WOODLANDS RETIREMENT VILLAGE
Continuing Care Retirement Community
LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL ASSESSMENT
July 2016
Part 1
Jon Etchells Consulting Devonshire Business Centre Works Road Letchworth Herts SG6 1GJ
01462 488221
WOODLANDS RETIREMENT VILLAGE
Continuing Care Retirement Community
LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL ASSESSMENT October 2013 amended July 2016
C O N T E N T S
Page
1. Introduction and Methodology 1
2. The Baseline Situation 4
3. The Proposed Development 38
4. Landscape and Visual Effects 41
5. Summary and Conclusions 49
Appendix A ~ Methodology
Figures: Following Page Figure 1 Location Plan 1 Figure 2 Aerial Photograph and Photograph Viewpoints 4 38 Drawing JEC/344/01 Illustrative Landscape Proposals 44 Figure 3 Visual Envelope and Photograph Viewpoints
1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
1.1 General
1.1.1 This report has been prepared for Woodlands Retirement Village Limited (WRVL) in connection with the proposed development of a site at ‘Brickfields’, on the south western edge of Hertford for a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). CCRCs are intended to provide a flexible range of care options for older people, catering for both the fit and those needing support. The site lies within the administrative area of East Herts District Council (EHDC).
1.1.2 This site lies around 1km to the south west of the centre of Hertford, on the site of a former brickworks and immediately to the west of the London to Hertford North railway line, which is elevated as it passes across the valleys of the River Mimram and River Lea (see Figure 1). The Cole Green Way (a pedestrian and cycle route linking Hertford with Welwyn Garden City, along a former railway line) runs to the north of the site, and there is an extensive (but currently disused) area of greenhouses and a small group of houses immediately to the west.
1.1.3 The south western quadrant of Hertford has remained largely undeveloped, presumably as a result of the presence of the two rivers and also the severing effect of the railway embankment. As a result, the Metropolitan Green Belt extends across the area of the site (including the nursery to the east) and to the east of the railway line to the edge of the main built-up area. The area of and around the site is also shown as a ‘Hertford Green Finger’ on the Local Plan Proposals Map (see section 2.5 below). The site is largely covered in woodland and pasture of varying character and quality, and is subject to an area Tree Preservation Order (TPO).
1.1.4 The site itself has no current productive use, and has in places been subject to tipping and other forms of unauthorised use such as lighting of fires and construction of jumps for BMX and mountain bikes.
1.1.5 The purpose of this report is to provide information on the character and quality of the landscape of and around the site, and the likely landscape and visual effects which would result from development of the site for a CCRC, in order to assist EHDC with their consideration of the outline planning application for the development.
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N
The Proposed Site
Based upon the Ordnance Survey map with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Crown Copyright reserved. Licence Number 100031592.
Woodlands Retirement Village
Proposed Continuing Care Retirement Community
Landscape and Visual Assessment
Not to Scale Jon Etchells Consulting Figure 1 ~ Location Plan
1.1.6 The assessment of potential landscape and visual effects has been undertaken by Jon Etchells Consulting (JEC) - a Hertfordshire based practice registered with the Landscape Institute, with extensive experience of landscape design and assessment.
1.2 Methodology
1.2.1 In landscape and visual assessments, a distinction is normally drawn between landscape effects (i.e. effects on the character or quality of the landscape, irrespective of whether there are any views of the landscape, or viewers to see them) and visual effects (i.e. effects on people’s views of the landscape, principally from residential properties, but also from public rights of way and other areas with public access). Thus, a development may have extensive landscape effects but few visual effects (if, for example, there are no properties or public viewpoints), or few landscape effects but significant visual effects (if, for example, the landscape is already degraded or the development is not out of character with it, but can clearly be seen from many residential properties).
1.2.2 The methodology followed is as set out in the ‘Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment’, produced jointly by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and the Landscape Institute (‘the GLVIA’, 1995, revised 2002 and 2013). This guidance is on the principles and process of assessment, and stresses that the detailed approach adopted should be appropriate to the task in hand. The judgements made as part of the assessment were based on the tables set out in Appendix A. The document ‘Landscape Character Assessment, Guidance for England and Scotland, 2002’ (The Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage) also stresses the need for a holistic assessment of landscape character, including physical, biological and social factors.
