Call for more protection for stunning woodland walking route in Milton Keynes

The city’s Conservative leader is calling for the reinstatement of Area of Attractive Landscape (AAL) status for a stunning woodland walk.

Greensand Ridge runs through Bow Brickhill, Little Brickhill and Woburn Sands and is a popular route for walkers.

Cllr David Hopkins has called for the Leader of Milton Keynes City Councl to reinstate the protective status for the Ridge areas and its surrounds.

He hopes that this status, or an even stronger set of powers, can be included as part of the current review of the New City Local Plan, which will dictate planning in Milton Keynes until 2050.

Historically, Milton Keynes enjoyed the relative protection for the environment provided by two Areas of Attractive Landscape – one for the Brickhills and one for the Ouse Valley. But the last AAL designation for both areas appeared in the 2005 Local Plan, which expired in 2015.

The current Local Plan, Plan:MK 2050, has no designated AAL’s as the council had moved into a criteria-based approach for landscape protection by then./

Within the 2005 Local Plan, the AAL area covered the countryside south of Station Road Bow Brickhill and Woburn Sands Road, plus areas within the Ouse Valley. Settlements such as Bow Brickhill village and Woburn Sands were not at that time include in the protected area.

Cllr Hopkins is now lobbying to see a return to, and an extension of, the 2005 policy to protect the integrity and visual importance of the ridge together with land that immediately surrounds it.

He is seeking to strengthen such a designation under a review and renewal of what is known as Policy S11 by returning to and extending the scope of the protection via changes to the new Plan for MK.

He notes that MKCC has quietly commissioned a study which is currently being carried out for the New City Plan consultants. This study is considering refreshing landscape designations in the new plan and will report back on the opportunities to consider designating new or refined AALs, having first considered the Landscape Character Types identified in the MKCC commissioned Landscape Character Study of 2022.

Cllr Hopkins is calling for a planned series of workshops to involve the local community in this debate.