Further protection may mean further complications for development in Protected Landscapes

In December 2024, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs produced new guidance for relevant authorities on seeking to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes (available here). Protected Landscapes include National Parks, National Landscapes (formerly referred to as areas of outstanding natural beauty), and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads in England. 

The guidance clarifies the effect of an amendment introduced by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, which shifted the duty of relevant authorities from a requirement to 'have regard to' the statutory purposes of Protected Landscapes to actively 'seek to further' them. This duty applies to any government department, public body or person holding public office when undertaking any function which could impact land in a Protected Landscape. Such functions include:

• The preparation of Development Plans, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Protected Landscape Management Plans and other spatial strategies; 
• Decision-making in respect of planning applications and nationally significant infrastructure projects;
• Planning appeals and inquiries; and
• The issuing of licenses and permits.

The guidance emphasises the active nature of the updated duty, requiring authorities to demonstrate with documented evidence how they have considered measures to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes. This includes embedding such measures in the design of plans and proposals, where feasible.

The statutory purposes of a Protected Landscape differ slightly depending on the type of Protected Landscape involved, however for the most part these include:

• Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the given area; and
• Promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities by the public of those areas. 

The duty will also apply where a decision outside the designated boundary could impact on the Protected Landscape, for example in relation to dark skies, long views of the Protected Landscape or in connection with rights of way / Open Access Land. 

Under the new guidance, when determining a planning application for land in a Protected Landscape, a local planning authority will have to consider the application against the relevant statutory purposes and objectives in the Protected Landscape’s Management Plan and whether the application includes measures which contribute to the enhancement of the Protected Landscape (and if so, how these are to be funded and maintained). 

Under the NPPF, planning permission for major development should be refused unless there are exceptional circumstances and the development is in the public interest – requiring a balancing exercise to be undertaken. There are cases in the courts raising the application of the revised duty in the context of planning applications and it will be interesting to see the outcome.