Contents Foreword 3 Geographical Context 3 Review Context 3 Overall Vision 3 Part One 1.0 The Solway Coast AONB 4 1.1 An Introduction and Statement of Significance 4 1.2 The AONB in its Local and Regional Setting 5 1.3 Landscape Character 6 1.4 Purpose and Context 10 1.5 Governance, Monitoring and Reporting 11 1.6 Management Plan Themes, Visions, Objectives and Actions 13 Part Two 2.1 Landscape 16 2.2 Natural Heritage 21 2.3 Cultural and Built Heritage 26 2.4 The Coast 29 2.5 Environmental Management 34 2.6 Climate Change and Renewable Energy 37 2.7 Tourism, Transport, Access and Recreation 40 2.8 Education and Awareness 45 2.9 Economy and Community 48 Part Three APPENDICES 1. Facts and Figures 53 2. External Review Process 60 3. Summary of Main Issues 60 4. Acronyms 62 5. Glossary of Terms 62 6. Select Bibliography 64 7. Core Functions 65 8. IUCN Protected Areas and International Classification 65 9. Acknowledgements 66 Foreword William (Bill) Jefferson OBE, Chairman Foreword Figure 1. Solway Coast AONB Map I am delighted and honoured (c) Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Licence Number 100019596, to commend to you this far courtesy of Cumbria County Council sighted vision and the far reaching strategies which Authorities to prepare, publish and review, every five have been developed to years, a Management Plan for AONBs in their area. realise it, in cooperation with This document presents the review of the 2004- a partnership involving you all, 2009 Management Plan undertaken and led by the individuals, volunteers, statutory Solway Coast AONB Staff Unit on behalf of the bodies, towns, villages, constituent Local Authorities and with support from landowners, schools and Natural England. many special interest groups. The new plan will be subject to scrutiny through We have all one thing in both a Strategic Environmental Assessment and, common – a love for where it affects European Nature Conservation sites, our Solway Coast and by a Habitats Regulations Assessment. Plain which has been handed down to us Overall Vision from those who went This document drives the second stage (Part 2, before, which we now hold in trust and which we 2009 -2014) in the delivery of a 30 year vision for the intend to hand on to future generations, not only future restoration and prosperity of the Solway Coast intact but enhanced, with the magic preserved AONB. That vision was signed up to by the AONB and prosperity secured. Partnership in 2004. The vision is confirmed by the It is a fine vision, and it will take more than words to get AONB Partnership in this document taking our joint there but we now have the road map and I must pay tribute commitment to 2014. to all our friends and partners, to officers and volunteers The Solway Coast AONB through active conservation and to all of you who attended meetings and returned and enhancement, is an exemplar of well planned and questionnaires, and specifically to the Staff Unit for all their implemented sustainable development. The wild and energy and dedication which has gone into the preparation remote parts of the coastline are protected and of this statutory Management Plan for our Solway Coast enhanced to include open marshes, wetlands and dune Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). areas. Traditional boundaries form a complex mosaic The collective wisdom of a multi talented Joint Advisory throughout the farming hinterland, reinforcing historic Committee should ensure that this comprehensive field patterns and supporting a sustainable farming framework for action provides each one of us with the economy. The area’s wildlife is abundant and habitats means, the direction and the inspiration to play a realistic have been developed to reflect changes in climate and part in making this vision a reality. We have a shared the wild nature of the area. Marine protected areas responsibility for the future of this very special place. across the Solway Firth support a balanced estuarine ecosystem. The natural beauty and abundant wildlife Bill Jefferson OBE found throughout the area have established the Solway as the best eco destination in the north of Cumbria. Geographical Context People living in and visiting the Solway understand, enjoy and help protect the area through a network of Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) information and trails. People move around through a is one of 49 AONBs in England, Wales and Northern matrix of quiet lanes and routes by foot and on bikes. Ireland. It is the only AONB that is fully within Cumbria, it Traditional farmsteads and villages are complemented lies in a narrow linear strip along the Solway Firth coastline by new eco buildings. Together they support a range between Carlisle in the east and Maryport in the west and of sustainable businesses that draw on and it covers an area of 115 sq km. complement the special resources available in the area. Review