Summary of key changes to the draft Management Plan since the last Plan

The Plan now sets out more clearly the challenges facing the National Landscape, and the Mission and Vision have been strengthened. It describes the landscape as ‘beautiful but breaking’.
To support this, we have developed new principles for the future of the Kent Downs and embedded a social value approach as well as greater ambition for resources to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the landscape.
Chapter 3, ‘Management of the Kent Downs National Landscape’, has been strengthened and extended to prepare for Local Government Reorganisation and to strengthen our focus on securing a better deal and new resources from Government and elsewhere.
The structure and content have been revised to define and communicate the Kent Downs ‘special qualities’ more clearly. This improves consistency across the Plan by considering each special quality individually and responds to engagement feedback. It also reflects the growing emphasis in Government policy and guidance on identifying and articulating the special qualities of National Landscapes.
Tranquillity and dark night skies, both recognised as special qualities of the Kent Downs, and valued in the engagement survey are now addressed in a dedicated new section (4.9). Additional principles have been introduced to support and strengthen this focus.
In line with updated Government guidance on Management Plan preparation, each section of the document now clearly identifies and explains the ‘drivers for change’.
In Chapter 3, we have set out a new ambition ‘Working with Statutory Undertakers and securing green finance’ to make greater use of green finance as the market matures. This includes closer working with statutory undertakers and private finance.
To respond to the uncertainty and risks associated by Local Government Reorganisation, alongside expected new purposes and governance guidance for Protected Landscapes from the Government, we have included principles for future governance and hosting that retain the best features of the current successful model, as set out in Chapter 3.
Throughout the Plan, the principles have been reviewed and refined to improve consistency of style, terminology, and clarity.
The UNESCO Global Geopark ambition has been integrated across the Plan.
We have included references to extending the National Landscape boundary, including Principle MP10.
References to the Government’s Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework, Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), and expected new duties have been incorporated throughout the Plan.
Some important points are repeated in different sections of the Plan where necessary, so that each section is complete in its own right.