Countryside campaigners have welcomed government plans to expand the UK’s network of protected rural environments significantly. The move is likely to make it harder for developers to secure planning permissions in these areas.

Natural England, the government’s environment quango, said it was planning to designate two wholly new Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in the north of England, while significantly expanding two AONBs in the home counties – in total equating to around 1,600 sq km of newly designated land.

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