Context Local services and high quality IT infrastructure support a vibrant community. Small scale renewables that The Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) strengthened complement the area’s special qualities are found previous legislation (1949) making further provision for the throughout the area and the peatlands and mudflats protection and enhancement of AONBs. It requires Local provide a natural active carbon sink. ‘A shared responsibility for a very special place’ the Solway Coast AONB Management Plan 3 Part One Part One 1.0 The Solway Coast AONB 1.1 An Introduction and Statement of Significance ribbon throughout the inner estuary area and, as such, 1.1.1 The Solway Coast AONB contains a unique mosaic of are nationally important. They provide feeding and coastal and pastoral landscapes set among a wide and low roosting areas for ducks, geese and swans that over- lying coastal plain and lying under the ever-changing drama winter on the estuary in internationally important numbers. of the dominant sky. The landscape is further enriched by Part of the AONB’s nationally rare natterjack toad Management Plan the twice daily influence of the tide that in turn reveals the population uses the saltmarshes. rich birdlife which use the estuary all year round. 1.1.9 An almost unbroken tract of sand dunes, much of it designated a SSSI, forms the coastal fringe of the western section of the AONB. 1.1.10 Agriculture is the dominant type of landuse. Pasture for dairy, beef and lamb production, both as grazing and grass silage, is the primary crop. Arable agriculture is confined to cereals with some rape and vegetables. Characteristic small fields with kested hedges sometimes associated with drainage ditches create a mosaic pattern in the landscape. 1.1.11 Settlement character is extremely varied from linear villages with space between dwellings, as at Burgh by Sands, to closely assembled and attached cottages and farms like those in Bowness on Solway. 1.1.2 The area is steeped in heritage from archaeological Some villages reflect their establishment or growth evidence of the Stone Age, through to Roman remains periods where their architecture can be attributed to associated with Hadrian’s Wall to the airfields of WWII. styles; fine examples are the Georgian façade at Port Today the area is home to 13,000 residents who both live Carlisle and Victorian buildings in Allonby. These and work within the landscape and help maintain its unique contrast starkly with Anthorn village and its Ministry of cultural identity. Defence utilitarian style architecture. Building fabrics are both local and imported and create a non-uniform 1.1.3 The AONB lies on the southern edge of the Solway character within most settlements. Firth, a large intertidal estuary, which also forms the border between England and Scotland. Designated in 1964, the 1.1.12 The area has a nationally significant area is relatively unchanged in character and covers 115 sq archaeological and historical resource, arguably the most km following 59 km of coastline from the River Esk near significant of which is the internationally designated Gretna and Carlisle to Maryport in west Cumbria. Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site. Other find-spots, features, buildings and 1.1.4 The town of Silloth, with its surrounding industrial clusters of sites are representative of Mesolithic and areas and golf course, sits at the heart of the AONB but is Neolithic settlement, the Bronze and Iron Ages, the not designated and splits the AONB into two parts. Roman occupation and the Anglo-Scandinavian period 1.1.5 The AONB is the statutory responsibility of Allerdale followed by the Norman Conquest and its associated Borough Council, Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Monastic period, the Late Medieval, the Industrial Council. Revolution and finally WWII and its airfields. 1.1.6 The Solway Coast contains many locally, nationally and internationally important features, some centring on landscape and others on wildlife and heritage. Many features are protected by designations and collectively they indicate the high value of the area and underpin the need to protect and enhance it for future generations. A list of landscape types and their significant features is produced in Section 1.3.3 1.1.7 The AONB contains areas of lowland raised mire which represent a significant proportion of the UK national resource. 1.1.8 Grazed saltmarshes are present in an unbroken 4 ‘A shared responsibility for a very special place’ the Solway Coast AONB Management Plan 1.2 The AONB in its Local and Regional Setting Management Plan Figure 2. Landscape Types Source: Solway Coast Landscape Assessment AONB Boundary Coastal Margin Open sea & river channels Part One Foreshore Salt Marsh Sand Dunes Cliff Features Agricultural Land Improved Pasture & Arable Land Rough Grazing Mossland Raised Peat Bog Figure 3.