Current Management Plan
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 requires that all Local Authorities covering the North Devon AONB act together to review their Management Plan every five years. The Review process is delegated to the National Landscape team to coordinate. This process was completed in March 2019 and a new Plan produced and adopted by the three local planning authorities. The policies and priority actions in the new Plan reflect the challenges and opportunities highlighted in the sections on ‘Forces for Change’ as well as the consultation responses from AONB Partnership members, local and regional agencies, six ‘expert debates’ and a formal public consultation process in the Autumn of 2019. Thank you to everyone who made contributions. Due to the changeable policy context, the AONB Partnership decided to produce an annual delivery plan rather than a five year one (see below), but have included indicative medium and long term priorities alongside known priorities for the first two years. Management Plan 2019 – 2024
A statement about the delay in the next Management Plan can be seen HERE
Extension to 2025 and Review
A review of the management plans for National Landscapes is required every 5 years by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The next review for North Devon Coast NL was due to be completed by March 2024, but this deadline has been extended by Defra to the end of December 2025 as a result of significant changes to operations and functions as a result of the Landscapes Review commissioned by the government in 2019.
The extension to the review process was formally notified by the Defra Minister in July 2022 and confirmed by the three local planning authorities in May 2023. Natural England produced updated Guidance on Management Plans in Spring 2024 and a Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework to deliver national priorities in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. The North Devon Coast National Landscape Partnership started the process in July guided by the team and Partnership members.
Indicative Timetable:
2024 – September: State of the National Landscape and scope scale of review; November – December: stakeholder consultations and public survey.
2025 – Spring/ Summer: draft plan; Autumn: draft signed off by local authorities and County Council; Autumn public consultation; Winter: final revisions
2026 – Summer: adoption of revised Plan by local authorities and notify Defra.