LANCASTER DISTRICT LAND ALLOCATIONS DEVELOPMENT PLAN DOCUMENT

LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT OF EMERGING SITE OPTIONS Energy Coast

November 2012

LANCASTER DISTRICT LAND ALLOCATIONS DPD

LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT OF EMERGING SITE OPTIONS

Heysham Energy Coast

Contents

page Preface

1 Site Location and Context 1

2 Landscape Character 2

3 Landscape Value 5

4 Potential for Development 6

5 Sensitivity of the Heysham Energy Coast site to changes 6 arising from its potential development

6 Potential for Mitigation 7

Figures:

Figure B1: Plan: The existing character of the Heysham Energy Coast

Figure B2: Photographic views

Appendix: (separate volume)

The Project Brief

Woolerton Dodwell November 2012

PREFACE

i. This report by Woolerton Dodwell was commissioned by Lancaster City Council. It provides a landscape assessment of the Heysham Energy Coast, a broad area of land based around and to the east of Heysham Port and the two Heysham power stations. The purpose of the landscape assessment is to help inform Lancaster City Council’s consideration of future growth options and ultimately the allocation of sites in the Land Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) which forms part of the Local Development Framework (LDF) for Lancaster District.

ii. The Heysham Energy Coast is one of a number of emerging site options identified by Lancaster City Council as strategic due to their size and location, and which if developed would have significant implications for the District both in terms of meeting future development needs and also in terms of potential impacts.

iii. Landscape assessments have been prepared for the City Council for the following five strategic site options:

• , Lancaster • Whinney Carr, Lancaster • Grab Lane, Lancaster • Carnforth South • Heysham Energy Coast

iv. A further element of Woolerton Dodwell’s commission involved a review of areas within Lancaster District identified under ‘saved’ Local Plan Policy E31 as Key Urban Landscape. The policy states that these areas will be conserved and important natural features safeguarded, and that development in such areas will only be permitted where it preserves the open nature of the area and the character and appearance of its surroundings. The purpose of the review was to help inform consideration of the continued appropriateness of the Key Urban Landscape allocation in the Land Allocations DPD. The review was undertaken in two stages and is the subject of separate reports.

Woolerton Dodwell November 2012

HEYSHAM ENERGY COAST STRATEGIC SITE OPTION (SG 7) Landscape Assessment

LOCATION AND CONTEXT 1.1 Land along the coast at Heysham has been identified as part of Lancaster City Council's Energy Coast. The identification recognises the exceptional opportunity that this area provides to develop the District’s economy and secure wider investment in the district. The combination of existing nuclear energy investment together with potential for further expansion in renewable energy both on and offshore mean that the area is well placed to meet future energy needs. The proposed upgrade to National Grid’s high-voltage electricity transmission system provides further support for the identification of this area as a focus for energy investment.

1.2 No specific site is identified for Heysham Energy Coast strategic site option; it comprises land based around Heysham Port and the existing Heysham Power Station, extending south-east towards Middleton. For the purposes of this assessment the Heysham Energy Coast encompasses Heysham Power Station, Heysham Nature Reserve, Heysham Golf Club, the Ocean Edge Leisure Park, parts of the Port of Heysham, parts of the Heysham Industrial Estate, and brownfield land identified as Middleton Wood which is the site of the former Trimpell chemical works that closed in 1986. It also includes residential properties located between a railway line and the A589 Rothesay Road that leads to the Port of Heysham. Figure H1 indicates the extent of the strategic site option.

1.3 Beyond this area residential suburbs extend northward including Higher Heysham with the historic core of Heysham further to the north. To the south-east is Middleton village, the Heysham Industrial Estate, and the Middleton Towers retirement village which is under construction on the coast to the south on the site of a former Pontins holiday camp. There are also several static caravan sites/leisure parks set within open countryside. To the east is a swathe of relatively flat, low-lying and open farmland that is crossed by the A683 road and which contains several large industrial/infrastructure facilities including a large National Grid electricity sub-station located on the south side of the A683, and close to it is the Middleton Resource Recovery Facility, sited on the Lancaster West Business Park, a former industrial site. On the north side of the A683 is Heysham Moss, an SSSI and local nature reserve that supports bog vegetation and wet woodland habitats.

