What do you think is special about Dorset's most important landscape?

A consultation is being launched to find out what people think about the county's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - and what needs to be done to keep it so special.

It comes as the partnership which manages the landscape reviews its five year plan for the area.

Tom Munro, Dorset AONB team manager, said: “It’s an important time for us to step back and think about what the priorities for the landscape are over the next five years. We’re asking local people to take a step back too and think about what they think is special about the landscape and what urgently needs doing to pass it onto our next generations in good shape.”

The Dorset AONB is not just one fine landscape but a collection of great landscapes, each with their own very special feel. You can travel from one side of the AONB to the other and experience heaths, downs, valleys and vales – each with different views, wildlife, walks and ways of working. It covers almost half of Dorset. The new plan records how special the landscapes are now but it also looks ahead to the opportunities that such a rich landscape holds for people in the future.

Tom added: “We know that the landscape already makes a real difference to people’s lives – the food they eat, the places they walk the dog or sit and relax, the setting for their business … but what is actually special to them and what more can the landscape do for them in the future?”

The Dorset AONB Team wants to hear your views and those sharing their thoughts could win one of three Dorset Food & Drink hampers worth £50.

There are two ways to get involved. For those who are short of time, there is a five to 10 minute questionnaire asking your views on the landscape and what work should be prioritised over the next five years.

For those who want to give a longer response to the draft management plan itself, there is a downloadable form to help structure your reply. Both can be found at www.dorsetaonb.org.uk

Comments on the draft plan are welcomed up to Wednesday, October 3.

The plan can be found at libraries and council offices, on the Dorset AONB website www.dorsetaonb.org.uk or by request from the AONB Partnership on 01305 228246.