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National Landscape Annual Conference

Annual Conference 2026

Join us for Cannock Chase National Landscape Annual Conference 2026, and a day of networking, learning and sharing ideas!

This year’s conference is being held on Wednesday 3rd June at the Aquarius Ballroom in Hednesford. In addition to hearing about our achievements over the past year, you can also join in on the discussion about outdoor recreation on Cannock Chase, and help inform the preparation of recreation management policy.

Our new Management Plan (2025-2030) includes a commitment to prepare a Recreation Management Strategy for the National Landscape. The Strategy will seek to ensure there is a joined-up and strategic approach to the management of recreation on the Chase, that balances people’s enjoyment of the outdoors with enhanced protection of the environment.

Conference programme

Registration, networking and mini partners exhibition from 09:45am

Morning Session (10.30am – 12.15pm)

Councillor Tony Pearce, Chair of the Cannock Chase National Landscape Joint Committee will open the conference at 10.30am

Review of the Year by Cannock Chase National Landscape Team

Keynote address “The importance of outdoor recreation” by Paddy Harrop, Co-Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Network and Director, Central England, Forestry England

Networking lunch and mini partners exhibition (12.15pm – 13.30pm)

Afternoon Session (13.30pm – 15.30pm)

Reflections on outdoor recreation on Cannock Chase by Cannock Chase National Landscape team.

Breakout sessions to discuss action that needs to be taken

Closing remarks and conference close

How to book your place

To book your place onto the Conference please follow the link here. Please note that we can only accept a maximum of 2 delegates from each organisation.

Bookings will be on a first come, first served basis. Please ensure you book your lunch and if you have any dietary requirements do let us know at the time of booking.

We look forward to seeing you on 3rd June 2026.

Any queries please do note hesitate to contact us on cannockchase@staffordshire.gov.uk

 

Previous Conferences:- 

Delivering Change for our National Landscape

Date: Thursday 19th June 2025 Location: Beau Desert Golf Club

2025 marks the start of our new five year management plan for Cannock Chase National Landscape, setting out how we are addressing key challenges and our ambitions to do more for Nature, Climate, People and Place.

You can download the full programme for the day here.

Topics covered included the following. Presentations, where available, can be viewed below:-

Chloe Thompson-Haynes, Inclusion Senior Officer, Natural England and Saskia Luqmanic, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Protected Landscapes Partnership.

Hannah Wilcox-Brooke, Nature based Solutions Team, National Landscapes Association

  • Green Funding and Finance – how does it work for us? 
Louise Driver, Operations Director, National Forest

 Chris Sands, The Good Company & Founder of Totally Locally.
  • The Year in Review
Heard from individual partners on activities from the last year.

There was an opportunity for a walking tour of heathland conservation work on Beau Desert golf course led by Beau Desert Golf Club.

  

Information on Past Conferences

Cannock Chase National Landscape Annual Conference 25th April 2024

Theme: Nature Recovery
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent councils are working on the preparation of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy and we are beginning the process of reviewing the AONB Management Plan.  Nature recovery will be central to our vision for the Chase for the next 5 years.  The conference allowed us to reflect on the state of nature in the National Landscape; what we mean by nature recovery; and how we can work in partnership to deliver a better future for nature.
 
 
 Presentations
 

 

Cannock Chase AONB Annual Conference 8th March 2023
The Annual Cannock Chase AONB Conference took place in person on Wednesday 8th March at Brocton Hall Golf Club. The theme for the 2023 Conference was: The Chase Through Time – legacy, lessons and what happens next.
Cannock Chase has been shaped through the interactions between people and landscape over millennia, and its historic environment and culture is fundamental to its natural beauty, unique character and sense of place. The Chase Through Time project (2016-18) aimed to shine a light on 2,000 years of human activity on Cannock Chase and how our ancestors managed and worked their environment. The conference looked back at this project and its legacy and share thoughts for the future conservation and enhancement of the historic environment on Cannock Chase.
Headline speaker was Shane Kelleher, County Archaeologist at Staffordshire County Council. Please see presentation below.

Chase Through Time AONB Conference 2023
File size: 10.39 MB


All other presentations available from the day can be found by clicking on the links below:-

Review of the Year – Ian Marshall, Cannock Chase AONB

Understanding the Past

Lens on the Past – Trevor Warburton, AONB volunteer

Apples on the Chase – Colin Evans, AONB volunteer

Telling Our Story

Brindley Village – Linda Barratt, Brindley Village Legacy Group

Chase Heritage Trail – Katie McBey, Cannock Chase Council and Louise Rose Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles

Caring for our heritage

HS2 environmental enhancement projects – Sam Caraway, Trent Sow Parklands and Cannock Chase AONB HS2 Group

Castle Ring – Peter Scholes, Cannock Chase Council

Thank you to all speakers who provided a fantastic and enthusiastic insight into their projects.

You can view the recordings from 2022 conference where the theme was ‘Changing perceptions and behaviours’ here:

Morning session

Afternoon session