2.1 The current state of the area

The statement of significance describes the special and unique qualities of the area’s natural beauty which make it different from other places and reflect its status in a regional, national and international context:

The influence of the sea provides a unifying theme, with the variety and interrelationship of dynamic coastal features such as saltmarsh, sand dunes, shingle and eroding sand/gravel cliffs especially important. The links between land and sea are an essential part of its unique character – the quality of coastal landscapes, looking to, from and along the coast, the dynamic coastal landforms and processes, ecological interdependencies, biodiversity and cultural, architectural, economic, historical and archaeological character.

The coastal plain of the North Norfolk Heritage Coast, a section of the coast from Holme-next-the-Sea to Weybourne, in particular has a wilderness quality rare in lowland England, distinct from but complemented by the rising backdrop of largely agricultural land, which includes open chalk downland, quiet, secluded river valleys and the woodlands and heath of the Cromer Ridge.

The coastal areas of north Norfolk are marked by the sharp contrast between the flat marsh area and the open farmed chalklands separated by the coastal road. Elsewhere the transition between the distinctive landscapes covers a wider area.

At national level, it is one of the few remaining examples of relatively undeveloped and unspoilt coastal areas of this character.

At a regional level it forms a wild, rich and diverse compliment to the intensive agricultural landscapes that dominate East Anglia.

There is a wide variety of landscape character and local distinctiveness, including variation in the character of coastal settlements, buildings and settlement patterns. There is a strong contrast between the coastal communities and those in the hinterland.  The area is rich in archaeological and historical sites, with remains and features covering all periods from the Palaeolithic to the Second World War giving a strong 'time depth' to much of its landscape.  Its important heritage of Ice Age landforms contributes another depth dimension.

The many nature conservation designations testify to the area's national and international importance for wildlife. Coastal and intertidal habitats (cliffs, shingle banks, sand dunes, lagoons, saltmarsh, mudflats, sandflats and freshwater marsh) and the birds and other wildlife they support (particularly the wildfowl and waders in the areas of the North Norfolk Heritage Coast and the Wash), together with some inland habitats such as heathland, are particularly important. 

The area has geodiversity features of national importance, including outstanding examples of coastal, glacial and glacio-fluvial landforms such as eskers and outwash plains, as well as geological sites.

The AONB's perceived qualities of remoteness, as an area apart from the pattern of life elsewhere and of tranquillity - it’s quiet and peaceful atmosphere and relaxed pace of life - are qualities reflected in art and literature, and are often mentioned today as those that people particularly value.

During the period of the previous Management Plan (2004-09) a review of the sources of data available to monitor the condition of the area was undertaken, in terms of whether this was moving in the required direction to achieve the vision for the area, as it was set out in that plan.

The 2004-09 Management Plan contained a wide range of ambitious objectives and actions that covered social and economic aspects of management, as well as those relating to the environment in general and the special qualities of the area in particular, which were not prioritised in a systematic way.

This revised Management Plan focuses more carefully on the area’s special and distinctive qualities of natural beauty that are the basis of its statutory designation as an AONB.  This focus also applies to data used in monitoring condition, selecting those that give some indication of the condition of the area’s natural beauty and how it is changing over time, as a basis for plan review and the formulation of policies and actions.

Resources available for monitoring are limited and should be focussed on implementation of actions to conserve and enhance natural beauty; thus the need for an objective base for policy making must be balanced with resource availability. Data must also be relevant to the area defined by the AONB boundary, collected at reasonable intervals (typically 5 years to match the AONB plan review period) and ideally be comparable with earlier data sets. Data sources proposed for monitoring the condition of the AONB have therefore been selected from those that meet these criteria as far as possible.

A summary of the qualities of natural beauty, which have been derived from the ‘statement of significance’ for the AONB, and a summary assessment of condition from the available data, is given below. See ‘Supporting Information’ for a fuller picture of the data and indicators used to provide the assessment.

European Landscape Convention

"Landscape means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors." (European Landscape Convention 2000).

The convention has been ratified by the UK Government, and the UK is recognised as already putting much of the principles of the ELC into practice, for example through the Joint Character Area map of England and also through the well established practice of using Landscape Character Assessment to inform local policy making.

The convention highlights the need to recognise landscape in law, to develop landscape policies dedicated to the protection, management and creation of landscapes, and to establish procedures for raising awareness and understanding of landscapes and the participation of the general public and other stakeholders in the creation and implementation of landscape policies. It also encourages the integration of landscape into all relevant areas of policy, including cultural, economic and social policies.

Landscape Character Assessment

Integrated Landscape Character Types for the AONB have been produced by Partners working together to integrate information on landscape, biodiversity and historic character, particularly the following:

• Level 1 landscape character assessment at a scale of 1:50,000;
• Developing ecological network information for Norfolk;
• A Vision for Nature Conservation in the Norfolk Coast AONB (1997); and
• Historic Landscape Characterisation for Norfolk.

The full Integrated Landscape Character Guidance is a large document, accessible via the Norfolk Coast Partnership website. It consists of:

• An introductory section giving background to the study and explaining how to use the guidance for different user groups;
• An overview of the data used to compile the integrated character types and guidance;
• A section on general character and pressures for change in the area; and
• A section for each of the 16 landscape character types found in the area, comprising:
• An integrated description of its character;
• The key characteristics of this landscape character type that are sensitive to change;
• A vision for the future of this landscape character type;
• Variations in character (local landscape character areas and their key characteristics);
• Key forces for change in this landscape character type;
• Recommendations / guidance for management to achieve the vision; and
• Maps showing local landscape character areas and the information layers that have gone into producing the integrated guidance.