On 24th June 2020 Natural England announced they would be looking at extending the boundaries of the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), to include chalk grass land, park land and adjacent historical features.
The 24th June announcement did not ask for submissions nor give any detail about timescales or, how they would be consulting people. However, the Parish Council will maintain contact with the AONB Board and the Surrey Hills Society as our best avenues of approach if submissions are requested.
Background
The announcement on 24th June was in response to the report produced in 2019 by the committee chaired by Julian Glover, which looked at current National Parks and AONBs. The committee report made many recommendations about improving the management and protection of such areas along with the idea of extending some, something the Surrey Hills AONB Board and the Surrey Hills Society had been pushing Natural England to to do for some time. In particular, the Surrey Hills societies had suggested expanding the boundary to include Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV), such as the land on the south side of the A246 from the Golden Gates roundabout to very nearly West Horsley.