AONB Partnership

The Wye Valley AONB works in partnership with a range of local government, community and voluntary organisations. The AONB Partnership is an umbrella term comprising all of those bodies and individuals that work together to conserve and enhance the special qualities of the Wye Valley AONB.

Formal governance of the partnership exists through the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC), the Technical Officers Working Party (TOWP), Steering Group and Topic Groups.  Together they facilitate joint working and, in particular, ensure that the AONB Management Plan is produced, implemented and reviewed. However, it should be noted that much is also achieved through informal opportunities for joint working, for example, with individuals, businesses and communities.

Funding Partners
The Wye Valley AONB is grant aided by Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales, with core funding from Forest of Dean District Council , Gloucestershire County Council, Herefordshire Council and Monmouthshire County Council. Together, these bodies fund the core costs of the AONB unit and contribute towards the majority of the unit's activities.

However, many AONB projects depend for their success on the support of other partners, who provide additional funding or support in kind. The AONB works with a range of national, regional and local organisations, local societies, schools and community groups, parish and community councils and key individuals to develop projects and initiatives in the AONB.  Some of these partners are represented within the formal governance structures, others are not.

Examples of partnership working include:

Overlooking the Wye
A Landscape Partnership Grant (Heritage Lottery Fund) Project that works with a wide range of partnership organisations, including local communities and voluntary sectors across 40 sites.

Offa’s Country
A project that seeks to improve the economy and sustainability of the Welsh-English border area by developing and promoting the sustainable tourism experience, based on the high quality natural and cultural assets of Offa’s Country. 

Forest Schools
Working in partnership with County Forest Education Initiative cluster groups (FEI’s), the project has engaged with all of the primary and secondary schools in the AONB to offer assistance and funding to develop Forest School sites and training

InsideOUT
A project that enables a greater proportion of people form disadvantaged groups access the countryside and work creatively in artistic disciplines by developing partnerships between the health, art and environmental sectors. Download pdf about the project here

Staunton Meend Habitat Restoration.
A project that works with ‘Friends of Staunton Meend’ through fund raising and volunteer assistance to restore an area of  common land to its original heathland/dry acid grassland habitat

AONB unit staff represent the interests of the Wye Valley AONB at the regular meetings of various groups working in the area including:

Offa’s Country Partnership

Forest Education Initiative (Forest of Dean cluster group)

Monmouthshire Environment Partnership

Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association

Wye Management Advisory Group (Wye MAG)

Wye Navigation Advisory Committee (Wye NAC)

Herefordshire Local Wildlife Sites Partnership

Gloucestershire Local Wildlife Sites Partnership

South Wales Undergrounding Initiative Group