 minutes, was used in the webinars in 2022, providing an overview of the AONB designation process.

YW Webinar Presentation Final.mp4

The following presentation, which runs for approximately 41 minutes, is a recording of one of the webinars that was held in October as part of the statutory and public consultation. The purpose of this webinar was to provide an overview of the designation process; how it was applied to the proposed Yorkshire Wolds AONB; and how you can have your say and / or ask any questions.

More Information

You can also view a series of Frequently Asked Questions here and Natural England’s detailed Guidance for Assessing Landscape for designation as National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England  

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