How To ObjectPart 1. In September 2024
Quarterlands Group noticed something curious on Google Maps. The familiar Lagan Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was being displayed under a different name: “Lagan Valley National Landscape.”
This was not simply wording buried somewhere in a website. It appeared prominently on Google Maps as the name of the protected landscape, and the listing identified the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as the responsible authority.
By 2026, the name had changed back. Google Maps once again displays “Lagan Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”
The two screenshots above, taken in September 2024 and July 2026, provide a useful record of that change.
Why does the name matter?
At first sight, the difference between “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” and “National Landscape” might appear to be little more than branding. But the language used to describe protected landscapes matters.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a statutory designation. It tells residents, landowners, developers, planners and visitors that this is a landscape formally recognised for its exceptional character and value.
“National Landscape”, by contrast, raises questions in Northern Ireland. In England and Wales, AONBs have increasingly been branded as National Landscapes, while retaining their underlying statutory designation. But was the same terminology ever formally adopted for Northern Ireland? If it was not, how did it come to be applied to Lagan Valley on one of the world’s most widely used mapping platforms?
And why was it subsequently removed?
For communities dealing with development proposals within protected landscapes, these are not entirely academic questions. The terminology used on maps, planning documents and public information can influence how people understand the status and importance of a landscape.
Quarterlands Group has asked DAERA for an explanation
We have therefore submitted an Environmental Information request to DAERA seeking the recorded information behind the change.
We have asked for:
- Any recorded information relating to the use, consideration, adoption or subsequent discontinuation of the term “National Landscape” in relation to Northern Ireland’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This includes the date of any decision, the authority responsible and any reports, briefing papers or other documents supporting it. If no formal decision exists, we have asked DAERA to confirm that.
- Any correspondence between DAERA and other organisations concerning the naming, branding or mapping of Northern Ireland’s AONBs. This includes DEFRA, National Landscapes UK, Ordnance Survey, Google, local councils and other relevant organisations, and specifically correspondence concerning the appearance or subsequent removal of “Lagan Valley National Landscape” from Google Maps or other digital mapping platforms.
- Confirmation of the legal position. We have asked DAERA to confirm whether Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty remains the only statutory landscape designation recognised in Northern Ireland and whether “National Landscape” has ever been adopted or recognised by DAERA as either an official or supplementary designation.
Protecting the meaning as well as the landscape
Quarterlands Group has spent more than four years looking closely at how planning and environmental protections operate in practice. One recurring lesson has been that language matters.
Designations such as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty exist for a reason. They communicate something important about the value society has placed upon a landscape and the care that should be exercised when decisions affecting it are made.
We are not assuming that the temporary appearance of “National Landscape” represented a change in policy. It may ultimately have a straightforward explanation. But the fact that the terminology appeared, remained visible publicly and was subsequently reversed makes it reasonable to establish how and why it happened.
We will publish DAERA’s response when we receive it.