FIFTY years after Britain designated the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in Wales, three festivals are celebrating environmental protection in the spectacular North Pennine hills.

The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural beauty (AONB) is a relative newcomer, designated in 1988. It has only been developed over the past few years, with the establishment of a team at the Durham Dales Centre, in Stanhope, County Durham.

In 2003, the area covered by the partnership became Britain's first European Geopark and last year became a founding member of the United Nations-endorsed Global Geoparks Network.

The North Pennines Partnership works through planning measures to conserve 2,000sq km of moors and dales in parts of Weardale, Teesdale, Derwentside, Tynedale and Cumbria.

Its small grants scheme has supported almost 100 initiatives in the past three years and it now helps community projects through a new £100,000 Sustainable Development Fund.

Currrently more than £1m is being spent on projects including hay meadows, peatlands, a geology-themed cycle trail, an annual discovery guide, a wildlife promotion for bed and breakfast accommodation and annual festivals showcasing plants, geology and walks.

Chris Woodley-Stewart, AONB officer for the partnership, said: "Tourism is on the rise and the ever increasing national and international profile of the AONB is helping the AONB partnership and many others promote the North Pennines and the North-East to the world.

"The designation is now widely recognised as an attractor to visitors, which is the equal of the National Parks.

"It is not a barrier to development, but rather it encourages high standards in design and conservation of buildings and the sensitive scale and location of new development.

"It is sometimes easy to forget that one of the benefits of the designation is the potentially damaging development that did not take place because of it.

"The designation has been an influencing factor on the ever-increasing number of policies and strategies which arise all the time and affect the area.

"The AONB partnership has striven to ensure a high profile for the North Pennines and that it remains high on the agenda of local, regional and national organisations.

"Most of the work of conserving and enhancing the AONB is done by farmers, landowners and gamekeepers, but the AONB designation lends a hand here too.

"The fact that this is an AONB means that it scores higher when agri-environment funding scheme applications are being assessed, and this has a direct impact on the funding available to farmers and landowners."

But former North Pennines Committee member Kath Toward, who farms in upper Teesdale, said: "I think sometimes too much attention is paid to the funders and not to the grass-roots people.

"It is very officer-led and packed with people from councils and other organisations, so the actual farmers on the ground will not know much about what is going on.

"I am bitterly disappointed because I think we should have been a full-blown National Park, giving us the money without some of the rules and restrictions. It is very sad for this area."

Golden anniversary celebrations in the North Pennines will start on Saturday with a festival of geology and landscape until June 4. A wild plant festival will take place from June 9 to July 23 and a series of walks will take place on July 9 and 10. For full details, call (01388) 528801.