Cornwall National Landscape

What Cornwall National Landscape does

Cornwall National Landscape (formerly Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty / AONB) is a statutory protected landscape body in southwest England, designated in 1959 and hosted by Cornwall Council at New County Hall, Truro. The organisation covers 958 sq km (370 square miles) — approximately one-third of Cornwall — across 12 geographically separate and distinctive sections, making it the only protected landscape in England with this configuration and the 9th largest in the country. It is governed by a Partnership of 20 organisations operating under a Memorandum of Understanding, with statutory protection under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Section 85 duty), placing it on an equal legal footing with National Parks. The body delivers nature recovery, climate resilience, heritage conservation, and community engagement outcomes through the Management Plan 2022-2027.

The organisation's portfolio comprises grant programmes and project initiatives rather than a unified commercial product. Core offerings include Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL), a Defra-funded grant programme for farmers and landowners; Landscape Connections (£1m+ from the National Lottery Heritage Fund); A Monumental Improvement (40 Scheduled Monuments); Natural Beauty & The Beast; Bodmin Moor Hill Farming Project; the Cornish Hedges Programme; and Dark Skies. A small team of 12-16 staff plus volunteers serves farmers and landowners (managing 75% of the area as farmland), local communities, visitors and tourists, partner organisations, and schools and youth groups. The underlying technology is essentially administrative and partnership-coordination-based; outputs are measured in hectares of habitat conserved, kilometres of Cornish Hedges maintained, monuments protected, and engagement events delivered.

Cornwall National Landscape is not a commercial enterprise. As a public body and registered charity it provides no fee-based services. Revenue is derived entirely from government grants — Defra as key majority funder with co-funding from Cornwall Council and the National Trust — supplemented by project grants (notably the National Lottery Heritage Fund) and charitable donations channelled through the affiliated Cornwall National Landscape Trust. The team's stated KPI is £684,000 per year in externally funded projects substantially influenced or generated by the AONB Team, against a £1m+ headline development award from NLHF announced in July 2026.

Name

Cornwall National Landscape

Legal name

Cornwall National Landscape

Website

https://cornwall-landscape.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Protected Landscape Conservation

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC), National Park & Protected Area Tours (THAJAIAA)

Keywords

• Protected landscape management
• Conservation grant programmes
• Heritage monument preservation
• Nature recovery initiatives
• Rural community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Truro

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Primary revenue from government funding - Defra is the key majority funder, with Cornwall Council and National Trust as co-funders. Additional project funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and other grant-making bodies.
2. Project Grants: Externally funded projects substantially influenced or generated by the AONB Team, including Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme funded by Defra, and Landscape Connections initiative funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund (£1m+).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cornwall National Landscape is a statutory protected landscape body that conserves and enhances natural beauty across 958 sq km of Cornwall through four priority areas: People, Place, Nature, and Climate. It delivers grant programmes such as Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL), heritage conservation projects including A Monumental Improvement for Scheduled Monuments, nature recovery initiatives, and community engagement activities. The organisation is funded by government grants and charitable donations, operating through a Partnership of 20 organisations.

