Landscape Character Area Landscape Character Assessment Welland Valley

Welland Valley Landscape Character Area Topography Key Characteristics

The topography of the Welland Valley is that of a wide Tilton on the Hill • Gently meandering river in wide and shallow flat river valley with sloping, shallow valley sides that Scraptoft Bushby valley stretch to the steeper ridges to the north which form Houghton on the Hill Thurnby • Little tree cover the boundaries to adjacent character areas; High Leicester • Pasture on the floodplains and the Laughton Hills. The character East Norton • Arable farming on the valley sides area covers the central valley to either side of the River High Leicestershire • , operating as a traditional Welland and runs to the base of slope of the ridges, market town, is the dominant urban influence at approximately 70 m AOD. Great Glen

General Description Geology

The Welland Valley character area, is well defined The main geology grouping of the Welland Valley is Fleckney Kibworth Broughton Astley in terms of topography and location, but has a Jurassic Middle Lias. Medbourne number of landscape characteristics similar to the Vegetation Foxton other character areas, particularly in and around the Upper Soar Welland Valley environs of Kibworth, in the centre of the District. Lutterworth Lowlands The Welland Valley has little in the way of established Ullesthorpe The character area follows the wide shallow valley Lubenham Market Harborough of the River Welland, which flows from west to east woodland; the majority of mature vegetation is through Market Harborough. The River Welland itself concentrated around the watercourses and disused Lutterworth Laughton Hills forms the boundary between Leicestershire and rail line in the form of scattered copses of trees. . Common species of trees in the area are ash, oak and field maple with some willows that follow the path The area is mainly a mix of medium sized agricultural of the River Welland in small cluster groups towards

0 0.5 1 2 3 4 fields enclosed by mixed hedgerows with some the east. Swinford Approx Scale Kms evidence of hedgerow removal. There is little  Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Harborough District Council: 100023843 established woodland with most mature planting The mature hedgerows in the area mainly consist of following the water courses. The area has extensive hawthorn with some field maple and dog rose. There views across the valley but is enclosed by ridges is evidence of hedgerow removal to create larger Filepath:P:\GBEMB\MandI\Landscape\504 Series Numbers\5043069 Market Harborough\GIS\530_Projects\KeyPlan_Fig1.mxd of higher land from the adjoining character areas sized fields to allow modern arable farming practices. particularly to the north.

  harborough district council Landscape Character Area Welland Valley Harborough District Landscape Character Assessment

Figure 1.7: - Welland Valley- Landscape Character Plan Legend Harborough District Boundary Settlements • Character Area Boundary Woodland SSSI Scheduled Ancient Monuments Flood Zone Focus Area Local Nature Reserve Green Wedge Reservoir

0 0.3 0.6 12 18 24 Approx Scale Kms  Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Harborough District Council: 100023843

harborough district council   Landscape Character Area Harborough District Landscape Character Assessment Welland Valley

Ecology Urban Influence/ Settlement Pattern The River Welland is known to support a range of bird species, small mammals and amphibians have been The town of Market Harborough dominates the found in adjacent areas. White-clawed crayfish, water Welland Valley as a centre for both population and vole, reptiles and otters may also be present. employment for the District. As a traditional market town it retains many of its historic buildings and Other protected/ notable fauna that may be present features in its centre which have become mixed in this area include badger, bats, amphibians, reptiles with some newer shopping developments such as and nesting birds (including ground nesting bird St Mary’s Place. The outskirts of Market Harborough species such as skylark and grey partridge in areas have given way to newer predominantly residential, of arable land), brown hares may also be present in office and retail developments. the arable fields. Several major roads lead out of Market Harborough One SSSI is present in the Welland Valley – Great and through the Welland Valley including the B6047 Bowden Borrowpit SSSI, notable as it supports a to the north, A4304 towards Lutterworth and the tall fen plant community which is uncommon in the A508 into Northamptonshire. The A6 provides an Midlands. Part of the Kilby-Foxton Canal SSSI also important road connection to Leicester to the north, clips the western edge of the Welland Valley, although and to the south east, Market Harborough is it is mostly located in the Lutterworth Lowlands. served by a mainline railway station.

Land Use There are a range of smaller settlements in the Welland Valley some of which have retained their The large floodplain of the Welland Valley supports traditional features such as Medbourne to the north arable farming and grazing. The techniques used east located along the Medbourne Brook. Many of the in modern farming have led to the creation of larger other villages in the region have been dissected by fields and the loss of hedgerows. Market Harborough the busy through route of the A4304; their character is the largest town within the Welland Valley; tends to be affected by the through traffic of vehicles. Lubenham to the south west and Great Bowden to the north east are other main settlements, within this character area.

The Medbourne Brook flowing through Medbourne Village

   harboroughharborough districtdistrict councilcouncil Landscape Character Area Welland Valley Harborough District Landscape Character Assessment

Heritage

The Welland Valley is made up of a number of villages the market town appearance; however it has grown Key Issues which have their origins in agricultural activity. Of the and developed quite substantially in recent years in Scheduled Ancient Monuments in the character area, comparison to other settlements nearby. • The relatively flat and open landscape is the majority of them relate to deserted or shrunken vulnerable to adverse visual and landscape medieval settlements which reflects the agricultural Capacity: Medium impacts of development. use and settlement of the area during this period. • The immediate landscape setting to Market Associated with use of the land are areas of ridge The Welland Valley comprises a generally flat Harborough is very vulnerable to inappropriately and furrow earthworks surrounding present day or floodplain with predominantly agricultural land use. sited development, both in the valley base to former villages. However, for the most part, the area Due to the general lack of vegetation cover across the the east, above the ridgeline to the north and was used for pasture rather than arable due to its floodplain clear views extend across the majority of adjacent to enclosing landscape features to the tendency to flood. the valley. The character area has a medium capacity west and south. It is important that care is taken to accept small scale development. to prevent further new development that impacts Market Harborough itself is first mentioned in 12th on the ridgeline and valley base, as well as century as a manor with 200 tax payers. By the 14th Areas further from Market Harborough, within the views from the wider landscape setting of Market century there was evidence of commercial activity more rural areas, have lower levels of capacity Harborough. Looking east from Paynes Lane across Medbourne village such as wool trading but agriculture was the mainstay and development should be avoided. Within the • The generalised lack of woodland cover across of the economy, as with the other villages in the area. areas immediately surrounding Market Harborough, the landscape character area means that new Textile and clothing manufacture continued to take development is possible with consideration of issues development must be well mitigated to minimise place but Market Harborough owes its early prosperity related to its layout, natural extents and envelope, impacts. Opportunities for new woodland screen to its location on a good thoroughfare, being equally defined in the main by topographical features. planting should be encouraged alongside any distanced from Leicester and . Together new development proposals. with this and the large number of inns and coaching The character area has the capacity to accommodate houses, the town was able to provide residences to some residential development around Market followers of the Hunts in the region. Harborough and to a lesser extent around Great Bowden and Lubenham, the larger settlements The construction of the , in the within the character area. The villages further away early 1800s meant that Harborough was the centre from Market Harborough would have less capacity to for distribution of coal to Kettering and onwards to accommodate significant development, as the more Huntingdon. Later the railway constructed in 1850 rural influences of the character area increase. helped to develop the industrial growth of the town.

The town remained popular for settlement and Grand Union Canal on western border of Market Harborough with a growing population new large residential developments were constructed. The A6 bypass has helped to calm traffic in the centre maintaining

harboroughharborough districtdistrict councilcouncil