Welsh seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments No: 3 Regional Seascape Unit Rhos Point to Great Orme’s Head Name:

Llandudno North Shore and Great Orme (All photos © John Briggs) The view between Llandudno pier (L) and Little Orme (R)

From Great Orme looking east to Little Orme and the distant Clwydian Range. Llandudno North Shore from the Great Orme showing the grand promenade

1 Welsh seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments

No: 3 Regional Seascape Unit Rhos Point to Great Orme’s Head Name: Seascape Types: THIR, THLU, THMR Key Characteristics Dramatic rocky limestone headlands and cliffs and sweeping bays with promenades and coastal defences in places. Resort settlements - principally Llandudno - with coherent urban form on flatter land, with semi-natural vegetation, woodland and some pasture on steeper slopes with limestone outcrops. Tidal and moderately exposed with some protection from Great and Little Orme headlands. Focussed views out to sea from the pier and promenade at Llandudno from associated settlements and the elevated and panoramic views from Great Orme Country Park. The North Wales Coastal Path and other settlements also have views. Key cultural associations: the legends associated with the Creuddyn peninsula, and the development of the holiday resort of Llandudno.

Physical Geology Ordovician and Carboniferous rocks with limestone outcropping particularly around the Characteristics Great Orme and Little Ormes Head, sandstone at Penrhyn Bay. Blown sand overlies bedrock around Llandudno, boulder clay, alluvium and fluvioglacial sand and gravel abut the coast in places. Coastal landform A coast of dramatic rocky headlands and cliffs and sweeping shingle and sandy bays between. Each main bay has a promenade and coastal defences. The distinctive whaleback exposed landform of the Great Orme with its steep sides and rock outcrops reaches 200m AOD and the Little Orme 140m AOD. Lower gently rolling land links the Great Orme to the hills behind. Coastal landcover The greater part of the flatter land is occupied by the established resort settlements of Llandudno, Penrhyn Bay or Rhos-on-Sea with small breaks in between including river valley floors. Llandudno has a very coherent Victorian promenade character. Steeper slopes are covered with woodland, semi-natural vegetation, pasture and golf courses. Intertidal area Llandudno North Shore has a steeply sloping shingle storm beach, with sandy lower sections often being obscured by the tide. Penrhyn Bay is now dominated by rock armour and shingle. Elsewhere there are rocky shores, or steep cliffs and a minimal intertidal area. Characteristics of sea Open and moderately exposed with some protection from the headland to the west. Hinterland landform The coastal strip rises to a hill and valley landscape inland with the fringes of Snowdonia to the west. This landscape includes a few sections of exposed limestone, creating a rugged appearance. This is especially noticeable on the Great Orme and Little Orme’s Head. Hinterland landcover The coastal urban spread gives way to pastoral agriculture with scattered farms, scrub and woodland, and a few nucleated settlements. The busy A55 road and rail corridor runs inland. Lighting The coastal settlements form a significant concentration of light.

Use Land/coast uses The coast is used primarily for tourism with residential uses. The A55 and railway form a transport corridor inland to the south. Sea uses On the coast: swimming with limited leisure craft. There are some pleasure boat trips from Llandudno North Shore and from Llandudno pier in summer, typically sight seeing trips around the Great Orme headland. Offshore: wind energy and oil and gas.

Visual and How the seascape unit Pier and promenade at Llandudno with associated settlement; Great Orme Country Park sensory qualities is experienced including westbound one way Marine Drive toll road; North Wales Path; minor coastal roads and residential areas; public footpaths on backcloth of hills. The limestone headlands act to compartmentalise the coastal resorts, and in particular to provide a discrete, rugged and very distinctive setting for Llandudno. Views looking back from the headlands help emphasise the indentation of Llandudno’s North Shore Bay and the sweeping curve to its built frontage. Degree of intervisibility The greatest visibility is from the Great Orme’s and Little Orme’s Heads. There is of land and sea significant visibility from the rising hills behind the coast.

2 Welsh seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments Key views to sea and Key focussed views out to sea from the pier and promenade at Llandudno from associated along the coast settlements and the elevated and panoramic views from Great Orme Country Park and Marine Drive. The North Wales Path and coastal cycleway. Key views to land Views limited to occasional boats and commercial traffic associated with energy installations. Occasional summer steamers and pleasure boat trips use Llandudno pier and North Shore bay, providing views back to the Great Orme and into Conwy Bay (Unit 5). Tranquillity/rem- In a national context this is limited: the coastline is mainly either built up, or open land is oteness/wildness frequently used by the public for recreation. However, the great contrast between the developed bay and the undeveloped headland provides a high degree of locally important contrast in tranquillity, wildness and remoteness within just a short distance. Sense of scale Medium to large due to the height of the rocky cliffs. Openness/ enclosure Open Diversity Diverse: settlement, country park and rural uses. Embayment by headland, flat contrasting to very steep, very varied coastal geometry or geology?. Exposure Exposed

