Village leaders fear they could be barred from expressing views at meetings of a countryside custodian.

Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has angered Cheddar parish councillors after a review of its partners said representation from 28 councils "is not working and is also unwieldy".

The review, which suggests ways to make the AONB more efficient, suggests having up to 15 members at their twice-a-year partnership meetings.

A questionnaire researching attendance was sent to all the councils, whose parishes fall within the AONB. Three full responses were returned and two returned just comments.

One response said: "People are not sure what the AONB does any more, it seems to be too focussed on 'strategic' issues and appears to have little interest in what happens at the local level."

The report disputed this and said parish councils "add a vital local dimension to the partnership and make a valuable contribution to its work".

When the report was debated at Cheddar Parish Council last week, councillor Dawn Hill said: "The partnership gives advice but the AONB's steering group of officers seem to make all the financial and management and other decisions. They then come back to the partnership as a fait accompli."

There is a suggestion in the report that one or more elected members of a local authority should join the steering group.