1.4 Public access to land within the Heysham Energy Coast is gained via the road network and a small number of public rights of way most notably FP4, which links Carr Lane to the coast, and also from informal footpaths and tracks within land identified as Middleton Wood community woodland. Access to Heysham Nature Reserve is managed by Wildlife Trust, by agreement with the site owner, British Energy.

Woolerton Dodwell 1 November 2012

LANDSCAPE CHARACTER

Existing Landscape Character Assessments ° National Landscape Character 1 - Character Area 31: Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary ° Lancashire Landscape Character Assessment 2 – Character type 12 Low Coastal Drumlins ° Lancashire Landscape Character Assessment – Character area 12c Heysham - Overton ° Lancashire Historic Landscape Character Assessment 3 – Character type: Modern Industry Modern Settlement Modern Recreation Ancient Enclosure

1.5 Descriptions contained in National Character Area 31: Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary help to establish a broad overview of the landscapes in this part of Lancashire. Its ‘key characteristics’ include:

° Broad, relatively flat lowlands enclosed by steeply sloping escarpments which open out dramatically into the undulating landscape of the coastal strip with substantial drumlin features.

° Development generally concentrated along the coastal strip where Heysham power station and caravan sites dominate the coastal scenery, with the remaining pastoral elements providing important countryside wedges.

1.6 The Lancashire Landscape Character Assessment (LLCA) presents a county-wide classification of landscape character based on mapping at 1:50000 scale. Published in 2000 it provides more detail on the landscape types and landscape character areas that occur within Lancashire. Land within the Heysham Energy Coast is classified as LLCA Landscape Character type 12: ‘Low Coastal Drumlins’. In general the landscape type is characterised by low whaleback hills that rise to approximately 40m high and extend over a wide area of the coastal lowlands. LCCA was informed by the Lancashire Historic Landscape Character Assessment, which identifies Heysham village as an Ancient and Post-Medieval settlement, surrounded by Modern Settlement and with extensive areas of Modern Industry and Modern Recreation.

1.7 The Heysham Energy Coast strategic site option forms part of a broad tract of low coastal drumlin landscape (landscape character type 12) that is generally characterised by a rolling lowland landscape of elongated rounded drumlins, generally aligned north-south. These form areas of raised ground that rise locally to around 25m AOD. This rolling landform is generally masked by extensive industrial and suburban development in Heysham where the scale and industrial appearance of the Heysham power stations and multiple high voltage overhead transmission lines have a dominant influence on landscape character and quality. Although much of the land within the Heysham Energy Coast is open and either undeveloped or previously developed ‘brownfield’ land, none of it is considered to be rural in character.

1 Countryside Character Volume 1: Area 31 Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary (Countryside Agency 1998) 2 A Landscape Strategy for Lancashire: Landscape Character Assessment (Lancashire County Council 2000) 3 Lancashire Historic Landscape Character Map (Lancashire County Council 2000) available at mario.lancashire.gov.uk

Woolerton Dodwell 2 November 2012

1.8 At a more detailed, local level, four sub-areas can be distinguished within Heysham Energy Coast; these are: ° Large scale industry and urban development (west) ° Open undeveloped and previously developed land ° Coastal zone of ‘urban leisure’ uses ° Urban Fringes (east)

Large scale industry and urban development (west): key characteristics ° Large scale industrial and urban development characterised by built urban and engineered forms which dominate the sub-area and include: * Heysham Power Stations which is dominated by the two tall, large scale box-shaped power stations that loom over the surrounding area. The power stations sit within an extended and securely fenced complex that contains a further range of buildings, hard standings and parking areas. High voltage overhead transmission lines supported by large pylons emanate from the power stations.

