A 12-week consultation period starts today (Friday 1 October 2010) on a proposal to extend the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Countryside Council for Wales, in partnership with the local authorities of Denbighshire and Wrexham, wants to extend the existing area to cover southern parts of the Clwydian Range, the Vale of Llangollen and parts of the Dee Valley.
A series of evening meetings and drop-in sessions are being held in the area (Corwen, Llangollen, Llandegla and Froncysyllte – details on www.ccw.gov.uk). Anyone interested in the proposal is encouraged to attend to find out more and have their say.
CCW Head of Environment Policy Keith Davies said: “The proposed extended area has long been recognised as a landscape of outstanding quality, exceptional in terms of natural beauty. As an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we hope this beautiful landscape and its ecosystem services can be managed in a sustainable way so that it remains special for the wellbeing of future generations.”
The consultation document and response form can be downloaded from CCW’s website – www.ccw.gov.uk . If there is local support for the proposal, the legal process to designate by the Welsh Assembly Government and CCW is likely to take place in early 2011.
Keith Davies added: “The Assembly Government’s Natural Environment Framework is moving conservation management towards a truly sustainable approach, looking to value and manage ecosystems and their services thereby contributing to economic, social and environmental wellbeing.
Sustainability has long been central to the approach of managing AONBs, and I’m sure this new area and its communities will benefit from this approach.”
Tourism, the AONB and Denbighshire’s rural economy
The outstanding landscape of the Clwydian Range AONB is a major factor in attracting tourism to the area.
Tourism is a major contributor to Denbighshire’s economy. Rural Denbighshire had 1.58million day visitors in 2006, and 365,000 overnight visits. The total revenue from tourism in Denbighshire is more than £91million, with the rural visitor economy supporting 1,770 jobs.
What’s special about the Clwydian Range?
The Clwydian Range is notable for its high ridge of heather clad hills, with impressive limestone outcrops bursting through the surface in a number of places, which boast rich grasslands of orchids and other wild flowers. The hills are cut in places by deep valleys carrying the area’s two main rivers, the Alyn and the Wheeler, often disappearing under ground into hidden water courses amongst the limestone.
The varied landscape of the Clwydian Range AONB supports a rich mix of wildlife and habitats. It has a wealth of archaeological and historic remains, dating from the early prehistoric period right through to the Second World War. Many archaeological sites are Scheduled Ancient Monuments and are protected through Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments.
The archaeological imprints left on the landscape show us that people and communities are as much a part of the landscape as the flowers and wildlife.
What’s special about the proposed extension area?
The landscapes of Esclusham, Ruabon, and Llantysilio Mountains; the Vale of Llangollen and the Dee Valley are of equal outstanding quality, nationally and internationally important for their natural beauty and equally worthy of protection as an AONB.
Being naturally connected to the existing area, the extension area, if progressed, will be managed as part of a greater whole – benefiting from a coherent and sustainable approach.
