Expansion plan: how Natural England is seeking to extend the Surrey Hills AONB, including Croydon open spaces Happy Valley and Farthing Downs
Proposals are out for consultation to extend the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by almost 25,000 acres – and include Happy Valley and Farthing Downs in Croydon.
AONBs represent some of England’s most treasured landscapes, whose unique qualities are safeguarded in the national interest.
Natural England is also looking at bringing parts of Chipstead, Caterham Woods, Woldingham Valley, Limpsfield and Godstone Hills into the expanded Surrey Hills AONB.
The existing AONB was designated in 1958 and reaches the boundaries of Croydon, but field research by Natural England as part of a review suggests the boundary should be extended to include Coulsdon’s Happy Valley and Farthing Downs, the latter which come under the management of the City of London Corporation.
These beauty spots are popular for their rich wildlife and countryside walks and are already protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and notified as a National Nature Reserve. If they became part of the Surrey Hills Area of Natural Beauty, however, they would be further conserved in law by the “CROW Act” – the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Additional resources would also be available to help manage the parks from the AONB team.
Very Happy Valley: parts of Coulsdon could be added to the Surrey Hills AONB
Natural England is inviting residents, local businesses, landowning groups and community organisations to have their say on the plans. Croydon Council and other local authorities, such as Surrey County Council, are also being consulted as part of the boundary review.
The consultation was launched on March 7 and will close on June 13.
The plans would expand the Surrey Hills AONB by 25per cent, and could see areas around Dunsfold, Reigate, Oxted and south of Banstead among those included. The existing boundary was set 65 years ago and has never been reviewed since, despite a number of Areas of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) designated adjacent to the AONB.
Allison Potts, the area manager for Natural England, described the consultation as an “exciting step forward”.
Find out more about Surrey Hills AONB by visiting its website here.
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