HERONSGATE HEIGHTS

summary assessment evaluation guidelines

2

ar e a
County Map showing location of LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AREA

Stevenage
Bishops Stortford
©Crown copyright All rights reserved. Hertfordshire

• County Council
• Hertford

LA076678
Hemel Hempstead
Hatfield
St Albans

ar e a 2

Watford

• LOCATION
• KEY CHARACTERISTICS

This area is located to the west of the M25, south of the River Chess and east of the Chalfonts. (NB: A considerable part of the area falls within Buckinghamshire.)
• woodland areas that flow over the slopes into the narrow dry valleys to the east
• M25 major feature on the skyline to the east • sinuous though level plateau with considerable pasture and equestrian land

LANDSCAPE CHARACTER

A gently undulating and sinuous plateau, locally divided by narrow chalk valleys (see Maple Cross Slopes Character Area). A small to medium-scale landscape, relatively wooded and treed, which helps to create a visually contained and coherent appearance. The area has a planned feel with a number of traditional farm buildings, parklands and more recent development. Chorleywood Common is of local importance for nature conservation and recreation.
• coherent settled pattern • parkland areas, some in institutional uses • Heronsgate settlement • Chorleywood Common

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

• Shire Horse Centre
View from •
Shepherds Lane
(J.Billingsley)

pg

South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment

17

HERONSGATE HEIGHTS

summary assessment evaluation guidelines

ar e a 2

• PHYSICAL INFLUENCES
• HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Geology and soils. The soils are characterised by a mix of well-drained fine loamy over clayey soils and coarse and fine loamy over clayey soils with slowly permeable subsoils and slight seasonal waterlogging (Marlow association). The underlying geology is a combination of plateau and riverterrace drift forming part of the clay-with-flints area. Topography. The plateau is a gently undulating area forming part of the Chilterns dip slope. Slopes rise from the adjacent Maple Cross slopes. At Artichoke Dell there is a steep-sided wooded valley running through to
The Quaker leader and founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, was married in King John's Farm. Heronsgate, formerly known as O'Connerville, was the first of the settlements founded by Feargus O'Conner's Co-operative in 1846. O'Conner was an MP, idealist and social reformer. The concept was that a new egalitarian system would replace the harsh economic conditions of the early 19th century by the creation of an idealised 'medieval' lifestyle with the absence of the great landowner. The realised plan of 1847 was for a school and 35 cottages, each with 2 to 4 acres. The scheme was not a financial success and the company was declared bankrupt in 1851.
Chorleywood near Chorleywood Common. Degree of slope. Generally less than 1 in 50 over the plateau. Locally up to 1 in 7 at Chorleywood Common. Slopes rise from east to west by up to 1 in 25. Altitude range. 95-110m on plateau. Down to 70m at Artichoke Dell.
Field pattern. The cultural field pattern is largely intact, dating from the 18th-century parliamentary enclosures. Exceptions to the rule occur, e.g. at Horn Hill Court, where the M25 severs a corner of the informal parkland. Field
Hydrology. There are no significant streams, however there patterns are typically geometric in form, with a range of are a number of ponds associated with either parklands, farmsteads, field corners or Chorleywood Common.

Land cover and land use. The land-use pattern is wooded

farmland with a dominance of pasture, mainly for equestrian use. Arable areas are modest in extent and tend to be on the fringes of the area. medium-sized fields and some smaller paddocks in association with the equestrian areas.

Transport pattern. The area is served by a number of

sinuous lanes, some sunken and some with wider verges including bracken. Old Shires Lane follows the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The M25 lies to the east. The railway to Chorleywood passes through a natural valley.

Settlements and built form. The area has a planned and

settled appearance. There are parkland areas, including Horn Hill Court and Newland Park, together with mature farmsteads including the late medieval timber-framed King John's Farm. There is a good range of traditional building materials including brick, render and clay tile. • A singularly distinctive feature of the settlement pattern is Heronsgate, a low-density Victorian smallholding settlement, laid out along narrow single-track lanes enclosed by tall hedges. The area still has a heavily vegetated character despite infill over recent years.
• There is considerable 20th-century housing at Chorleywood, however this is generally well integrated into the landscape with considerable belts of mature trees and tall hedgerows softening the edge of the settlements.

