3 the Character of the Chiltern District Landscape

3 The Character of the Chiltern District Landscape

3.1 The landscape character of Chiltern District has been created by a combination of physical, historic, natural, social and economic processes. The diversity is recognised in the identification 10 landscape types. Each of these landscape types has a distinct and relatively homogenous character with similar physical and cultural attributes, including geology, landform, land cover and historic evolution. The landscape types are further subdivided into component landscape character areas. The character areas are discrete geographic areas that possess the common characteristics described for the landscape type. Each character area has a distinct and recognisable local identity. 3.1 The landscape classification for Buckinghamshire is set out in Appendix 5 and illustrated on Figure 3.1. 3.3 The landscape types and character areas which lie within Chiltern District are set out in Table 3 and illustrated on Figure 3.2. The classification and boundary mapping has been undertaken using GIS, with mapping at a scale of 1:25,000. Table 3: The Chiltern District Landscape Classification

Landscape Character Type (LCT) Landscape Character Area (LCA)

13.3 Hughenden 13 Chalk River Valley 13.5 Misbourne Upper 13.6 Chess 14 Wooded Plateau 14.1 Great Hampden 15 Undulating Plateau 15.1 Lee and Buckland Common 16.3 Great Kingshill 16 Settled Plateau 16.4 Hyde Heath 16.5 Ashley Green 17 Dipslope with Dry Valleys 17.2 Bellingdon 18.2 Penn 18 Rolling Farmland 18.3 Little Chalfont 18.4 Codmore 19.1 High Wycombe 19 Settled River Valley 19.2 Lower Misbourne 20 Undulating Farmland 20.1 St Giles 22.1 Beaconsfield 22 Mixed Use Terrace 22.2 Chalfont St Peter 23 River Valley 23.1 Alder Bourne

Land Use Consultants 9

Figure 3.1: Buckinghamshire Classification

1.1 1.2 Key 2.1 1.5 1.3 1.4 3.1 1.6 Buckinghamshire County boundary 1.7 2.3 2.6 2.2 District boundaries 2.4 2.5 4.4 4.5 2.7 3.1 Settlements 4.7 4.3B 4.1 Buckinghamshire Landscape Character Assessment 4.3A 4.6 5.1 4.8 5.3 6.1 4.9 6.2 1: Wooded Ridge 5.2 4.2 5.5 4.10

4.12A 4.12B 2: Incised Valleys 4.11 5.4 3: Valley Bottom 5.6 7.3 4: Undulating Clay Plateau 7.1 5.7 5.8 4.13 7.2 5: Shallow Valleys 9.1 Aylesbury Vale 8.2 8.3 6: Greensand Ridge 8.1 9.2 9.3 7.4 4.14 7: Wooded Rolling Lowlands 8.4 8.5 4.15 8.7 8: Vale 5.9 10.1 10.2 9.11 11.1B 9: Low Hills and Ridges 8.8 9.4 8.6 11.1A 10.3 12.1A 10: Chalk Foothills 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.10 7.5 11: Chalk Escarpment 5.10 8.10 5.11 9.9 10.4A 12: Chalk Dip Slope 10.5 9.8 11.1C 8.11 13: Chalk River Valleys 8.9 10.4B 12.1B 8.12 11.1D 14: Wooded Plateau

8.13 13.1 15.1 15: Undulating Plateau 17.2 11.3 16.5 16: Settled Plateau 14.1

10.6 17: Dipslope with Dry Valleys 16.2 11.2 18.4 16.4 18: Rolling Farmland 13.6 Chiltern 13.5 13.3 19: Settled River Valley 13.4 16.3 18.3 20: Undulating Farmland 17.1 Wycombe 18.2 21: Valley Slope 16.1 22: Mixed Use Terrace 19.1 20.1 19.2 13.2 22.2 23: River Valley

18.1 22.1 24: Wooded Terrace

15.2 South Bucks 26.1 23.1 25: Lowland Fringe 24.1 22.3 21.1 24.2 26: Floodplain 20.2 26.3

25.1 22.4 / 0 2 4 8 Km 26.2

Date: 19/08/2011

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey information with the permission of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Crown Copyright, Land Use Consultants, Licence Number 100019265 File: S:\5000\5014 Bucks LCAs and HS2 Sensitivity study\B Project Working\GIS\Themes\ArcGIS9\5014-01_062_Bucks_LCA.mxd

Figure 3.2: Chiltern Classification

Aylesbury Vale Key

Buckinghamshire County boundary

District boundaries

Landscape Character Areas 15.1 Settlements

13: Chalk River Valley

17.2 16.5 13.3: Hughenden

13.5: Misbourne Upper

13.6: Chess

14: Wooded Plateau

14.1: Great Hampden

18.4 15: Undulating Plateau 14.1 15.1: Lee and Buckland Common 16.4 13.3 16: Settled Plateau 16.3 13.6 16.3: Great Kingshill 13.5 16.4: Hyde Heath

16.5: Ashley Green

17: Dipslope with Dry Valleys

Wycombe 17.2: Bellingdon

18: Rolling Farmland

18.3 18.2: Penn

18.3: Little Chalfont 18.2 18.4: Codmore

19: Settled River Valley

19.1: High Wycombe

22.2 19.2: Lower Misbourne

19.1 20.1 20: Undulating Farmland 19.2 19.1 20.1: St Giles

22: Mixed Use Terrace 23.1 22.1 22.1: Beaconsfield 0 0.5 1 2 Km / 22.2: Chalfont St Peter 23: River Valley Date: 19/08/2011 South Bucks Note: LCA boundaries have been digitised 23.1: Alder Bourne at 1:25k but are shown on a 1:50K OS base