1.2.3 All photographs were taken in the period from April to October 2013, so it has been possible to see the site both before deciduous vegetation was in full leaf and also during the summer and early autumn, when vegetation is in leaf and views tend to be more restricted.
1.2.4 Visibility during the site visits was either moderate or good (by definitions set out on the Met Office website, i.e. visibility was either 4 to 10km or, in most cases, 10 to 20km, though visibility is not an important consideration in this case, as most views are short distance only).
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1.3 Structure of this Report
1.3.1 Section 2 of this report describes the baseline situation in terms of the existing site and the character and quality of the surrounding landscape. Section 3 describes the presently anticipated form of the proposed development, and section 4 sets out the landscape and visual effects likely to result from it. A summary and conclusions are provided in section 5.
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2. THE BASELINE SITUATION
2.1 Landscape Context
Site Location and Boundaries 2.1.1 The proposed site is on the south western edge of Hertford, around 1km from the town centre, with the village of Hertingfordbury around 0.8km to the west. The site occupies a roughly rectangular area of around 5ha, and the boundaries are as follow (see Figure 2):
The northern boundary runs alongside the Cole Green Way, which follows the route of a former railway line, and is set around 2m below levels within the site, with a post and wire fence along the crest of the cutting slope marking the site boundary (see photographs 23 and 24). There is dense vegetation along each side of the Cole Green Way, and that within the site is mainly hawthorn at lower levels, with sycamore, oak and ash trees, and some hornbeam.
The eastern boundary runs alongside the tall embankment (with a brick built viaduct at its northern end) of the London to Hertford North railway line - this is around 10 to 12m above the surrounding land, and is a locally dominant landscape feature (see photographs 25 and 28). There is a strained wire fence separating the site from an area of flat land at the foot of the embankment, and this area is partially open, with some developing rose, hawthorn and blackthorn scrub. On the embankment itself there is developing scrub with hawthorn and some oak.
The eastern part of the southern site boundary is a rectangular field of pasture (see photographs 31 and 32). In the centre of the southern boundary there is an area of woodland extending to the south to connect with Terrace Wood. The western part of the southern boundary runs within a narrow finger of woodland extending to the west from the main part of the site; trees here are mainly sycamore with some oak.
The western boundary is marked by a low chain link fence between the site and an extensive area of glasshouses and other nursery buildings to the west (see photographs 33 and 34).
Existing Land Use and Vegetation Within the Site 2.1.2 The site is disused, and was formerly used as a brickworks. The former use can still be seen from the series of rectangular lagoons in the south western part of the site, together
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Railway viaduct Cole Green Way N
26 Cole Green Way Farm 27 39 28 Hertingfordbury Park 22 Cole Green Way 23 19 20
14
21
24 Existing open area within site 18 25
Line of public footpath
16 1 17
35 36
15
2 3 4 Nursery 5 11 7-9 12, 13 6 31 32
34 10
33
Note that locations for photographs 29, 30, 37, 38 and 40-43 are shown on Figure 3. .
Woodlands Retirement Village
Proposed Continuing Care Retirement Community
14 Photograph viewpoints, and direction of view where appropriate (locations within the woodland are approximate). Landscape and Visual Assessment
Not to Scale Jon Etchells Consulting Figure 2 ~ Aerial Photograph and Photograph Viewpoints
with some brick structures, and also other excavations along the southern side of the site (see photographs 1 to 8). It is understood that it has also been subject to some landfill operations (with waste brought to the site along the railway line to the north) to fill in the voids remaining from clay excavation. In the south eastern corner of the site some of the humps and hollows have been adapted and extended to form jumps for BMX and mountain bikes (see photograph 12), and there are extensive signs of the type of general, low key abuse which is often associated with disused urban fringe sites, including litter, tipping, lighting of fires and unauthorised access (see photographs 9 to 11).
