9H: COASTAL PLAIN

Predominantly shingle beach which is a popular tourist destination and an important habitat –especially inland from the storm beach level. The skyline, inland, is often urban in character.

Open Coastal Plain at , with Enclosed Coastal Plain, small - very Hayling is the only coastline in poplar shelter belts. small regular fields, bounded by thick with sand dunes. hedges and frequent mature .oaks.

Static caravan park at Tye. WW2 defences set amongst dunes. Harbour wall, east side of Hayling; relic of reclaimed grazing saltmarsh.

Hampshire County 1 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

Hampshire County 2 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

1.0 Location and Boundaries 1.1 This character area is defined as including all land above mean low water mark on the exposed south coast and above mean high water mark where it adjoins Chichester and Langstone harbours character area. The intertidal area on the southern side of Hayling has very different characteristics to the relatively inaccessible mud flats of the harbours.

1.2 Component County Landscape Types Coastal Plain Open, Coastal Plain Enclosed, Significant sized settlement, Open Coastal Shore.

1.3 Composition of Borough/District LCAs: District North Hayling Stoke and North Central Hayling Plain Sinah Common and the Kench West Town, Hayling Island Eastoke South Hayling Black, Sandy and Eastoke Points

1.4 Associations with NCAs and Natural Areas: NCA: 126 South Coastal Plain NA: 75 South Coast Plain and Hampshire Lowlands

2.0 Key Characteristics • A low lying predominantly open coastal plain island, separated from the mainland by shallow tidal harbours. • Nationally important agricultural soils in the north of the island. • A system of straight manmade ditches and channels drain the predominantly clay soils in the central and southern plain. • Tree cover includes short lines of tall poplar wind breaks and remnant woodland and hedgerow mature oaks. • Land use is predominantly agricultural but with intense pressure from competing modern land uses including leisure and tourism and housing. • A naturally dynamic coastline managed and protected by sea defences from groynes in the south to sea walls in the east and west. • A fragmented rights of way network made up mainly of short linear routes and little formal horse riding provision.

Hampshire County 3 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

• Main recreational experience is concentrated on the south coast and disused railway on the west coast. • A very popular shingle beach of high biodiversity interest and value. • Presence of unusual but declining coastal historic landscape types such as salterns and coastal grazing marsh and common. • Historically nucleated settlement pattern concentrated in the north but development trend reversed with huge early to late 20th century mass housing estate and piecemeal expansion.

3.0 Physical Characteristics and Land Use 3.1 A very low lying predominantly flat landscape, which is close to the surrounding mean high water level. The maximum height is on average about 5m AOD. Chalk underlies the open coastal plain in the north, whilst the southern open coastal plain is underlain by London Clay. Sand silty clays underlie the enclosed and heavily developed Coastal Plain landscape type on the south coast. The sand and gravel deposit in the latter area, associated with the Wittering deposit, has been exploited in the past, and is now restored as a pond. Currently, there are no other workings or planned workings on the island. River deposits cover most of the island resulting in high agricultural grade soils. The coastal fringes are of a lower grade and include storm beach shingles and sands on the south coast.

3.2 Reclaimed land, particularly on the east side of the island, is often on the site of former rythes i.e. sea walls built across the mouths of these inlets which have silted up naturally to produce rich pasture.

3.3 Land use is agricultural combined with a significant proportion of recreational and tourist related facilities. The Enclosed Coastal Plain at Stoke and northwest Hayling is a patchwork of small permanent pasture and arable fields, with thick hedges often with mature single age oak trees closely spaced along their length. The western side of this landscape has suffered modern boundary loss but mature hedgerow trees remain as reminders of the original pattern. Fields in the Open Coastal Plain landscape tend to be larger, often with signs of significant boundary loss. Hedges have less mature trees along their length here and tend to be lower than in the enclosed coastal plain landscapes. Occasional Poplar windbreaks are a characteristic feature, particularly in the open coastal plain where woodland cover is otherwise rare and blocks tend to be small. Within the agricultural land field boundary ditches have improved drainage forming short channels that lead to small creeks into saltmarsh of the harbours particularly on the east coast.

3.5 Strong tidal influences are evident around the coast line, none more so than the very mobile shore line along the shingle (and sand) south coast and particularly at the harbour entrances. The predominant westward littoral drift leaves the mid 20th century sea front developments such as at Eastoke vulnerable to storms. There are major fluctuations in beach levels particularly along the eastern shoreline. Since the mid 20th century beach replenishment and redistribution has taken place annually. Sand and shingle spits have formed at the corners of the island where the harbour tides are strongest and expunge into . Timber and rock groyne sea defences occur along the central and eastern stretches of the 4 mile beach and there is a concrete sea wall which protects Eastoke. There is a general presumption to

Hampshire County 4 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

‘hold the line’ along the island’s south coast while stretches of the east and west coast which have historically been reclaimed to provide more farmland, today are particularly vulnerable to managed coastal retreat.

