Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have (1) been created, (2) had their boundaries changed, and (3) been abolished, within the last ten years.

This is a devolved matter. In England, no new Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) have been designated and no variations to existing AONB boundaries have been made in the last ten years.

As part of the designation of the New Forest and South Downs National Parks, three AONBs were subject to revocation orders. The land within those AONBs fell under the new National Park Designations so it was necessary to remove the AONB status. Other than that, there have been no “abolitions”.