Call for AONB setting protection

Cooper Partnership has completed a study into the unprotected landscape surrounding the Malvern Hills AONB.

The Malvern Hills AONB is a nationally designated area covering part of the counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. The AONB is dominated by the Malvern Hills themselves, a ridge of 22 peaks, which form one of the iconic landmarks of the West Midlands.

Views from the Malvern Hills themselves are panoramic and impressive, and form an integral component of people’s enjoyment of the area. However, much of the landscape within these views is not designated as part of the AONB, and therefore, is not subject to the planning policies which help to protect nationally important landscapes.

As a result, the AONB Partnership commissioned Cooper Partnership to undertake a study to identify the most important views to and from the Malvern Hills

A key aim of the study was to ensure that views are taken into account in decision-making processes, especially in relation to planning. The objectives of the study were to:

  • identify and grade a select number of ‘test’ views, in terms of their importance;
  • assess how representative the views of the AONB and its setting are;
  • establish criteria to describe why particular views are important;
  • evaluate the intervisibility and relationship between the AONB and its surrounding landscape;
  • establish the setting around the AONB, which is common to the views; and
  • briefly consider the sensitivity and capacity of the landscape within these views to accommodate development and land use changes.

For more information on the study, click here to view the executive summary. 

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