Shaping the Future of the Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape Partnership has a legal responsibility to review and update a five-year Management Plan. This plan sets out what makes the Forest of Bowland so special, the challenges it faces and the actions needed to conserve, enhance and celebrate its components of natural beauty and special qualities.
It’s not just a document for the Partnership team – it’s for everyone who cares about this landscape: partner organisations, farmers and landowners, local communities and businesses. The aim is to work together to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of this remarkable area.
A new draft plan has been created by the National Landscape team, with valuable input from a wide range of partners.
As part of the management planning process we have also drafted a Climate Change Adaptation plan to outline the actions required to adapt the landscape to the impacts of climate breakdown. It is a statutory requirement to embed the principles of adaptation into the Management Plan, and so we would welcome your comments on this document as well as the main Draft Management Plan (see Appendix 2).
Public Consultation
The Public Consultation on Draft 2026–2031 Forest of Bowland National Landscape Management Plan has now closed.
The consultation on the draft management plan was launched on 19 January and ran for 6 weeks until 2 March.
The draft management plan was published on-line (along with a feedback form) and emails were sent to members of the Joint Advisory Committee and a list of key stakeholders asking them to respond.
The consultation was also promoted to a wider general audience via local press, social media and our website.
A draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan was consulted on as part of the Management Plan.
Responses
86 responses were received via the on-line form; and 20 were sent in by email.
75% of responses were from individuals and 25% from organisations
- 30% were visitors to the area
- 21% were land managers or farmers
- 17% residents
- 19% were statutory bodies, local government or conservation NGOs .
80% of respondents were in broad agreement with the plan.
In total around 200 separate comments have been actioned, discussed and responded to. One third of these comments relate to the Nature Recovery theme.
We are now in the process of responding to all the action-able comments and will publish an agreed list of amendments to the Plan in May.
The final version of the Management Plan will be published once it has been approved by the following bodies:
Joint Advisory Committee
Natural England
The local authorities in the area: Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Pendle, Preston and Wyre
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
If you submitted a comment on the draft plan you can ask to view the response we made to this and any amendments made, by emailing cathy.hopley@lancashire.gov.uk
Reference Documents
Additional downloads:
- Appendix 1 - Summary Landscape Character Assessment
- Appendix 2 - Climate Change Adaptation Plan
- Appendix 3 - Equality Impact Assessment
- Appendix 4 - Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)*
- Appendix 5 - Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA)*
- Appendix A: SEA & HRA Screening Table
Capturing the Best of Bowland
As part of the 2025 review of our Management Plan, we invited people to share photographs that capture what Bowland means to them—whether through its landscapes, wildlife, heritage or vibrant communities. Through our Best of Bowland prize draw, we wanted to give everyone a chance to reflect on and celebrate what makes this unique area so special. The photos and captions offered an insight into the deep connection people feel with Bowland, helping shape our shared vision for its future. To view the photographs visit: Visitor Photo Gallery | Forest of Bowland National Landscape
The word cloud below highlights the words and phrases people shared alongside their photos, reflecting what makes Bowland special to them.
