A five-year plan to protect the Chiltern Hills has been produced.

The framework for action has been welcomed by Robin Peirce, a cabinet member of South Oxfordshire District Council and a member of the Chilterns Conservation Board.

He said: "The Chilterns countryside adds so much to the quality of life here.

"The new action plan deals with the positive steps to be taken to protect it over the years for all our benefits."

The five-year plan was produced after extensive consultation with individuals, local authorities and other organisations in the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty.

The Chilterns run through Oxfordshire into Hert- fordshire. The plan covers the next five years and includes action that will protect wildlife in rare chalk streams, promote local shops and services and conserve the area's characteristic beechwoods.

It also states that any major developments, including highway schemes, should be firmly resisted if they damage the natural beauty of the area. The plan was launched at the annual Chilterns Forum by Kate Ashbrook of the Countryside Agency.

She also heads the Henley-based amenity group the Open Spaces Society.

She said the Countryside Agency welcomed the plan and recognised how it reflected the comments of local people.