The Yorkshire Wolds has moved a significant step closer to National Landscape (AONB) status after Natural England formally submitted its proposed designation to the Secretary of State on 8th September 2026.
The proposal covers about 463 square kilometres of chalk landscape. But this is an important procedural step, not the end of the process. The Yorkshire Wolds is not yet a National Landscape.
If the designation is confirmed, Natural England says it would be the first entirely new Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated in England for more than 30 years.
What Natural England has actually submitted
Natural England has submitted a proposal for a new Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), intended to be known publicly as the Yorkshire Wolds National Landscape.
The distinction matters. National Landscape is the name now used for England’s AONBs, following the 2023 rebrand, but the statutory designation in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 remains an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Natural England announced the submission on 8th September 2026. The formal proposal follows the earlier consultation and evidence-gathering process for the Yorkshire Wolds.
A separate proposal to extend the Surrey Hills National Landscape was submitted at the same time. That is a different designation proposal and does not affect the decision on the Yorkshire Wolds.
What happens next for the Yorkshire Wolds?
Under sections 82 and 83 of the 2000 Act, Natural England can make a designation Order, but the Order does not come into force unless it is confirmed by the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State can confirm the Order as submitted, confirm it with modifications, or refuse to confirm it. Before refusing it, or confirming it with modifications, the Secretary of State must consult Natural England and the local authorities whose areas are included in the proposed designation.
Section 83 does not make a public inquiry a compulsory step. Government and Natural England guidance confirms that the Secretary of State may choose to hold a public inquiry, for example where unresolved objections would benefit from further examination.
Planning Geek analysis: this means the submission is more than an aspiration or early consultation, but it is still not a completed designation. Until confirmation, planning decisions in the proposed area must continue to be made on the basis of the designations and policies that actually apply now.
What would National Landscape designation mean for planning?
The statutory purpose of designating an AONB is the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty. That purpose feeds into plan-making, development management and the way public bodies exercise functions affecting the protected landscape.
The duty on relevant authorities is now stronger than the historic wording many practitioners remember. Section 85 of the 2000 Act, as amended by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, requires relevant authorities exercising functions affecting an AONB in England to seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing its natural beauty.
For planning authorities, that can affect the evidence needed to support Local Plans, site allocations and individual planning decisions. Landscape and visual evidence may carry greater importance where development could affect the designated area or its setting.
Our wider guide to National Landscapes and AONBs explains how the designation works in planning. We also cover local landscape designations, which are legally different and should not be confused with a nationally designated AONB.
Major development is not automatically banned
National Landscape designation would not create an absolute prohibition on development.
The August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework says substantial weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Landscapes.
For major development within a National Landscape, national policy says permission should be refused other than in exceptional circumstances and where it can be demonstrated that the development is in the public interest. Whether a proposal counts as major development for this purpose is a matter for the decision-maker, having regard to its nature, scale, setting and potential effects on the purposes for which the area has been designated.
That is a demanding policy test, but it is not a statutory ban. The decision still turns on the facts, the development plan and the relevant national policy.
For more on the wider policy framework, see Planning Geek’s guide to planning policy and the NPPF.
Why the 463 km² boundary matters
Natural England describes the proposed Yorkshire Wolds designation as covering approximately 463 km². The final legal boundary matters because the strongest statutory and national policy protections apply to land that is actually within the confirmed designation.
Development outside a National Landscape can still matter where it affects the setting or statutory purposes of the protected area. The 2026 NPPF says proposals within the setting should be sensitively located and designed to avoid or minimise adverse impacts on the designated landscape.
If the Order is modified before confirmation, the final boundary may therefore be as important to landowners and planning authorities as the headline decision itself.
A rare designation, but not a completed one
Natural England says that, if confirmed, the Yorkshire Wolds would be the first new AONB designated anywhere in England for more than 30 years. That makes the proposal nationally significant as well as important to communities across East Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.
For now, however, the correct description is a proposed National Landscape. The next legally significant event will be the Secretary of State’s decision on whether the designation Order should be confirmed.
The Planning Geek lesson: proposed designations can be highly material to future planning strategy, but they should not be treated as if the statutory process has already finished. Check what is legally in force on the date a planning decision is made.
Primary sources
Natural England’s 8th September 2026 announcement confirms the submission and proposed area. The Yorkshire Wolds proposed designation material contains Natural England’s background documents and designation information.
Created: 9th September 2026
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