England's nine National Parks and 37 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) cover in total 22% of England's land area. As well as being high quality landscapes, National Parks and AONBs provide a major repository for some of our most important historic sites. Between them the English National Parks alone contain a quarter of the national total of protected archaeological sites, nearly 4000 listed buildings and more than 500 designated historic areas.
Although our activity covers all of the countryside, English Heritage has developed special relationships with the protected areas. In 2009 we reinvigorated our 1995 Accord with the National Parks.
In 1995 to mark over 10 years of joint working, English Heritage, the Countryside Agency (now Natural England) and the English National Park Authorities produced the publication called 'A Landscape Legacy: National Parks and the Historic Environment'.
In December 2004 English Heritage, Cadw (the national heritage agency for Wales) and the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (NAAONB) signed the first joint Accord on the historic environment. The Accord represents a commitment by the three organisations to work in partnership in order to promote the conservation, understanding and public enjoyment of the heritage in AONBs.
To celebrate the signing of the Accord in May 2005 we jointly published a publication called 'Outstanding Beauty: Outstanding Heritage - AONBs and the Historic Environment'. The publication celebrates some of the excellent historic environment work taking place within AONBs in England and Wales.
A Strategy for Historic Environment Research in Protected Landscapes
English Heritage is committed to enhancing understanding, enjoyment and conservation of the historic environment in Protected Landscapes through annual action plans agreed with the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the National Parks and through strategically targeted investigation.
This strategy document, developed in consultation with English Heritage stakeholders and conservation staff from both the AONB and National Park Authorities, aims to define how English Heritage's historic environment research in Protected Landscapes should be progressed over the next five years.
It identifies priority areas and issues, which will allow English Heritage's research resources to be targeted where they are most needed and will deliver the greatest benefit.
