The Countryside and Rights of Way Act has required each AONB partnership to prepare and review a management plan. The first Kent Downs AONB management plan was published in April 2004 as required by the Act.

The management plan sets in place clear policies and actions for the conservation managment and enhancement of the AONB for a five year period and sets a longer term vision.

The Kent Downs management plan is the result of a long and detailed consultation process and has been adopted by each of the Local Authorities who have the AONB in their area.

The ultimate goal of the Management Plan is to ensure that the natural beauty and special character of the landscape and vitality of the communities are recognised, maintained and strengthened. It is a task for everyone to embrace.

The Management Plan published in April 2004 is now being reviewed. Cliick here for an explanation of the review and to get involved.

You can download the Management Plan from this page by right clicking on the links below and selecting "Save Target As...". You will need Acrobat Reader to view these documents.

	Management Plan for 2004 - 2009 3.2 MBytes
	Management Plan Cover for 2004 - 2009 543 kBytes
	Management Plan - Business Plan 130 kBytes

On April 1 2004, a Management Plan for the Kent Downs was published and sent to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as the AONB local authorities, Countryside Agency and English Nature. In so doing, the Management Plan fulfils new statutory requirements under the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000. All local authorities with AONBs in their area were required, jointly, to produce an AONB Management Plan, by April 1 2004. This Management Plan formulates their policies for the management of the AONB and for carrying out their functions in relation to it. It has been prepared by the Kent Downs AONB Unit and Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) for, and on behalf of, the twelve local authorities that have land within the Kent Downs AONB. The Management Plan has to be reviewed on a five year basis, this first Plan running to 2009.

An accompanying Action Plan has been prepared which sets out how the policies will be delivered over the five-year period. The Action Plan will be reviewed annually and rolled forward.

How has this Management Plan been prepared?
Following the Management Plan Guidance from the Countryside Agency (CA23, November 2001), and supplementary guidance (July and December 2002) the preparation of the Management Plan has followed stages:

Stage 1
Public participation and preparation of draft plan
September 2002 to February 2003
• Meetings with officers and elected members from the 12 local authorities within the AONB
• A questionnaire in The Orchid – the Kent Downs AONB newspaper, and on the AONB web-site, collecting views of 400 readers
• Six public meetings and working groups with over 100 stakeholders including government agencies, public bodies and voluntary organisations, parish councils, local businesses, farmers
and landowners
• Vital first stage in preparing the draft plan. The views, ideas, concerns and aspirations of all those who took part were taken into careful consideration and incorporated as far as possible in the draft Management Plan

Stage 2
Formal public consultation on the draft Management Plan
May to July 2003
750 copies of the draft plan were sent to:
• Officers and elected members in the AONB local authorities followed up with separate meetings with local authorities
• Statutory consultees; Countryside Agency, English Nature and Defra
• All 137 parish councils in the AONBs
• Over 300 public organisations, interest groups and individuals including local residents and visitors

Stage 3
Amending draft plan July to October 2003
• Over 150 consultation responses were received. All responses were carefully considered in the amendment of the draft plan
• Considerable consensus on a number of substantive points was achieved
• Detailed comments improved the accuracy and content of the plan
• The Action Plan was refined and prioritised

Stage 4
Agreement of final draft plan October 2003
• Endorsed by the JAC
• Plan sent to the Countryside Agency, English Nature for formal observations

Stage 5
Adoption Nov 2003 to February 2004
• All AONB local authorities adopt the Management Plan
• Commitment and approval of the plan by many other public
bodies and statutory agencies also sought

Stage 6
Publication of Management Plan April 1 2004
• Copies sent to The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs, local authorities, Countryside Agency, English
Nature and all AONB partners
• Executive summary sent to all consultees and full plan available on
the AONB web site

Stage 7
April 2004, the Management Plan ‘goes live’
• Implementation of policies and action
• Annual work programmes produced for the AONB partnership, and setting up monitoring programmes
• Meetings with partner organisations to ensure actions are delivered
• Performance monitoring via annual partnership progress reports and AONB annual reviews
• Action Plan will be reviewed and rolled-forward annually
• Condition monitoring of AONB via collection of data over a five year period for key social, environmental and economic components
• Formal review of the Management Plan every five years

Who is the plan for?
First and foremost, the Management Plan and its policies are for
the local authorities of the AONB – this is the policy and action framework which will influence and determine decision–making, advice and resource allocation for all their relevant functions in, and affecting, the AONB.

Second, this Management Plan is for all the government agencies, statutory undertakers, utilities and public bodies. Under ‘duty of regard’ for the purposes of the AONB designation in their functions and operations all public bodies and relevant authorities have to demonstrate that they have taken into account the purposes of the AONB designation in all their functions within the area. This Management Plan will inform, guide and influence that process.

Finally, and importantly, this is a plan for everyone who cares for the AONB, for those who live, work or play in the Kent Downs. The impact and difference that can be made by individuals, community and voluntary organisations, when viewed as a whole can be significant. We intend that this Management Plan is practical and relevant, and that it will help to advise and influence the activities within, the decisions taken and the perception people have of the Kent Downs.

What will the Management Plan achieve?
• An integrated approach to the conservation and enhancement
of the AONB as a whole, as well as the specific needs of different
areas and different interest groups that use it.
• Clarity about the current state of the Kent Downs AONB and a
clear idea of how we would like it to be in future.
• Raised awareness of the complex and changing nature of issues
affecting the AONB.
• Linkage of policies and action, and a common commitment to
deliver them, between the broad range of statutory, advisory,
business and voluntary partners.
• A shared approach to ensure efficient use of financial and staff
resources, time and effort to deliver high-quality, cost effective,
appropriate, practical and realistic actions.
• A process for monitoring and evaluating progress and
achievements, as well as establishing a parallel monitoring
programme to assess the condition of the Kent Downs AONB.