4.0 Experiential/Perceptual Characteristics 4.1 The flat coastal landscape imparts a strong sense of exposure and big skies particularly on the open coastal shore. The horizons are varied from the high rolling landscape profile of the and the South Downs in the northwest to the busy skyline of and Hill. These distant high skylines create a sense of protection. There are few places that offer a sense of intimacy apart from the eastern parts of the enclosed coastal plain.

4.2 There are numerous short public footpaths which lead off lanes. The only dedicated path of any length is along the disused Hayling Billy line. The southern coast provides the largest are of open access on the island and provides many tourist related attractions with parking. There are no bridleways as is typical of coastal plain landscapes in Hampshire, however, great effort has been made in recent years to provide permissive access for the islands horse riders and this provides an important resource to the otherwise fragmented network24.

5.0 Biodiversity Character 5.1 Parts of the coastline of are covered by the Solent Maritime SAC, and the Chichester and Langstone Harbours RAMSAR both of which are international designations. These areas are also designated part of the SSSI. A more extensive area of SSSI designation occurs in the southwest of this character area namely Sinah Common SSSI which comprises a complex of maritime habitats extending for over 2km eastwards from the south-western extremity of Hayling Island. Gunner Point at the western end contains the most extensive sand dunes and vegetated shingle beach in Hampshire and supports shingle beach vegetation and grassland, dune heath, dune grassland, saltmarsh and open water communities. To the east of Gunner Point there is an extensive area of fragmented dune grassland and shingle. The site embraces the adjacent intertidal area, including East Winner, because of the important functional relationship between this and the sand and shingle system.

5.2 Beyond the designations the northern and western parts of this area have a strong agricultural character, with arable land and some improved grassland, often located around the peripheries of the arable land. There are areas of residential development which provide habitat variation through gardens. In the north of the area, the agricultural land tends to be buffered from the coast by patches of unimproved and semi-improved neutral grassland, freshwater marshy grassland and coastal grazing marsh. There is a large strip of coastal grazing marsh on the north east of the area and there are occasional patches of saltmarsh in the north of the area. There are some very small patches of woodland within the agricultural area, including broadleaved woodland and some orchards.

5.3 The south of the area is characterised by urban development, where amenity grassland, sports pitches, patches of unimproved grassland and parkland provide habitat variation. Further south, there is a small area of coastal habitats including Sinah Common (as noted above),other areas of dry acid grassland and a small area

Hampshire County 5 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

of dune scrub with heath/acid grassland mosaic associated, in the southeast of the area.

5.5 The coast of this character area is covered by the Chichester/Langstone Harbours and Hayling Island BOA. The area is of particular significance for wintering wildfowl, waders, and breeding birds within the harbour and surrounding permanent pasture and woodlands.

5.6 There are over 50 SINCs in this landscape character area and most are designated for the notable species or coastal habitats which the sites support.

6.0 Historic Character 6.1 Archaeology 6.1.1 The coastline was up to 40 km seaward of its current location during some parts of the Mesolithic and the coastal zone is rich in evidence of Mesolithic activity. However the valley/bowl that is now was an area of freshwater fen and a route between the coast and the chalk. The archaeological evidence is consistent with repeated short lived hunting visits by small parties. Now that the valley is flooded these appear as evidence within the surviving island and on the fringes of Hayling Island.

6.1.2 In the Neolithic, the coastal plain was overlooked by long barrows on the topographically very prominent . There is evidence of sites and finds of Neolithic date around Langstone harbour. Studies in the harbour have concluded that there were freshwater streams in the valley, increasingly subject to tidal influence and salinity, and that there was open woodland on the adjacent higher ground. The evidence is consistent with small scale short term hunting visits and cattle grazing peripheral to the settled areas, and that this was not a settled area itself.

6.1.3 The coastal plain has evidence Bronze Age settlement utilising the area in a farming economy. There are burial mounds from this period located on Portsdown Hill. Langstone harbour was low lying mudflats and marsh and the harbour was not settled but used seasonally, and probably included salt production and grazing. The settlement (and farmland) is on the higher drier land of the coastal plain and on Hayling Island. It is interesting to note that there are a number of Bronze Age hoards on Hayling Island and along the northeast side of the Solent. It is a distinctive coastal zone which requires further analysis, but might in some way relate to continental trading contact by coastal communities.

