Planning Policy Wales - Brecon Beacons National Park

5.3.3 The Statutory Landscape Designations 13 14 15 which apply in Wales are National Parks
and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).
5.3.4 The statutory purposes of National Parks are to conserve and enhance their natural beauty,
wildlife and cultural heritage and to promote opportunities for public understanding and enjoyment
of their special qualities 16 . Where it appears that there is a conflict between those purposes,
greater weight shall be given to the first. National Park Authorities have been set up to pursue these
purposes, and other public bodies and other relevant authorities have a statutory duty to have
regard to these purposes 17 . National Park Authorities also have a duty to seek to foster the economic
and social well-being of their local communities 18 .
5.3.5 The primary objective for designating AONBs is the conservation and enhancement of their
natural beauty 19 . Development plan policies and development control decisions affecting AONBs
should favour conservation of natural beauty, although it will also be appropriate to have regard
to the economic and social well-being of the areas. Local authorities, other public bodies and other
relevant authorities have a statutory duty to have regard to AONB purposes 20 .
5.3.6 National Parks and AONBs are of equal status in terms of landscape and scenic beauty
and both must be afforded the highest status of protection from inappropriate developments. In
development plan policies and development control decisions National Parks and AONBs must
be treated as of equivalent status. In National Parks and AONBs, development plan policies and
development control decisions should give great weight to conserving and enhancing the natural
beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of these areas.
5.3.7 The duty to have regard to National Park and AONB purposes applies to activities affecting
these areas, whether those activities lie within or outside the designated areas.
5.3.8 The Statutory Nature Conservation Designations 21 22 23 24 25 26 include, for example,
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), sites designated under the Ramsar Convention and those
designated under EC Directives, such as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Special Areas of
Conservation (SACs).
5.3.9 The Assembly Government will ensure that international responsibilities and obligations for
conservation are fully met, and that, consistent with the objectives of the designation, statutorily
designated sites are protected from damage and deterioration, with their important features
conserved by appropriate management.
5.3.10 For the purposes of land use planning, potential SPAs and candidate SACs (included in
the list sent to the European Commission) should be treated in the same way as classified SPAs
and designated SACs. Sites which the UK and the European Commission have agreed as Sites of
Community Importance and which are to be designated as SACs attract the same legal protection
as if they had already been designated. The same considerations should, as a matter of policy,
be applied to listed Ramsar sites.
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Planning Policy Wales Edition 3 - July 2010 - Chapter 5 Conserving and Improving
Natural Hertiage and the Coast