Plans have been put forward to designate part of the Yorkshire Wolds as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The designation by Natural England would mean the landscape is legally protected to conserve and enhance its natural beauty.
Natural England described the Wolds as ‘a tranquil, beautiful landscape, known for dramatic steep sided dry valleys, high but gentle escarpments, dramatic coastal cliffs, and open, rolling agricultural plateaus’.
It said its natural and cultural heritage included ancient woodland, species rich grasslands, chalk streams, Iron Age settlements, abandoned Medieval villages and Georgian manors and parkland.
Councils and other interested parties have been invited to contribute to a 14-week consultation.
The leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Anne Handley, said: ‘I’m delighted that the Yorkshire Wolds, a large part of which is situated in East Riding, are being considered for national level designation.’
The head of environment and sustainability at North Yorkshire Council, Shaun Berry, ‘We already see these benefits in the county’s two national parks and other areas of outstanding natural beauty in Nidderdale, the Howardian Hills and the Forest of Bowland, so I urge local people to have their say about this opportunity.’
AONBs were recently rebranded as ‘National Landscapes’, but in legal terms, Natural England would still designate an AONB.