Key cultural The Great and the Little Orme both preserve Viking place-name elements, and the Creuddyn associations peninsula has strong mythological associations (particularly with the post-Roman period) as well as a place in Welsh Reformation history. The Great Orme copper mines were exploited in prehistory and were worked until the nineteenth century; adits run under the North Parade. Llandudno, the ‘Queen of the Welsh resorts’ is situated on ‘the bay which railway companies have gallantly compared to Naples’, and is not only a fine example of a Victorian planned leisure settlement but was also the location which inspired Matthew Arnold’s musings on Celtic literature. It is described in its Edwardian hey-day in Arnold Bennett’s The Card, later made into a film

Forces for change Land/coast Leisure and recreation, plus visitor pressure on the country park and coastal edge. Development on remaining undeveloped areas. Townscape conservation of Llandudno as a planned Victorian resort town (a force against change). Coastal defences on low lying land. Spacing between lines Sea Energy developments including wind, oil and gas. Changing trends in water sports activities.

Designations and National Park Snowdonia National Park to the west. sensitive features AONB - Heritage Coast Great Orme. Long-distance coastal North Wales Path and coastal cycleway. footpath/National Trail Outstanding and special Creuddyn and Conwy historic landscapes Historic gardens and Happy Valley, Llandudno; Haulfre Gardens, Llandudno; The Flagstaff, Colwyn Bay. parks Key scheduled ancient Bryn Euryn Hillfort SH 8379 monuments Great Orme copper mines

Country Parks Great Orme Open access land Great Orme

3 Welsh seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments

No: 3 Regional Seascape Rhos Point to Great Orme’s Head Unit Name: Headline Sub-criteria Increases sensitivity Decreases sensitivity criteria

Overall Summary of key • The Great Orme is an iconic limestone headland, • The large scale of open sea character factors and together with the Little Orme flanks • The screening effect of headlands on and Llandudno providing a dramatic, bare, natural some views to sea qualities setting with topographic enclosure and shelter. • Much urban development on the Their comparative wildness and remoteness coastline with road traffic and contrasts with elsewhere on this generally movement developed coastline, and they are popular for • Much lighting, noise and movement outdoor recreation, the Great Orme being a associated with promenade, roads and Country Park whose summit is a popular view urban areas, with limited tranquillity point, and along whose sea cliffs runs a popular • The Great and Little Ormes act to scenic drive. obscure a wider arc of open sea horizon • The planned Victorian resort town of Llandudno in views from low lying settlements. is the ‘Queen of resorts’ and remains a popular • Some development already exists out to destination today, with its impressive scale and sea: the Douglas platform, existing well conserved promenade frontage and long wind farms, and it is common to see pier. ships (as they approach Liverpool) • Views out to sea from Llandudno North Shore promenade, flanked by the Great and Little Orme headlands, focussing views on a limited arc of open sea view. • The wide panorama of sea visibility from elevated headland areas

Seascape sensitivity levels for different forms of offshore development Modelled scenario Generic form of Sensitivity Comments development

Tall structures 13km Moderate Tall objects 13km out to sea may be clearly visible from Offshore wind offshore the popular view points and historic amenities around the sensitivity Ormes and Llandudno. Such objects may create new focal points in a generally open sea horizon. A large horizon spread may act to enclose the limited arc of sea views available from Llandudno North Shore. However apart from the headlands this is an urbanised coastline with many more prominent visual elements in the foreground along the coastline. There are also a number of existing objects visible out to sea, including the Douglas platform and existing wind farms.

Wave energy units Broad flat structures on Low - Moderate Broad flat objects out to sea may not be so visible from sensitivity the sea surface low ground (compared to taller objects) however the headlands - particularly the Great Orme – provide elevated views, and overlook broad flat objects. Sensitivity will increase if their location is seen as relating to the enclosure of the bay which Llandudno North Shore fronts.

Tidal energy units Developments placed Moderate Any development close to shore will have a significant sensitivity only a short distance effect on the resort, and would be very visible to the many offshore. visitors to the promenade and headlands. The nature and form of the development would affect sensitivity as, for example, there is already a long pier at Llandudno whose presence is well established and whose relationship to the resort is clear and positive. Tidal units would be highly prominent, breaking up the visual sweep of the bay. It is likely they would not be seen to relate to the resort and they would also detract from the wildness of the headlands.

4 Welsh seascapes and their sensitivity to offshore developments

5