Petition · past parliament

Prevent developments on Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Blewbury, Oxon.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

This land forms part of the North Wessex Downs, which is one of only 37 areas of outstanding Natural beauty in the United Kingdom. These areas have been described as the “jewels of the English landscape” and are nationally important and legally protected landscapes.
This land should be preserved.
An AONB is a precious landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation's interest to safeguard them. The Government has a legal obligation to safeguard AONB as set out in section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
There is a current application to build on this area of AONB in Blewbury.
I propose that the Government upholds their legal obligation by blocking this application and thus set a precedent to preserve AONB in the UK.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

Specific decisions on planning applications are taken by your local council and not the UK Government. You can use this page to find out who your local councillors are and how to contact them:
 
https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors
 
Once an application is made for the development to take place, all local residents have the right to request that a planning application be ‘called in’ by the Department for Communities and Local Government. This means that it will assess the planning application against certain criteria and decide if a full inquiry is needed. For more information, including the criteria and how to request the call in of a planning application, see:
 
http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00930/SN00930.pdf
 
You could also contact your local MP, who may wish to request that the decision be called in if they agree with you. You can use this page to find out who your local MP is and how to contact them:
 
http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
 

If you want the UK Government or Parliament to take action, for example to amend the legislation and policy framework which governs planning and development decisions taken by local authorities in respect of Areas of Natural Beauty, you could start a new petition specifically asking for that action.

Timeline

10 Dec 2015 Petition opened for signatures
14 Dec 2015 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 14 Dec 2015

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.