2.1.3 Most of the site area is wooded, and of this woodland vegetation the majority has become established by self-seeding over the last 50 to 60 years since abandonment of the brickworks, and comprises sycamore, ash, oak, hawthorn and blackthorn. This woodland is dense, with little understorey vegetation apart from nettles (see photograph 18). The trees have in places become established on and around the former lagoons and steep changes in level, showing that they post-date the use of the site for the brickworks (see photographs 3, 4 and 7). There are also some larger trees which must have remained on site while the brickworks was in operation, mostly in a north-south strip through the centre of the site - these are mainly oaks, with two large Atlas cedars (Cedrus atlantica) which are distinctive, mature trees but which have extensive dead wood and storm damage (see photographs 16 and 17). There are also some slightly more open areas, with large oak trees and an understorey of nettles (see photograph 15). Further information on the existing woodland is provided in the Arboricultural Impact Assessment report which accompanies the planning application.
2.1.4 There is a public footpath across the northern part of the site - this route runs to the site from the west, parallel to the Cole Green Way, as a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) as far as the track leading to the south along the western side of the nursery adjacent to the site, where it becomes a public footpath and continues to the western site boundary. It then runs across the northern part of the site, around 10 to 20m inside the site boundary (see photographs 20 and 21), before turning to the north within the site and joining the route of the Cole Green Way, where it becomes a BOAT once more and turns to run to the east under the railway viaduct.
The Surrounding Area 2.1.5 The area around the site is as follows:
To the north, on the far side of the Cole Green Way, is Hertingfordbury Park, which contains St Joseph’s in the Park School and a group of houses just to the north of the Cole Green Way. The River Mimram runs along the north side of
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the park and passes under the northern end of the railway viaduct, with housing along the urban edge of Hertford just to the north of the river.
To the north east of the site, north of the Cole Green Way, is a low-lying area of small grassed fields and also the Hertford Town football ground (see photograph 30). There is also a small area of allotments alongside the River Lea, which runs along the east side of the football ground to join the River Mimram. Just to the south of the Cole Green Way is Cole Green Way Farm, an equestrian centre with stables and an outdoor riding area, together with some small workshops (see photographs 28 and 29). To the south of this (and due west of the site) is a triangular field of pasture, narrowing to the south, between the railway embankment and the River Lea. The proposed site access (see section 3) runs across this field from the B158 to the south.
To the south of the site Terrace Wood (which is designated as Ancient Woodland) occupies a locally prominent ridge between the valleys of the Rivers Mimram and Lea, with the woodland strip noted above linking Terrace Wood with the woodland within the site (see photograph 32). To the east and south of Terrace Wood there is a series of fields running down to the River Lea, and between the woodland and the western arm of the site there is a small field with two agricultural buildings in its south eastern corner.
To the west is the nursery area noted above, which includes (from north to south):
o Brickfield Cottages - a terrace of three properties to the north west of the nursery (see photograph 37), with a yard/storage area extending to the east, alongside the public footpath, which contains a number of agricultural vehicles and items of equipment (see photographs 35 and 36).
o The main area of glasshouses, which appear to be in good repair but which are not currently in use (see photograph 34).
o An area of workshops/storage buildings (see photograph 33).
o A single storey house surrounded by a closeboard fence in a roughly square plot (see photograph 33).
Further to the west there are arable fields extending to St Mary’s Lane (see photograph 38).
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Topography 2.1.6 The site is broadly flat, with a gentle slope from the south west down to the north east, and levels within the site are around 50m AOD (above Ordnance Datum, or mean sea level). However, that natural topography is overlain in places by the excavations associated with the former brickyard use, which are in places up to 5 or 6m deep (along the southern edge of the site - see photograph 6), and cover extensive areas within the site (the series of lagoons covers an area of around 160m from west to east).
2.1.7 Around the site, the Cole Green Way runs around 2m below site levels, with a cutting slope to each side, and levels fall to the north down to the River Mimram. Levels also fall gently to the east of the railway line down to the line of the River Lea, before rising steeply up a wooded slope to the higher ground where County Hall (Hertfordshire County Council offices) is located. To the south levels rise to over 60m AOD at the local ridge line occupied by Terrace Wood, and then fall again more steeply to the south towards the River Lea. The River Lea runs to the east at this point, and passes under the railway line at a bridge just to the north of the B158 (where the proposed site access would cross the river, see section 3), before turning to the north. Levels rise gently towards St Mary’s Lane, to the west of the site.