6.1.4 In the Iron Age, the harbour evolved into a proto harbour or salt marsh with brackish lagoons. There is evidence of salt making on the margins of the Hayling Island, and settlement on the island. There is a hill fort on the coast at Tournerbury, which perhaps acted as an entrepot, and unusually there is a temple site. Nonetheless, despite these features it seems to be a peripheral area.

6.1.5 There is a Temple and evidence of settlement in the north end of the island in the Roman period and a Roman road running south from Havant towards the island with evidence of kiln (tile production), salt working and possibly an oyster industry.

Hampshire County 6 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

It is likely that the salt marsh was grazed, but there is no evidence of field systems and so it perhaps remained a marginal area.

6.2 Historic Landscape 6.2.1 The historic landscape has been heavily influenced by coastal processes and man’s attempts to reclaim and protect the coastline and most recently a change from an agricultural base to a tourism and leisure economy particularly over the last 100 years.

6.2.2 The northern central Open Coastal plain has been comparatively intensively exploited over a long period. Northney has a significant concentration of early farmsteads, particularly 17th century reflecting this area’s good agricultural soils and sheltered position. Much of the land was farmed under an open field system and became enclosed by the 1870s. The area was predominantly arable with orchards around Northney and today remains comparatively little changed by 20th century development.

6.2.3 Moving further south into the clay based soils, the enclosed coastal plain area is characterised by a mix of irregular pattern small wavy boundary fields in the west and small parliamentary fields in the east. The hedges are typically thick with closely spaced mature oaks and there are a few fragments of wood at North Copse west of Tye. Mature Poplar windbreaks are a 20th century addition to the landscape. The other area of Enclosed Coastal Plain, at Tournerbury, is a broadleaved plantation shown as common land on 1810 OS drawings.

6.2.4 The central and southern Open Coastal Plain was a landscape predominantly of informal piecemeal enclosures, an irregular pattern of wavy boundary medium sized, rectilinear fields. Modern 20th century agricultural practices of grubbing out hedges and huge coastal housing development has dramatically altered and degraded the original informal enclosure landscape. Today the, fields are generally large with few hedges and in places relic mature oaks survive as indicators of old hedgerows.

6.2.5 The coastal fringes were historically a mixture of common land and reclaimed coastal grazing marsh although much of the common land has gradually shrunk and been substantially enclosed or developed for housing or as a golf course. Stoke, Creek and parts of Sinah and Eaststoke commons are all that remain today. Coastal reclamation of saltmarsh often involved construction of a low wall across creeks and rithes to provide coastal grazing marsh and was prevalent along the more sheltered east coast. The colloquial rithes were freshwater fed20 and their shape provided a natural funnel shape to heard grazing animals. Examples where parts of rithes have been converted to grazing land include, Mill, Dip and rithes. The historic alignment of the lane network is linked to the narrow landward entrances to grazing marsh land. Salterns were developed on the sheltered southern stretch of the east coast at Mengham rithe and the creek at Eastoke. Boatyard and marina development on the north and east coasts in the mid to late 20th century are prominent coastal features.

6.2.6 There are fewer natural creeks, and indications of reclaimed land on the west side. Prevailing south westerly’s made this coastline more vulnerable to storm damage and the construction of the Hayling Billy line is likely to have cut off some grazing

Hampshire County 7 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

land from inland farmland. Hence there are no surviving formal salterns and coastal grazing marsh is not as prevalent. The historic trend for less development on the west coast persists today with less modern development like boatyards and camp sites on this side.

6.3 Built Environment 6.3.1 The island is characterised by short perpendicular lanes in the north following field boundaries and a north south aligned network. The only A class road is the A3032, which runs from north to south and has a constant stream of slow moving traffic.

6.3.2 The historic settlement pattern of Hayling is low density nucleation. Early development was concentrated in the north of the island and situated away from the coastline. The irregular row settlement of Northney, with its three 17th century and one medieval farmsteads and listed buildings, was a focus for late and post medieval development. Other small linear settlements such as Stoke and Fleet have similar early medieval origins, and notable concentrations of surviving timber frame and pre 1850 brick buildings11. Northney and to a large extent Tye have largely retained their historic rural edges whereas the ribbon develop along the A3023 has subsumed the oldest development in Stoke, Fleet. Further south, the pattern of settlement was historically very low density.

