page_title: Mendip Hills
section_title: Government and politics
hierarchical_section_title: Mendip Hills / Government and politics
caption_attribution_description: Mendip Hills AONB sign at Burrington Combe. Taken by Rod Ward 25th Feb 2007
context_page_description: The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running west to east from Weston-super-Mare to Frome and Trowbridge. The hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which administers most of the area. The higher, western part of the hills, covering 198 km² has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park.
  The hills are largely formed from Carboniferous Limestone, which is quarried at several sites. Three nationally important semi-natural habitats are characteristic of the area: ash–maple woodland, calcareous grassland and mesotrophic grassland. With their temperate climate these support a range of flora and fauna including birds, butterflies and small mammals. The dry stone walls that divide the pasture into fields are of botanical importance as they support important populations of the nationally scarce wall whitlowgrass.
context_section_description: The western end of the Mendip Hills has, since 1972, been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Mendip Society, which was formed in 1965, helps to raise awareness of this designation and protect the area. The society now has 700 members and runs a programme of guided walks and educational presentations. The society also has a small grants fund to assist communities with the conservation and enhancement of the landscape and to encourage its enjoyment and celebration.
  As their landscapes have similar scenic qualities, AONBs may be compared to the national parks of England and Wales. AONBs are created under the same legislation as the national parks, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. In contrast to national parks, which have their own authorities and legal power to prevent unsympathetic development, very few statutory duties are imposed on the local authorities within an AONB. However, further regulation and protection of AONBs was added by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
  In 2009 proposals were being prepared by the Mendip AONB in an attempt to get the Mendips designated as a Geopark, which is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as "A territory encompassing one or more sites of scientific importance, not only for geological reasons but also by virtue of its archaeological, ecological or cultural value."
  The Mendip Hills Partnership, which performs an administrative role, includes the five local authorities that cover the AONB, statutory bodies such as the Countryside Agency and English Nature, together with parish councils and other organisations and groups that have an interest in the conservation and care of the area. The Mendip Hills AONB staff unit of the partnership is based at the Charterhouse Centre in the heart of the AONB. The AONB Unit consists of four staff: a manager, project officer, support officer and part-time planning officer. They are supported by 20 volunteer rangers. In 2005 a proposal was submitted to the Countryside Agency to extend the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to Steep Holm and Brean Down in the west and towards Frome in the east.
  Many of the villages on the Mendips have their own parish councils, which have some responsibility for local issues. Local people also elect councillors to district councils or to unitary authorities. The 198 km² (76 sq mi) of the AONB are split across four districts: Mendip District Council 87.67 km² (33.8 sq mi),
  Sedgemoor District Council 34.03 km² (13.1 sq mi),
  Bath and North East Somerset Council 36.95 km² (14.3 sq mi), and
  North Somerset Council 39.35 km² (15.2 sq mi).
  Each of the villages is also part of a parliamentary constituency: Wells, Weston-super-Mare or North East Somerset. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides police services to the area.
caption: Logo of the Mendip Hills AONB at Burrington Combe
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