1. View in the eastern part of the site showing earthworks associated with the former brickworks use. October 2013.
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2. View in the south eastern part of the site showing earthworks associated with the former brickworks use. October 2013.
3. View in the central part of the site showing the banks between the former brickworks lagoons. October 2013.
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4. A further view of the banks between the lagoons. October 2013.
5. Oak tree growing in a disturbed part of the site in its south eastern corner. In such cases the tree would be retained and the ground levels would not be altered around it. October 2013.
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6. Deep excavation in the southern part of the site. October 2013.
7. Remaining brick structures in the south western part of the site. October 2013.
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8. Remaining brick structures in the south western part of the site. October 2013.
9. Piles of rubble in the south western part of the site. October 2013.
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10. Debris in the south western corner of the site. October 2013.
11. Debris in the western part of the site. October 2013.
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12. Spoil used as jumps for BMX/mountain bikes in the south eastern corner of the site. October 2013.
13. Mounds of spoil in the south eastern corner of the site. October 2013.
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14. Existing open area in the north eastern part of the site, adjacent to the railway embankment. Two images combined, October 2013.
15. Open area within the woodland in the north western part of the site - ground cover consists mostly of nettles. Two images combined, October 2013.
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16. Mature cedar tree in the northern part of the site. October 2013.
17. Fallen limb from another mature cedar tree. October 2013.
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18. Damaged vegetation in the north eastern part of the site. October 2013.
19. View south in the north eastern corner of the site showing the public footpath as it turns to run to the west along the northern side of the site. Two images combined, October 2013.
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20. View south west along the public footpath in the north eastern part of the site. The main body of the site is on the left of the path. October 2013.
21. View south west along the public footpath in the northern part of the site. The main body of the site is on the left of the path. October 2013.
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22. View north west along the Cole Green Way from just to the north of the site boundary. The route turns at the blue sign to run to the west along the former railway line. Two images combined, October 2013.
23. View west along the Cole Green Way, with the site at the top of the slope on the left of the view. October 2013.
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24. View east along the Cole Green Way, with the site on the right of the view. April 2013.
25. View of the railway embankment from the eastern edge of the site. October 2013.
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26. View south west along the Cole Green Way just to the north of the site. The Cole Green Way turns to the right at the gate in the centre of the view, while the public footpath which runs across the site continues to the left. Two images combined, October 2013.
27. View south from the Cole Green Way just to the east of the railway viaduct.
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28. View west from the Cole Green Way showing part of the equestrian centre at Cole Green Way Farm and the railway viaduct in the background. Two images combined, October 2013.
29. View north east from the Cole Green Way showing part of the yard of Cole Green Way Farm. Two images combined, October 2013.
30. View north east across the car park of the Hertford Town FC ground. Two images combined, October 2013.
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31. View south from the southern site boundary showing trees alongside the railway line on the left of the view. Note the absence of visual receptors in the area to the south of the site. Two images combined, October 2013 The new site access road would pass across the area between the viewpoint and the trees along the railway embankment in the background. .
32. View south west from the southern site boundary showing the strip of woodland which runs to the south from the site to connect with Terrace Wood. Two images combined, October 2013.
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33. View west from the south western part of the site showing some of the buildings in the nursery to the west of the site. The bungalow to the west of the site is hidden behind intervening vegetation on the left of the view. Two images combined, October 2013.
34. View north west from the western site boundary showing the glasshouses in the nursery site. Two images combined, October 2013.
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35. View from the public footpath to the west of the site, with the nursery glasshouses visible in the background. October 2013.
36. View east along the public footpath just to the east of Brickfield Cottages. Two images combined, October 2013.
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37. View of the three properties at Brickfield Cottages. October 2013.
38. View west along the BOAT to the west of Brickfield Cottages - note the lack of visual receptors in the area to the west of the site. Two images combined, October 2013.
Existing Light Sources 2.1.8 There are some low key light sources around Cole Green Way Farm and the nursery area and houses to the west of the site, and also the houses to the north of the Cole Green Way, but otherwise the site itself and the immediately surrounding area are predominantly dark.
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