Our Vision

The Dorset National Landscape Partnership is working towards a future in which the management of the landscape and designation enables people to live in harmony with nature. The vision is for a stunningly beautiful, well-protected landscape in which:

  • Nature thrives, not just in protected areas and reserves but across the whole landscape. There is a well-linked, expanded network of high-quality habitats managed at a scale which allow functioning natural processes. Streams, rivers, wetlands and groundwaters are naturalised, healthy, wildlife-rich and pollution-free throughout our catchments feeding into a thriving coastal and marine environment.
  • Woodlands are expanded and well-managed in low-input, close-to-nature systems; many more trees are evident in the landscape, providing timber, fibre, fruit, nuts and forage, as well as carbon storage and spaces for people and nature. They are linked in the farmed landscape by a network of wide, healthy hedges.
  • Climate change has stabilised by achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors – energy, buildings, transport and land use. The landscape is resilient against climate shocks by widespread use of nature-based solutions and healthy farmed soils. There is active adaptation to coastal change for nature and people, enabling natural processes to continue.
  • Good quality food is produced by resilient and sustainable farming businesses using regenerative practices having a net benefit for climate and nature. Healthy seas provide sustainable livelihoods for an inshore fishing fleet using practices that avoid habitat harm.
  • Heritage assets are protected and well cared for; our cultural heritage is celebrated. It is easy to experience the time depth of this special place.
  • A landscape-based, circular economy provides a range of profitable livelihoods, supporting thriving communities and enhancing the place it relies upon. Jobs in the farming, forestry, nature, heritage, visitor economy and cultural sectors are well-rewarded, well-respected and offer a wealth of opportunities for young people and new entrants. There is enough housing to meet a genuinely local need; new build includes locally grown timber and fibre.
  • Everyone can easily experience, access, engage with, learn about and celebrate the area’s outstanding natural beauty and special qualities and get involved in its enhancement as residents and welcomed visitors. The landscape’s outstanding natural and cultural heritage inspires ongoing engagement, learning, research and artistic endeavour.
  • The beautiful natural and cultural landscape underpins a high quality of public health and societal wellbeing for all.
Map uses data derived from Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright 2025 OS AC0000830671

Minister's Foreword

Protected Landscapes are our most iconic and inspiring places. They were created from 1949, with post-war Britain recognising everyone has a right to access the countryside – from Northumberland’s dark skies to the South Downs’ Seven Sisters. 75 years on, the needs are greater than ever, with nature underpinning our health, economy and climate. That’s why this government will empower Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder and more accessible.

Covering 25% of England, but half of our priority habitats, Protected Landscapes are essential to nature’s recovery. This government understands that we will not achieve our Environment Act targets or commitment to protect 30% of nature by 2030 without Protected Landscapes. Recovering this natural capital is essential to ensure sustainable economic growth. Protected Landscapes are fundamental to strengthening the nation’s economic health by looking after the natural resources we depend on. Through nature’s recovery, Protected Landscapes protect communities from flooding, fight climate change, enable sustainable food production and create green jobs. They also have a vital role in connecting diverse communities with nature – underpinning the nation’s mental and physical health and reducing the strain on our NHS. This incredible potential is beginning to be set out in the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework. However, it will only become reality through the work of Protected Landscapes teams in collaboration with local communities, land managers, public bodies and other partners.

Protected Landscape Management Plans provide the focal point for all partners to agree a local ambition and a pathway to deliver it, shaping the future of our most special places, and therefore the country. It is vital that all partners work together to develop and implement Management Plans. To support this collaboration, we have issued guidance on the Protected Landscapes duty which requires relevant authorities to seek to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes.

In recognising their importance to the nation, this government has committed to reinvigorating Protected Landscapes with new legislation, resources and tools. I look forward to developing this with you and other partners because it is only together that we can protect and enhance these remarkable places for generations to come.

Mary Creagh CBE MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Nature & Protected Landscapes), June 2025

Postcards from the future: bones of our land

This 2025 poem by Louisa Adjoa Parker is based on 114 postcards gathered during engagement events consulting members of the public about this plan. Respondents were invited to write about what they value about this landscape and their hopes and fears for its future.

From Dorset, 2025
i
dear ones / here we walk through seaside towns / past harbours with still, salted boats / over green-topped sandstone cliffs / hewn from solid gold / we run & ride bikes on the beach / swim in our wide, open seas / our children get to play on sand / some go to forest schools / we search for frogspawn in our ponds / find mushrooms, apples growing wild / watch birds / see clover, lindens, maples, pines / here is a place to think & breathe

ii
dear ones / our seas are filling up with plastic / we’re dumping toxic waste / into our fresh water / sewage rises when it rains / our land & coast erodes each day / like ancient bones that turn to dust / seas are forever rising / glass-bright summer days are heating / it’s a disappearing, littered landscape / there are too many people / too many dogs / tourists visit all year round / walk up neat gravelled paths / eat fish & chips & drink from cans or plastic cups / pick up their neon towels & leave / forget to take their waste / we wonder if they’ve forgotten / what nature means to us / our ancient land is not an item / to be ticked off from a list

From Dorset, in the future
iii
dear ones / our seas rose up & flooded us / ravaged cliffs which stood majestic as they fell / our seas are roiling beasts now / a million kettles on the boil / plastic snakes through tainted water like seaweed / tendrils wrap around the gills of dying fish / clutched at our ankles / when we used to try to swim / plastic bottles bob like apples / unpaired trainers run nowhere / this stuff’s forever floating & existing / never sinking to the sea bed / our water’s black with sewage & pollution from the labs / unmentionables float past / like fleets of tiny boats / when it rains the stench will rise & fall along the shore / you can smell it from the town / there’s nothing left / yet visitors still come & sit amongst the debris / try to catch last rays / of the dying sun

iv
dear ones / here we move through seaside towns / where water’s clean & teems with life / our children splash in freshwater / or swim with turtles / in a teal-blue crystal sea / sunsets dip & kiss the beach / a pale moon rises in the sky / watched over by gold cliffs / wildflowers carpet the earth / the air’s filled with the sound of birds & the hum of honey bees / plants thrive in rich soil / we’ve resurrected ghost ponds / watched nature bloom / buses glide across the land / like shoals of gleaming silver fish / we cycle on mycelium paths / connected like the wood-wide web / there’s space for a few cars / which shine like beetles’ wings / here everything is free / we welcome tourists with the sun / together we have learned / to tread the land more lightly

we found the old, wild selves / we yearned for / here, in this land of poetry / where we’ve gifted nature rights / we protect her fiercely / bones of our land are fusing together / wish you were here / with all our love

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