* Port of Heysham which is characterised by a deep water quay and ferry terminal, port buildings and warehousing, and by very extensive areas of hardstanding used for container storage and vehicle parking, all surrounded by perimeter security fencing

° Domestic scale residential estates of medium density houses located between a railway line and the A589 Rothesay Road that leads to the Port of Heysham.

Open undeveloped and previously developed land: key characteristics ° A substantial tract of gently rolling or flat open land that lies centrally within the Heysham Energy Coast. It includes land that is actively managed for sport, informal recreation and amenity/nature conservation together with unmanaged and semi-derelict brownfield land that is gradually being colonised by scrub and grasses. It includes: * Heysham Nature Reserve and Heysham Nature Park; the Nature Reserve is established on the north-eastern margins of the Heysham Power Stations, adjacent to Money Close Lane. Managed by Lancashire Wildlife Trust the Reserve is a County Biological Heritage Site with a wide variety of habitats including open water, reedbed, marsh, gorse and hawthorn scrub, acid and neutral grasslands, heath and tree and shrub plantations. Public access is encouraged and parking, information and interpretation facilities provided. The northern end of the Nature Reserve is crossed by two parallel high voltage overhead transmission lines with large pylons. The Nature Park lies at the southern end of Money Close Lane and is linked to the Nature Reserve by a linear landscaped strip. Along with open land at Heysham Banks, to the south of the Nature Reserve, all of this

Woolerton Dodwell 3 November 2012

land is identified as part of Middleton Wood, allocated as community woodland under local plan policy E26.

* Heysham Golf Course, which lies south of the Port of Heysham railway line and comprises an extensive area of open land with parkland-like qualities that reflect its intensive management for golf. Established on undulating drumlin terrain, the 18 hole golf course includes designed belts of trees, areas of scrub and extensive grassland. The northern end of the golf course is crossed by two parallel high voltage overhead transmission lines with large pylons.

* Middleton Wood, approximately 14 hectares of land overall that is located to the north and east of Middleton village. The land is identified for the establishment of community woodland as a means of restoring former industrial land. Between Middleton village and the Heysham Industrial Estate land has already been restored and planted as community woodland. However to the north, remnant roads and hardstandings remain in places and industrial security fencing limits access to the area. Much of the land is gradually being colonised by rough grasses and scrub with developing tree cover on hummocky ground and areas of open water. A parking area is located on the north side of Main Avenue to encourage informal public access, and circular walks are provided to the north and south. However the appearance of the main (northern) part of ‘Middleton Wood’ remains that of semi-derelict or abandoned brownfield land.

Coastal zone of ‘urban leisure’ uses: key characteristics ° Coastal land and adjacent foreshore that is raised above the mean high tide level and characterised by an extensive area of caravan park development (Ocean Edge Leisure Park), with rows of static caravans and lodges set within amenity grassland, together with access roads and parking areas and a central offices/facilities building. The site has a relatively urban character.

Urban fringes (east): key characteristics ° Land on the eastern and southern margins of the Heysham Energy Coast where landscape character and quality is strongly influenced by the presence of smaller scale industrial sites and light industrial estates, infrastructure, urban uses and by vacant land, including: * the Major industrial estate with the SRM chemicals processing plant and various storage buildings, and Royd Mill, a small, light industrial estate located in a triangle of land wedged between the railway line, the A 683 road and Middleton Road;

* a small low-key site of static caravans (Broadgate Foot Park) located within farmland on the east side of Middleton Road and adjacent to the Crown and Anchor public house.

Woolerton Dodwell 4 November 2012

* urban fringe farmland of improved pasture with areas of scrub, its character dominated by electricity infrastructure; it is crossed by two parallel high voltage overhead transmission lines with large pylons, and lies adjacent to a large National Grid sub- station. Also includes former farmland adjacent to and west of Middleton Road, now abandoned and colonised by brambles and scrub. Its western part is identified as a housing opportunity site.

