Disused Garages Beacon Hill Lane Thorpeness Aldringham Cum Thorpe Suffolk Data via plota.co.uk

Previously an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is still the designation in law. Since 2023 authorities must seek to further its purpose, not merely have regard to it.

Compiled from highway authority data, not the legal definitive map. A few authorities have not published, so no path shown is not proof there is none.

Development inconsistent with keeping the coast undeveloped is resisted.

Nationally significant infrastructure projects (power stations, electricity lines, pipelines, major roads and railways, harbours, airports and reservoirs) are consented by a Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008, after an examination by the Planning Inspectorate, rather than by the council. The boundary is the one the Inspectorate consults on and can change as the scheme does. Projects are shown within 2 km of the site.

Sites of special scientific interest are the best wildlife and geological sites in the country. Development likely to harm one is rarely permitted.

Harm to a protected site is only accepted where there is no alternative and an overriding public interest.

The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.