6.3.3 Leisure interest in the coast from late Georgian times sparked gradual development on south Hayling, first at Westfield with grand developments such as the Crescent and Royal Hotel and associated villas.22 It was not until the rail extension (the Hayling Billy) in the mid 1860s, and later mass car ownership particularly in the 1930s, that development exploded particularly at Mengham and Eastoke. Buildings of more significant stature are concentrated in the southwest, i.e. arts and craft style residencies at Westfield and near West Town and the 1930s cubist houses on Sinah lane and Hayling Island golf clubhouse. Recent housing developments have been very varied in style and size resulting in an eclectic architectural mix.

6.3.4 Holiday camps and campsites are abundant on the central and southern parts of the island. Development of Mill Rythe holiday park in the 1930s was one of the first examples on the island to cater for mass tourism. The island’s popularity continued after the war and well into the 1970s and the public’s enthusiasm as a holiday destination has only recently been usurped by the cheap package holiday abroad. There are several large camping and static caravan sites with a central and eastern distribution, the larger ones include sites at Tye, Newtown and Eastoke.

6.3.5 There are numerous pill boxes and other coastal defences of Second World War origin. These are particularly concentrated on the south west coastline protecting the entrance to Langstone harbour.

Hampshire County 8 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

EVALUATION

7.0 Forces for Change 1. New housing development and changes to existing stock. 2. Changing tourism patterns and demands. 3. Pressure from urban fringe use related activities. 4. Recreation pressures 5. Climate change and coastal processes in particular sea level rise and increase in frequency of storms.

KEY QUALITIES AND EFFECTS OF FORCES 7.1 An island landscape set between two harbours, with a single bridge connection to the mainland which been a beach holiday destination and popular residential, retirement and leisure area since late Georgian times. FORCES FOR CONSEQUENCES CHANGE: 2.4.5 Threats: Uncertain summer weather affecting numbers of holiday makers. Increase in traffic along main road to the bridge (often busy with slow traffic) could affect the island as a tourist attraction and place to live. Inability to adapt to growing and widening demands as a holiday destination. Inappropriate conversions and modern alterations and development within the setting of Georgian, Victorian and other buildings of architectural merit particularly in the southwest of the island. Unchecked growth of camping and caravan sites affecting people’s perception of more rural areas as a holiday location.

Opportunities: Balancing tourism and residents development demands with the retention of character of remaining rural areas. Retaining the winding historic lane character whilst looking at solutions to ease congestion could be a specific issue to influence transport policy for the island. Emphasise the importance and contribution some of the original south coast properties with their large leafy gardens have to the overall quality of the built environment especially in the south west of the island. Retaining the remaining open space landscapes and common on the sea front should be an important part of future tourism initiatives / development on the island.

7.2 Particular biodiversity and historic landscape interest on the periphery of the character area associated with former salterns, coastal grazing marsh and shingle communities and small pockets of sand dunes. Adjoining internationally designated maritime habitats – but with important roosts and high water refuges. FORCES FOR CONSEQUENCES CHANGE: 2.4.5 Threats: Breaching/dilapidation of sea defences, and flooding of former salterns and coastal grazing marsh and other important coastal habitats. Sea level rise and policy towards sea defence policy seaward of important habitats. Beach tourism and recreation pressure on shingle and dune communities.

Hampshire County 9 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain

Opportunities: Provide potential intertidal habitat and compensatory farmland creation through managed coastline realignment influenced by the objectives of the Solent Dynamic Coast Project (SDCP) Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) – in particular in relation to former Saltern sites.

7.3 A very built up southern and central landscape but still retaining a predominantly rural farmland character to the west and north east of the island. FORCES FOR CONSEQUENCES CHANGE: 1.3.4.5 Threats: Tidal flooding potential predictions affect a large proportion of the island particularly the east and south east and west tips. It is more likely that farmland will be susceptible to managed coastal retreat thereby reducing the urban rural balance. Most housing development is likely to be of a small scale nature but edge of settlement development can present a visual increase in the amount of built development along field edges.

Opportunities: Ensure that the highest agricultural land (which is of grade1) and predominantly in the north half of the character area is afforded protection in development and coastal realignment planning.

7.4 Varied and interesting outward coastal views from muddy harbour to open sea with long distance views to the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and coastal plain and chalk downs. The accessible island edge has an inward looking hinterland because the landscape is so flat. FORCES FOR CONSEQUENCES CHANGE: 5 Threats: Predicted sea level rise and increased storm frequency and damage to existing trees and woodland could alter reduce the wooded and treed coastal fringe – opening up views to development.

Opportunities: Depending on the severity of the above issue, woodland planting opportunities through agri-environment schemes on higher ground, with more native salt tolerant species planted.

Hampshire County 10 Status: FINAL May 2012 Integrated Character Assessment Hayling Island Coastal Plain