A MARKETING campaign promoting the Malvern Hills could result in produce from the area bearing the stamp of the AONB.

Details of the marketing hopes are included in a draft of the new Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty management plan, the document which determines the aims and strategy of the organisation.

The plan says marketing of the AONB would be "advantageous in providing spin-off opportunities for the branding of Malvern Hills produce such as lamb or farm-stay bed and breakfast."

AONB officer Amanda McCleery said the intention was to improve people's knowledge of the area.

"There's definitely a need to raise awareness of the AONB," she said. "People aren't as familiar with the concept as they are with national parks like the Peak District or the Lake District. They aren't really sure what exactly AONBs are and some don't even know they live in one.

"The people who read the management plan will decide whether it goes the whole hog and ends up with a logo on produce, or whether it is on more of an awareness-raising level, with the same logo on all of our leaflets, for example."

The management plan will be discussed by the AONB's joint advisory committee, a 16-person group including members of Worcestershire County Council, Malvern Hills Conservators and the Countryside Agency.

Mrs McCleery said: "The management plan is the fundamental document that the AONB works from. This revision gives us the chance to update it and take account of new legislation and increased funding for AONBs."

Also included in the draft, the first revision of the document since it was drawn up in 1996, are plans to do more research into wildlife on the hills and improve building design in the area.

It is hoped that by June or July the public will be able to view the document at libraries in Malvern, Ledbury and Colwall, before local authorities adopt the plan by March 2004. The joint advisory committee meets Priory Lodge, Malvern, today (Friday), at 10am.