European Projects in the Kent Downs AONB

The Kent Downs AONB Unit is situated at the gateway to continental Europe and has, since 1997, sought European funding to conserve and enhance the AONB. To this end a successful partnership has been formed with the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, just across the English Channel in France.

The Kent Downs has completed three European projects with the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, the latest of which, the Transmanche Living Landscapes Initiative, finished in March 2007. As well as generating much needed funding for AONB conservation and enhancement, the Kent Downs AONB Unit has learned much from our French partners and we are currently seeking to expand and strengthen our European contacts and project funding.

Details of the Transmanche Living Landscapes Project are outlined below as well as details of new European partnerships being considered and developed.

Project Title: The Transmanche Integrated Protected Landscape Management

Living Landscapes Initiative
Project Period : January 2005 – March 2007
Total funding generated for Kent Countryside: £997,992
Funding from : European Regional Development Fund, Interreg 3A Programme
Project Partners : Kent Downs AONB Unit, White Cliffs Countryside Project, Kentish Stour Countryside Project, Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, Office National des Forêts.
Project History: Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et Marais d’Opale have been working in partnership since 1997.

Both face similar challenges to landscape management but operate in different legal and political contexts. With funding from INTERREG, and in partnership with the Kentish Stour and White Cliffs Countryside Management Projects and the Office National des Forets, a successful shared approach across the Transmanche region was developed to conserve and enhance two protected landscapes with similar cultural and landscape heritages.

This project aimed to deepen and strengthen strategic work started in earlier Interreg projects, and introduces new areas of exchange and co-operation.

Project Outputs : The project addressed built heritage protection largely through Village Design Statement promotion, landscape conservation schemes including the production of a Kent Downs AONB Landscape Design Guide, Access and Education, and Strategic Monitoring and Evaluation including the production of research documents on European protected landscapes and Village Design Statement Effectiveness.

A quantitative summary of the project outputs is provided below.

Village Design Statements: Do They Make a Difference? An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Village Design Statements in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 1998-2005. By Catherine Hughes and Danny Chesterman for the Kent Downs AONB Unit. November 2005.

Looking Outwards: Fresh Ideas and Good Practice in Europe’s Countryside. Europarc Consulting. March 2006.

New European Projects

 Sustainable Development in Protected Landscapes.

With ever increasing housing, development and population pressures in the South East, the protected landscapes in this region face both threats and opportunities to conserving and enhancing the special landscapes that have been designated as part of the nation’s heritage. Threats come from the pressure for development and increased visitor numbers. However with more and more people seeking to enjoy the special landscapes of the South East, AONBs and National Parks, have a real opportunity to increase awareness and knowledge of these protected areas and to attract funding to improve the landscape quality for wildlife, residents and visitors. Similar threats and opportunities are faced by the protected landscapes surrounding Paris.

To this end a partnership is emerging to seek funding from the European Regional Development Fund to develop innovative projects to enhance and conserve the protected landscapes around Paris and South East England.

Potential Project Partners : Chilterns AONB, High Weald AONB, Isle of Wight AONB, Kent Downs AONB, New Forest National Park, North Wessex Downs AONB, South Downs Proposed National Park, Surrey Hills AONB, Région Île-de-France, Parc de la Haute Vallée de Chevreuse, Parc du Vexin français, Parc du Gâtinais français, Parc Oise-Pays de France, Agence des Espaces Verts d'Île-de-France, Kingston University Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage at Versailles.

Seeking Funding from: European Regional Development Fund Interreg 4b North West Europe Programme.

Funding to be sought: Approximately €845,250

Application to be submitted: Spring 2008.

Project Objective: To seek sustainable and innovative solutions to protected landscape management in areas facing strong threats and opportunities from population and development pressures.

Biodiversity in Protected Landscapes. The Kent Downs AONB Unit is currently developing a partnership to apply for funding for biodiversity initiatives in Kent and in the Nord Pas de Calais Region in France. This will build on our long-term relationship with the Parc Natural Regional des Caps et Marais d’Opale but will seek to build in new partners and areas of work. The Kent Downs AONB Unit will apply for funding through the European Regional Development Fund’s Interreg 4a Cross Border Programme.

For more information on Kent Downs AONB European Projects please contact Catherine Brady at the Kent Downs AONB Office.