Hopefully this spooky season there aren’t actually any Greater Horseshoe Bats in your cauldron! This particular species of bat is one of the rarest, and Cornwall’s protected landscape offers key...
Melodie Manners
Cornwall National Landscape comprises varied landscapes whose distinctive characters, natural beauty and unique settlements, including rural, industrial and coastal heritage, are so outstanding that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard it. The team at Cornwall National Landscape provides advice to Cornwall Council on planning matters in the protected landscape.
The statutory purpose of the designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area and it enjoys the same levels of protection from as National Parks within the UK. Notwithstanding this protection, these landscapes are shaped by and inextricably linked to the lives and vitality of the communities within them and development needs to be shaped to reflect this within the confines of the protection afforded to them. To maintain Cornwall National Landscape's distinctiveness, development should be landscape-led, to contribute to the sense of place; it should respond to local historical, cultural and landscape context and enhance and feel part of the existing settlement and landscape. Cornwall Council is the local planning authority. They receive all planning applications and make decisions on the outcome. Cornwall National Landscape are a non-statutory consultee to all planning matter within, or affecting, the designated protected landscape. Cornwall National Landscape do not have enforcement powers. Our duty is to champion and promote the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of Cornwall National Landscape. The statutory consultee for planning matters affecting Cornwall National Landscape is Natural England. Our role is to provide Planning, and related, consultations; Consultations on Local Plans and Neighbourhood Development Plans and Pre-application consultations made to Cornwall National Landscape.
Cornwall National Landscape is the new name for the protected landscape in Cornwall. This change is endorsed by Natural England. We remain an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty insofar as all policy, legislation and guidance applies to the designated landscape. The statutory purpose of the designated landscape “to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the designated landscape” remains unchanged. We have limited resources and our focus is therefore on those developments with the potential for greatest harm to the designated landscape and its statutory purpose.
Are you seeking assistance with planning applications in the protected landscape? We offer a pre-app service which can help and guide you to making a planning application. This would support the natural beauty and landscape character of the National Landscape. If you are looking to obtain planning we recommend you read the relevant Local Section chapter of the Management Plan.
Sorry we're not taking Pre-applications at the moment please check back soon.
Are you concerned about a specific development in the protected landscape? We would advise you to notify Cornwall Council, the Local Planning Authority. They have a legal duty of regard to the protected landscape and “great weight should be given to conserving landscape and scenic beauty” by National Planning Policy. We recommend that you communicate your concerns to the relevant Parish Council and the local Councillor.
Consult our local sections of the protected landscape for detailed information about the special qualities and landscape characters of each distinctive section of Cornwall National Landscape, aiding in thoughtful and informed decision-making. Visit the relevant local section to find out more about the special qualities, landscape character, specific neighbourhood development plans and aims, objectives
A shared strategy for those who live, work and visit the Cornwall National Landscape (AONB). It provides guidance to help Government, statutory organisations and any public body to ensure they are fulfilling their Section 85* duty to ‘have regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty’ of the protected landscape.