1.9 Figure H1 illustrates the existing character of the Heysham Energy Coast site and Figure H2 presents a series of photographic views.

Existing Views 1.10 Views available from within the Heysham Energy Coast are dominated by the Heysham Power Stations which appear on the horizon as very large scale industrial features. The multiple lines of 400kV high voltage overhead transmission lines (HVOTL) are also widely visible; at around 50m high the pylons rise to pierce the skyline in many views from within this low-lying open landscape.

1.11 Due to their very large scale, the Heysham Power Stations are also a component of views available towards the Heysham Energy Coast from a variety of surrounding locations, including long distance view across Morecambe Bay, from elevated land within the Bowland Fells and along the Lancashire Coast. Neither the power stations nor the overhead transmission lines and pylons make a positive contribution to local character or views.

LANDSCAPE VALUE

1.12 Landscape value has been defined as ‘the relative value that is attached to different landscapes by society’ 4 and it is to be established as part of the baseline description of landscape character. Value (at the community, local, national or international level) can apply to areas of landscape as a whole, to individual components of the landscape, or to aesthetic and perceptual dimensions which contribute to landscape character.

Local Designations 1.13 With the exception of Heysham Nature Reserve, open undeveloped land and previously developed land within the Heysham Energy Coast is identified as a Countryside Area to which saved local plan policy E4 applies.

1.14 There are several County Biological Heritage sites within or adjacent to Heysham Energy Coast which are valued at county level for their nature conservation value and make important contributions to the

4 Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment’ published jointly by the Landscape Institute and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (Second Edition, 2002)

Woolerton Dodwell 5 November 2012

landscape. Protected under saved Local Plan policy E17, they include Heysham Nature Reserve, an area of woodland within Heysham golf course, the western part of land identified as Middleton Wood, and a wood to the south of Heysham Industrial Estate. The biodiversity and value for nature conservation of brownfield land within Middleton Wood is increasing due to the mosaic of habitats that are developing naturally on areas of unrestored previously developed land. Red Nab, on the coast adjacent to Ocean Edge Leisure Park, is also protected under policy E17 as a County Geological Heritage Site.

1.15 Middleton Wood, which includes Heysham Nature Reserve and Heysham Nature Park, is the subject of a specific local plan policy (E26), designating it as community woodland that is valued for the opportunities that it offers for informal access and recreation.

1.16 Other contributions to the value of the local landscape are made by:

° Heysham Moss, an SSSI and local nature reserve that supports bog vegetation and wet woodland habitats.

° Local recreational opportunities provided via Heysham Golf Club (private membership) and via the limited network of public rights of way.

POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT

1.17 The Heysham Energy Coast was suggested as a potential area of future growth for energy developments. Although no specific developments or sites have yet been identified, development is likely to be relatively large in scale and of an industrial or engineered character.

SENSITIVITY OF HEYSHAM ENERGY COAST TO CHANGES ARISING FROM POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

1.18 Judgements have been made concerning the aspects of the site’s character that are sensitive to the changes that are likely to arise from development, and the degree to which they are sensitive.

1.19 The landscape of the Heysham Energy Coast is considered to be of relatively low sensitivity to development due to the dominant effects of large scale industrial development and of urban fringe development on local character and quality, and to the relatively degraded appearance of a partly- restored industrial site.

1.20 However local residents will be sensitive to potential development, and the various County Biological Heritage Sites present within the area will also be potentially sensitive due to their nature conservation interest.

Woolerton Dodwell 6 November 2012

1.21 Unrestored or partly restored areas of the former Shell/ICI Trimpell chemical works within Middleton Wood are also potentially sensitive to development as they may have developed significant biodiversity value. Open Mosaic Habitats on Previously Developed Land, a habitat type that is typically found on former industrial and mining sites, quarries or building sites, has recently been included in the list of UKBAP priority habitats and species. It can be rich in invertebrates and birds, and support some uncommon and rare species and unusual assemblages of plants including UK BAP priority species or Red Data Book/List species.

