Quantock Hills - Governance

Governance

The Quantock Hills were designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1956, the first such designation in England under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Notice of the intention to create the AONB under The Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Designation) Order, 1956 was published in the London Gazette on 7 February 1956. As they have the same landscape quality, AONBs may be compared to the national parks of England and Wales. AONBs are created under the same legislation as the national parks. Unlike AONBs, national parks have their own authorities and special legal powers to prevent unsympathetic development. By contrast, few statutory duties are imposed on local authorities within an AONB. However, further regulation and protection of AONBs was added by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Many of the villages on the Quantocks have their own parish councils, which have some responsibility for local issues. They also elect councillors to Somerset County Council and district councils, such as Taunton Deane, West Somerset and Sedgemoor. Each of the villages is also part of a parliamentary constituency: Taunton Deane, or Bridgwater and West Somerset. The area is also part of the South West England (European Parliament constituency) of the European Parliament.