Management Plan Review 2024

Malvern Hills National Landscape > Management Plan Review 2024

Management Plan review – an introduction

A National Landscape is an area that is so precious that it is safeguarded for the nation; for us. It is the everyday name for what is set out in legislation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Such areas are given protection under the law to conserve and enhance their natural beauty. The Malvern Hills National Landscape is one of 46 such designated areas within England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There is a legal duty to prepare a management plan for the Malvern Hills National Landscape (AONB) and to review this plan every five-years. This management plan is an important document that sets out the vision for the area and the priorities for its management. It influences the activities of many people and organisations and can also be used to direct and draw in resources.  

The Malvern Hills National Landscape Partnership is now reviewing the current management plan. A timetable and links to outputs can be found in the table below. We also have a ‘live’ summary of our engagement work during the review process .

If you have any specific questions or comments you can contact the Malvern Hills National Landscape Team on pesrich@worcestershire.gov.uk or 01905 845057.

Management Plan Review Timetable & Outputs

TaskDateComments
Online survey to gather initial comments and views
Summary of survey results.		February 2024A general call for comments
Identify main sections of current plan requiring update and / or the need for new sections
Drivers and Issues Report		March-April 2024Internal review
Collate community viewsReview of published statements
Prepare and agree a framework for assessing whether the new  plan will have any detrimental effects on the environment. Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping ReportConsultation with Natural England, Historic England and the Environment Agency
Publish a report /table that looks at how the landscape has changed over the past 5 years .The link to the Data Table is here.By the Partnership
Run a partnership ( Joint Advisory Committee) workshop to review the existing plan and identify new priorities
Notes from Partnership workshops .		26 April 2024Partnership agreement
Consult specialist groups to review the policies in the current plan and identify the emerging strategic priorities for the new plan to address.
Notes from workshops with key stakeholders.		April-May 2024Targeted consultations
Identify the key issues, aims and objectives for the new plan to address. Prepare a consultation draft . Identify, describe and evaluate any significant environmental effects that might arise if the draft new management plan is implemented, and consider any reasonable alternative approaches: here’s the the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental ReportMay-June 2024Internal review
Public consultation on new draft planJuly-September 2024A general call for comments
Consult the environmental bodies on the findings in the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental ReportConsultation with Natural England, Historic England and the Environment Agency
Consult a range of specialist groups chosen by topic
Targeted consultations
Partnership members ( Joint Advisory Committee) to agree the draft plan15 Nov 2024Partnership agreement
Send the approved draft plan to Natural England for formal observationsNovember 2024Consultation with Natural England
Consider findings from the consultations and amend the planJanuary-February 2025Internal review
Seek approval by the Local Authorities and the Partnership Chair for the new management plan to be adoptedStatutory agreement
Produce and publish the new management planFebruary-March 2025By the Partnership
As required by law, send a copy of the adopted management plan to the Secretary of State for information. Publish a statement setting out how any concerns that arose during the environmental assessment of the new management plan were addressed (the Strategic Environmental Assessment compliance statement)By end March 2025By the Partnership