National Character Area 141 - Mendip Hills

Defra and Natural England's Green Infrastructure (GI) interactive map can be used to understand access to existing green infrastructure within each NCA. Good quality Green Infrastructure (GI) has an important role to play in our urban and rural environments for improving health and wellbeing, air quality, nature recovery and resilience to and mitigation of climate change, along with addressing issues of social inequality and environmental decline. The Green Infrastructure Framework is a commitment in the Government's 25 Year Environment Plan. It supports the greening of our towns and cities and connections with the surrounding landscape. As part of this, Defra and Natural England have developed a Beta version (V1.1) of an England-wide GI interactive map, which will support local authorities and other stakeholders to assess green infrastructure provision against the emerging GI Standards. By layering on the National Character Areas, listed under "Designated and Defined Area", users can map green infrastructure to help identify existing provision and demand within the NCA, as well as to compare GI provision between neighbouring NCAs.

Defra's MAGiC Interactive Mapping Tool presents geographic information about the natural environment from across the government. The information covers rural, urban, coastal and marine environments on an interactive map. The NCA boundaries can be overlaid to view this information by selecting Landscape/National Character Areas.

National Landscapes (legally known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - AONBs) are nationally important landscapes, designated under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. Their primary purpose is to 'conserve and enhance natural beauty'. Each National Landscape has a statutory Management Plan to drive partnership action across their areas. The Plan also outlines the special qualities that underpin the designated landscape. These documents can be found on each individual National Landscape website by searching for "Management Plan". Management Plans are updated every five years.

National Parks are nationally designated landscapes with two statutory purposes: 1) to conserve and enhance their natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage; and 2) to promote opportunities for public enjoyment and understanding of their special qualities. Reviewed every five years, National Park Management Plans set out how a range of organisations will work together to achieve shared objectives for the management of the National Park. The Plans also set out the special qualities that underpin the nationally designated landscape.

The Natural Capital Atlas Profiles provide an "off the shelf" natural capital evidence base for each county or city region. Understanding the state of our natural environment is the essential first step to improving it. Natural England's Natural Capital Indicators (Lusardi et al., 2018) are designed to inform our understanding of the state of our natural assets. The indicators highlight the importance of our natural assets for delivering which ecosystem service and the benefits they provide for society. Understanding the state of natural capital is essential to enable the sustainable provision of multiple benefits, now and into the future. The best available and nationally consistent evidence is used to map out indicators showing asset quality, quantity and location. Indicators for some flows of ecosystem services are also mapped. These atlases provide an "off the shelf" natural capital evidence base for the relevant county or city regions within this NCA. They have a wide variety of uses with more information in the How to Start Using Your Natural Capital Atlas.

The Historic England Farmstead & Landscape Statement summarises evidence on farmsteads and buildings in their landscape and settlement context, as well as the historic character, significance and foresight issues for the NCA. Historic farmsteads, comprising the farmhouse and working farm buildings, make a fundamental contribution to landscape character, local distinctiveness and a sense of place. They are also assets which, through agricultural or new uses, can make an important contribution to the rural economy and communities. The Farmstead and Landscape Statement is supported by advice on farm buildings, which provides links to the National Farmsteads Character Statement, national guidance on Farm Building Types and a fully-sourced summary in the regional Historic Farmsteads: Preliminary Character Statements.