POTENTIAL FOR MITIGATION 1.22 According to ‘Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment’ (GLVIA)5, the purpose of mitigation is

‘to avoid, reduce or where possible remedy or offset any significant negative (adverse) effects on the environment arising from the proposed development.’

1.23 It advises that

‘Landscape mitigation measures should be designed to suit the existing landscape character and needs of the locality, respecting and building on local landscape distinctiveness and helping to address any relevant existing issues in the landscape.’

1.24 Should the land be developed, this would result unavoidably in fundamental changes in existing open character and in some existing views. However the likely effects of development could be partly mitigated through the adoption of measures that aim to respect the nature conservation sensitivities of the site. Implementation of mitigation would reduce inevitably the area of land available for energy development which may be further reduced by other potential constraints such as ground contamination and other hazards associated with the former chemical works, the possible need for safety ‘buffer’ zones and clearance zones associated with the overhead electricity line and transmission masts and the land needed for the establishment of green infrastructure.

1.25 A number of site specific and more general guiding principles are recommended to help mitigate the potential effects of energy-related development on the Heysham Energy Coast strategic site option. These include:

° Retention of existing woodlands and trees wherever possible - in order to retain features of interest and value, help integrate new development within the landscape and to provide nuclei for new green infrastructure.

° Establishment of an enhanced network of green infrastructure incorporating open space, tree and shrub planting, wetland and habitat creation etc to provide a setting for new development and a

5 Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment’ published jointly by the Landscape Institute and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (Second Edition, 2002)

Woolerton Dodwell 7 November 2012

soft green interface between the development and the wider countryside. The scale of the green infrastructure should be appropriate to the scale of proposed development.

° Creation of ‘buffers’ to provide separation between proposed development and sensitive existing residents and sensitive landscape features including Biological Heritage Sites.

° Creation of new habitats to compensate for habitat that will be lost to new development, as part of the network of green infrastructure.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The Woolerton Dodwell project team gratefully acknowledge the generous guidance and support provided throughout the project by Lancaster City Council’s Planning and Housing Policy Team, in particular Maurice Brophy, Rebecca Richards, Emma Coffey and Stephen Gardner.

The project team includes Sue Dodwell, Dean Blackhurst, Derek Woolerton, Callum Whyte and Rachel Atkinson.

Woolerton Dodwell 8 November 2012

KEY: Existing tree cover

Public rights of way

Sub-areas (refer to text)

Views of site

Views from site

VIEWS DOMINATED BY HEYSHAM POWER STATIONS

PORT OF HEYSHAM ROYD MILL

Large scale industry and urban development HEYSHAM NATURE RESERVE

20 20

15

15 10 10 Urban fringe land including industrial estates and farmland

HEYSHAM GOLF COURSE

HEYSHAM POWER STATIONS

MAJOR INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

Open undeveloped and previously developed land including land allocated within Middleton Community Woodland

VIEWS DOMINATED BY HEYSHAM POWER STATIONS

Coastal zone with extensive holiday park of OCEAN EDGE static caravan and lodges LEISURE PARK

HEYSHAM INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

Landscape Assessment of Emerging Site Options in the Lancaster District Land Allocation DPD Heysham Energy Coast : Existing Landscape Character

1. View looking south-west across the Port of Heysham in the foreground, with the two Heysham power stations and high voltage electricity transmission line with large pylons behind (summer).

2. View looking west towards the Heysham power stations across developing scrub and grasses on brownfield land within the former Trimpell chemical works, identified for the creation of Middleton Wood community woodland (summer).

FIGURE H2 EXISTING VIEWS

3. View looking south from Middleton Road towards the Major Industrial Estate (summer).

4. View looking north-west from Heysham Towers over vacant land towards the Ocean Edge Leisure Park, with the Heysham power stations on the horizon (summer).

FIGURE H2 EXISTING VIEWS