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Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

About half of the Isle of Wight is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, mostly in the South and West, but with five parcels stretching across the whole land area, in total around 189 square kilometres. It was designated in 1963. The AONB represents the variety of landscapes found upon the Island, from high chalk downs to lush green pastures. It also includes around half of the coastline including all of the Heritage Coast.

Centuries of land management have shaped the existing landform to create today's landscape. Any persons' perception of beauty is an individual thing and one, which is very often different from our forebears. This makes it hard to generalise, however there are many landscapes which have widespread appeal. The Isle of Wight has that special feel.

When comparing the Island with other protected landscapes it is clear that it is unusual because our AONB is fragmented. This should not take anything away from the rest of our countryside since they are inextricably linked and complementary. The AONB's fragmentation and spread reflects the variety of landscape types held in such a small area, including some real gems. The combination of this variety with the maritime influence has produced the special feel of the AONB. The grand chalk cliffs and rolling downs, muddy creeks and estuaries, lush green pastures and trees and hedgerows sharing the same designation. It is this very variety which has made the Island of national importance, and highlights the need for its integrated management, both inside and outside of the designated area.

What makes a landscape important for each of us is a very personal and subjective thing. However it is quite clear that landscapes have always evoked deep feelings, from the ancient builders of barrow cemeteries on the downs to the landscape gardeners of the eighteenth century, and today seen within the controversy recently provoked by road schemes. These examples also illustrate quite clearly that the landscape has never been "pickled or preserved", but has been continually evolving and altered. We have a very managed landscape and today's management must not necessarily hamper this process, it must steer these forces for change so that they do not fundamentally ruin the resource but they may even enhance it.

It must also be stressed that the landscape has importance economically. This is directly in terms of food and timber production, and for minerals and waste. Indirectly it is essential for tourism and underpins the quality of life of all who live and work upon the Island. Without that quality it is unlikely that the Island could sustain a viable economic and social system.

Although there are dominant and unique elements of the landscape of the Isle of Wight like the Undercliff or chalk cliffs, the diverse underlying geology and resulting landform and soils have produced a rich and varied landscape. It is this diversity which makes the AONB important, since although each element can be found on the mainland on a grander scale, there is nowhere else where they coincide within such a concise area, nor where they are subject to such Maritime influence. A landscape assessment of the Island in 1993 identified 11 landscape character areas outside of urban areas. This clearly illustrates the complexity of the landscape and thus the care which needs to be taken to ensure that planning and management takes adequate account of this.