If for visual, conservation or other reasons, areas require to be protected from mineral developments they will be identified as Areas of Constraint on Mineral Developments in development plans.

Areas of Constraint may form all or part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) or be outside an AONB altogether. They may include or be part of areas designated, listed or otherwise protected for their scientific value or archaeological or historic interest. Within these Areas of Constraint there will be a presumption against the granting of planning permission for the extraction and/or processing of minerals. Exceptions to this policy may be made where the proposed operations are short-term and the environmental implications are not significant. In such cases, on-site processing of the excavated material is unlikely to be permitted.