Beautiful Boundaries – High Weald AONB
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an internationally important landscape, characterised by a mosaic of interconnected small woods, fields, shaws and hedges – a significant portion of which are ancient and rich in different species. The Beautiful Boundaries scheme aims to restore the historic medieval landscape by regenerating ancient hedgerows to divert attention from the overhead lines.
Particular focus was placed on locations where the lines could be seen from the area’s extensive network of public rights of way, including promoted paths such as the 1066 Walk and the Sussex Border Path. Other activities included fencing woodland to prevent damage to rare plants by grazing animals and planting hedges and trees.
£200,000 was granted to the scheme in the first round of LEI funding. Over the three years of successfully delivering the project, the High Weald AONB Partnership worked with a number of landowners in the Wealden and Rother districts of East Sussex to implement the landscape improvements.