4.2 A beginning, not the end

Haydn Rogers/NCP - Staithe Street, Wells

The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a unique area, loved and valued by local residents and visitors from near and far. Management of the area is complex, involving private landowners and managers as well as a large number of organisations with specific roles and powers.

Many people, both interested individuals and representatives of organisations and interests with a part to play, have put much time and effort into producing this plan. But it is a beginning, rather than an end.

This Management Plan provides a framework within which all the interests involved can work in partnership to conserve and enhance the special qualities of the area. For the plan to be effective there needs to be wide understanding and appreciation of the area, its character and the factors affecting it, and commitment to the plan itself.

This commitment is shown by the formal endorsements from Partners (see inside front cover). These organisations undertake to work towards the vision for the AONB set out in this plan, follow the policies in the plan as a way of working in the AONB, and work together towards achievement of the plan's objectives through the Action Plan that complements this Strategy.

The Action Plan sets out steps to achieving the objectives, and will be reviewed each year. The challenge now is to maintain the commitment that produced this plan, to ensure that real action and improvements come out of it. Continued involvement in the implementation and review of the Action Plan by all the partners will achieve this and drive the Management Plan forward.

But the plan is more than a framework for the partners who have endorsed it. Whether you are an individual living in, working in, or visiting the area, a local representative of interests or a decision maker for the area, this is a plan intended to help you play your part in the sustainable management of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

By working together and using the framework provided, a secure and sustainable future for the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be achieved.

What you do will make a difference.