Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB (Designation) Order 2011

Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Designation Order 2011 confirmed by Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development on 22nd November 2011.

The dramatic ruins of Castell Dinas Bran, keep watch over the Vale of Llangollen ©Denbighshire.

Enjoying the outdoor classroom on the banks of the River Dee ©Wrexham CBC.

Rhewl Valley in beautiful Vale of Llangollen ©J.Briggs, CCW.

Llangollen, Ruskins lovely town, in its stunning setting on the River Dee ©Denbighshire.

Many centuries of tending the land have produced the beautiful landscape we see today, Vale of Llangollen, ©J.Briggs,CCW.

The stunning limestone scenery of the Eglwysegs provides a distinctive backdrop, ©C.Rothwell, CCW.

The dramatic Horseshoe Pass provides a route from the Vale into a different world of the open moorlands ©Denbighshire.

By boat or on foot, visitors enjoying the Pontcysyllte World Heritage Site ©Denbighshire.

Breathtaking views of the Vale of Llangollen can be enjoyed even on a snowy day ©Denbighshire.

The beautiful River Dee on a tranquil autumn day ©Denbighshire

In March 2011 the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) made the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Designation) Order.

The Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development confirmed the Order on 22nd November 2011.

In doing so, land including southern parts of the Clwydian Range together with the Vale of Llangollen and the Dee Valley were formally designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

AONB designation seeks to manage natural beauty for the benefit of social, economic and environmental wellbeing.

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB adjoins the Clwydian Range AONB which was designated in 1985. The two Areas will be managed as a single unit by the Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham Local Authorities in partnership with CCW and other relevant organisations. Denbighshire County Council Countryside Service is the lead body for the Clwydian Range AONB and is likely to retain this lead for the newly designated Area. Denbighshire will have responsibility for staffing structures and co-ordination of activities.

The Clwydian Range AONB currently has a statutory Management Plan that guides and co-ordinates activity in the Area. This Plan will be reviewed in 2014 and subsequent Plans will include the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB. In the coming months an interim statement on the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB will be developed by the local authorities to cover activities until 2014.

The management plan is a statutory document and forms an important part in the delivery of services by the local authorities. AONB Management Plans are a community led strategy implemented by a partnership of organisations and interested parties. The plan does not dictate actions within the designated area and does not control agriculture, business or economic development activities but seeks to positively manage change.

Within the existing Clwydian Range AONB a Joint Advisory Committee oversees delivery of the AONB Management Plan. The Committee comprises local authorities, organisations representing the interests of landowners and farmers, local business and groups interested in landscape conservation. A new Joint Advisory Committee will be established to cover the entire designated area during the summer of 2012. The new Advisory Committee will agree and guide the activities proposed in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley interim statement and action plan.