Vegetation and wildlife. There are a number of

interlocking woodlands with beech the natural type, particularly on the slopes. Other species include oak, ash, hornbeam, hazel, and occasional larch and horse chestnut. Parkland trees include lime, cedar and pine. There are areas of species-rich grassland, orchards and old enclosure within the Heronsgate estate. Hedges are mixed with a high percentage of hawthorn and locally areas of bracken. Chorleywood Common, 'the glory of Chorleywood’, is a distinctive area of wet acidic common dating from before 1766 and lying on glacial gravel. There are some areas of species-rich grassland remaining at Artichoke Dell and associated acidic heath plants. There are also pockets of chalk grassland by the railway. The common was traditionally used for grazing and as a stopover for drovers but has subsequently partly regenerated to woodland and is now partly the Chorleywood golf course. The woodland mix is oak/birch with some invasion of sycamore.

pg

18 South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment
HERONSGATE HEIGHTS

summary assessment evaluation guidelines

ar e a 2

• VISUAL AND SENSORY PERCEPTION
• COMMUNITY VIEWS

• Views of the area from outside are generally restricted by
• Contrasting. While most parts are generally rarely remarked

vegetation and the elevated plateau landform. Views within upon, the Chorleywood Common site stands out as a the area are generally filtered by vegetation and housing and contained by hedgerows along narrow roads. The area feels private and relatively remote, despite the proximity to the M25 and the neighbouring settlements. It has a coherent and unified character with mature trees having a strong influence.

Rarity and distinctiveness. The area is unusual in the

county with Heronsgate and Chorleywood Common being the most distinctive features. significantly distinctive landscape in its own right, affecting the rating of this area as a whole (B). Re. Chorleywood Common: ‘woody yet open-spaced common ... the wooded section is threaded by parks and glades and orchards onto varying types of trees, shrub and bush. These intriguing twists and turns reveal stretches of bracken ... A magnificent sight is the early bloom of golden gorse.' ('Common Heritage', Hertfordshire Countryside, Vol. 19, No. 77, April/May 1965, pp 214-15).

• VISUAL IMPACT
• LANDSCAPE RELATED DESIGNATIONS

The M25 and its associated pylons and radio masts are the major detracting features. The motorway also severs parkland at Horn Hill. Fly-tipping is a problem on the minor roads near the M25.
Chilterns AONB: (north of Chorleywood only).

ACCESSIBILITY

There is a good network of footpaths and bridleways, including over Chorleywood Common, a golf course and several stables. The Shire Horse Centre north west of Horn Hill is a local attraction. The attractive and contained character of the landscape adds to the enjoyment of the facilities.

• CONDITION
• STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

Land cover change: Age structure of tree cover:

insignificant mature or young

Impact of landform: Impact of land cover:

apparent prominent

• Extent of semi-natural habitat survival: widespread
• Impact of historic pattern: interrupted

• Management of semi-natural habitat: variable
• Visibility from outside:

Sense of enclosure: Visual unity:

concealed contained unified

Survival of cultural pattern: Impact of built development: Impact of land-use change:

interrupted low low

Distinctiveness/rarity:

unusual

Strengthen Conserve Safeguard

• and
• and

and manage

reinforce strengthen Improve and reinforce
Improve and conserve
Conserve and restore

Restore condition to maintain character
Improve and restore
Reconstruct

• WEAK
• MODERATE STRONG

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

pg

South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment

19

HERONSGATE HEIGHTS

summary assessment evaluation guidelines

ar e a 2

STRATEGY AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING CHANGE: SAFEGUARD AND MANAGE

• promote new woodland planting to provide mitigation for the M25. Use ancient hedge and field boundaries to identify the most appropriate location for woodland restoration and expansion
• promote the appropriate management of woodland in order to maintain a rich ground flora and the distinction between different management systems, such as high forest and coppice-with-standards
• establish realistic and attractive countryside management schemes for all sites with heathland and acid grassland/scrub communities including Chorleywood Common. Maintain a balance between developing a rich variety of habitats and safe public access. Promote realistic initiatives for traditional management in conjunction with existing recreational uses
• within parklands ensure new planting is encouraged to maintain age diversity. Landscape improvements should respect the historic context and the form and character of parkland and gardens. Ornamental species should only be used to replace damaged or over-mature specimens, where appropriate
• ensure that the surroundings of converted buildings are designed and maintained to be in keeping with their agricultural surroundings by ensuring that 'garden' details are screened from view where possible and native species are used on site boundaries
• promote the distinctiveness of Heronsgate village by resisting further infill development and actively supporting the management of species-rich grasslands and orchards
• encourage landowners and developers to retain and increase ponds and wetland areas and to enhance their visual and wildlife functions
• traffic-calming measures, where considered necessary, must be of a scale and design that relates to the local landscape character of the settlement
• promote hedgerow management which should involve locally appropriate measures, including coppicing, laying and replanting/gapping-up
• promote the restoration of hedges adjacent to rights of way, green lanes and along parish boundaries
• encourage the re-use of existing agricultural buildings for equestrian activity
• promote the use of traditional hedged field enclosure where land is converted to equestrian pasture. Discourage the use of timber-and-wire fencing as a permanent solution

Stockport Road, Heronsgate (HCC Landscape Unit)
•

pg

20 South Hertfordshire Landscape Character Assessment