Product overview

Cornwall National Landscape (formerly Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is a protected landscape organisation that is not a typical commercial product company. It offers a portfolio of conservation and community engagement programmes rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the Management Plan as the strategic framework, supplemented by grant programmes such as Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL), and various project initiatives including The Heart of Natural Beauty, A Monumental Improvement (heritage monuments), Natural Beauty & The Beast, Bodmin Moor Hill Farming Project, Cornish Hedges, and Dark Skies initiatives. These programmes collectively deliver outcomes for people, place, nature, and climate through collaborative partnership working.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) A Defra-funded grant programme providing funding for farmers and landowners to deliver outcomes for People, Place, Nature and Climate, helping address the climate and biodiversity crisis while supporting sustainable farm businesses.
• The Heart of Natural Beauty - Landscape Connections A project strengthening connections between people, place, nature and climate through digital innovation, amplifying voices and protecting Cornwall's natural and cultural heritage, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund with over £1m investment.
• A Monumental Improvement A five-year project ensuring that 40 Scheduled Monuments in the Cornwall National Landscape are better identified, supported and enjoyed by a wide range of people, representing 6,000 years of Cornish history.
• Natural Beauty & The Beast A project bringing together people of Bodmin, Liskeard, Launceston and surrounding areas with farmers of Bodmin Moor to explore and celebrate rich nature, history and traditions, working together to protect the special landscape.
• Bodmin Moor Hill Farming Project A project inspired by the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project, designed to support farmers and landowners on Bodmin Moor focusing on resilience, collaboration, and practical solutions for sustainable land management.
• Cornish Hedges Programme Programme focused on the unique Cornish hedges, which are understood to be over 4,000 years old, making them one of the oldest human-made structures still used for their original purpose, found only in Cornwall.
• Dark Skies Project to preserve and enhance dark night skies above West Penwith and Bodmin Moor for leisure, wellbeing of residents, visitors and wildlife.
• Management Plan 2022-2027 A shared strategy for those who live, work and visit the Cornwall National Landscape, providing guidance to help Government, statutory organisations and public bodies fulfil their Section 85 duty to conserve and enhance natural beauty.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-year target: 400 hectares of habitat conserved or enhanced for biodiversity
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Cornwall CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost authority for the Cornwall National Landscape team. Provides core funding alongside Defra and National Trust. Cornwall Council declared both a climate and ecological emergency, aligning with AONB priorities.
• National TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart-funder of the protected landscape alongside Cornwall Council. Major landowning organisation within Cornwall National Landscape with properties across the 12 sections.
• South West Peatland Partnership (SWPP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey delivery partner for peatland restoration projects. Project Officer role takes day-to-day instruction from SWPP officers. Partnership delivers holistic monitoring, palaeoecological research, planning and implementing peatland restoration.
• South West WatersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater company partner within the SWPP partnership, working on water quality and catchment management initiatives across Cornwall National Landscape.
• Cornwall Heritage TrustsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall independent charity protecting Cornwall's heritage. Works on heritage conservation and interpretation within the protected landscape.
• South West Coast PathsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for maintaining and promoting the South West Coast Path National Trail which traverses all 12 sections of Cornwall National Landscape.
• Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site PartnershipsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO World Heritage Site Partnership managing the mining heritage within Cornwall National Landscape. Contributes to heritage interpretation and conservation efforts.
• 95 Parish/Town CouncilssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal governance bodies within or bordering the Cornwall National Landscape, key stakeholders in planning consultations and community engagement.
• 46 AONB Network (National Association for AONBs)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational collective of AONBs including Cornwall. Signed the Colchester Declaration 2019 committing to significantly increase nature conservation activity across AONBs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• South Downs National Park Authority: A newer National Park with similar statutory conservation mandate, partnership working with farmers and landowners, and visitor economy focus. Comparable as a UK protected landscape delivery body.
• Exmoor National Park Authority: A neighbouring National Park in SW England with comparable scale and governance structure. Shares the partnership, farming engagement, and conservation delivery model relevant to Cornwall's protected landscape work.
• North Pennines AONB Partnership: A large AONB partnership in northern England with a similar small-team, partnership-delivery model focused on landscape conservation, upland farming, and nature recovery - directly comparable organisational structure.
• High Weald AONB: A southern England AONB partnership with identical statutory designation and small-team delivery model. Comparable in governance, farmer engagement, and conservation outcome delivery.
• Dartmoor National Park Authority: The adjacent National Park in SW England. While a different designation, it serves a comparable statutory purpose (conserving natural beauty) in the same region with the same Section 85 duty, partnership-style working, and farmer engagement model.
• Tamar Valley National Landscape: A neighbouring AONB partnership covering the Cornwall-Devon border, with an identical statutory designation and partnership governance structure. Directly comparable in scale, function, and Cornish/SW England context (one CNL Project Support Coordinator interned there).
• Cranborne Chase AONB: An AONB partnership with identical statutory designation, partnership governance, and Section 85 duty. Operates a similar small-team model delivering conservation outcomes across fragmented geographies.
• Lake District National Park Authority: England's largest National Park with UNESCO World Heritage status and a comparable statutory duty. Shares the partnership, farming engagement, and visitor economy dimensions relevant to CNL.
• Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority: A large UK National Park with comparable mandate for conserving natural beauty, working with upland farmers, and delivering habitat and heritage outcomes through partnership models.
• Cotswolds National Landscape: The largest AONB in England, also rebranded to 'National Landscape' and operating under identical statutory designation and partnership governance. Most directly comparable organisational peer in terms of mandate, structure, and partnership-led delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmSsVtrsbJ3LvnTR1IJUUMQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/cornwall.national.landscape
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornwall_national_landscape
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornwall-national-landscape

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornwall National Landscape