REP-001 Landscape Sensitivity Assessment FINAL 130318
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NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT MARCH 2018 Wardell Armstrong Sir Henry Doulton House, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5BD, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)1782 276 700 Facsimile: +44 (0)845 111 8888 www.wardell-armstrong.com DATE ISSUED: MARCH 2018 JOB NUMBER: ST16449 REPORT NUMBER: 001 VERSION: V0.1 STATUS: FINAL NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT MARCH 2018 This report has been prepared by Wardell Armstrong LLP with all reasonable skill, care and diligence, within the terms of the Contract with the Client. The report is confidential to the Client and Wardell Armstrong LLP accepts no responsibility of whatever nature to third parties to whom this report may be made known. No part of this document may be reproduced without the prior written approval of Wardell Armstrong LLP. ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES LAND AND PROPERTY Wardell Armstrong is the trading name of Wardell Armstrong LLP, Registered in England No. OC307138. MINING AND MINERAL PROCESSING Registered office: Sir Henry Doulton House, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5BD, United Kingdom MINERAL ESTATES UK Offices: Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Cardiff, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Central Manchester London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Truro. International Offices: Almaty, Moscow WASTE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Context of the Study ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aim of the Study .......................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Key Guidance and Evidence Base ................................................................................ 3 2 NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY .................................................................................... 5 2.1 National Planning Policy Framework .......................................................................... 5 2.2 Relevance to Landscape .............................................................................................. 6 3 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER OF NORTH SOMERSET ........................................................ 9 3.1 Landscape Character Assessment ............................................................................... 9 3.2 National Character Areas ............................................................................................ 9 3.3 Regional Character Areas .......................................................................................... 12 4 GUIDANCE .............................................................................................................. 14 5 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 19 5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 19 6 RESULTS OF ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................... 24 6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................... 24 6.2 Towns ........................................................................................................................ 24 6.3 Larger Villages ........................................................................................................... 36 6.4 Smaller Villages ......................................................................................................... 55 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Assessment Sheet Appendix 2 GIS Data Sheets Appendix 3 Potential Landscape Mitigation Measures DRAWINGS Maps Insets Map 1 South-West Map 2 North-West Map 3 South-East Map 4 North-East ST16449/FINAL MARCH 2018 NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context of the Study 1.1.1 Wardell Armstrong has been commissioned by North Somerset Council (NSC) to undertake a Landscape Sensitivity Assessment (LSA) of the areas surrounding selected settlements within North Somerset. 1.1.2 NSC have now commenced work on a review of the evidence base to support the preparation of the North Somerset Local Plan. This will look forward to 2036, and the housing requirement will be derived from the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) which is currently at pre-submission stage. 1.1.3 The JSP is being produced by the four West of England Councils (North Somerset; Bath and North-East Somerset; Bristol City; and South Gloucestershire) and will identify locations for strategic growth within the region (SDLs). Whilst the new Local Plan 2036 will identify the location of SDLs, these are not considered within this assessment. However, the Local Plan will also identify future allocations for housing sites to meet the remaining non-strategic growth and this is the focus of this study. 1.1.4 Given the value and importance of North Somerset’s landscape, NSC wishes to assess the sensitivity of the landscape surrounding selected settlements in order to inform the site selection process for non-strategic growth. The future allocation of sites for the non-strategic growth needs to be managed carefully as part of the Local Plan process to ensure that the important characteristics of the North Somerset landscape are not unacceptably harmed. What is landscape? 1.1.5 The European Landscape Convention (ELC), which the UK has signed and ratified, emphasises the role that landscape can play as an integrating framework for many areas of policy. The ELC is designed to achieve improved approaches to the planning, management and protection of landscapes throughout Europe and to put people at the heart of this process. 1.1.6 The ELC adopts a definition of landscape as: “Landscape is an area, perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors (Council of Europe, 2000)” ST16449/FINAL Page 1 MARCH 2018 NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT 1.1.7 This definition reflects the thinking that emerged in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was summarised in the influential Landscape Character Assessment Guidance for England and Scotland, published in 2002. The inclusive nature of landscape was captured there in a paragraph stating that: “Landscape is about the relationship between people and place. It provides the setting for our day-to-day lives. The term does not mean just special or designated landscapes and it does not only apply to the countryside. Landscape can mean a small patch of urban wasteland as much as a mountain range, and an urban park as much as an expanse of lowland plain. It results from the way that different components of our environment – both natural (the influences of geology, soils, climate, flora and fauna) and cultural (the historic and current impact of land use, settlement, enclosure and other human interventions) – interact together and perceived by us. People’s perceptions turn land into the concept of landscape.” (para 1.11, pg2) 1.1.8 Thus, landscapes are not only those that are recognised as being special or valuable, but also about the ordinary and the everyday. The importance of the ELC definition is that it moves beyond the idea that landscape is only a matter of aesthetics and visual amenity. Instead it encourages a focus on landscape as a resource in its own right. It provides an integrated way of conceptualising our surroundings and is increasingly considered to provide a useful spatial framework for thinking about a wide range of environmental, land use and development issues. The Landscape of North Somerset 1.1.9 North Somerset is located in the south-west of England, to the south and west of Bristol. The district extends to Bleadon in the south-west and Blagdon in the south- east. North Somerset is bounded to the north-west by the Severn Estuary, which is protected by a number of international, national and local designations. The south of the district is located within the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 1.1.10 The landscape of North Somerset is highly varied, with open moors and river flood plains contrasting with ridges, gorges and rolling farmland. In the north of the district there are a large number of Registered Parks and Gardens and extensive woodland, which in combination with the varied topography limits visibility. In the rest of the district tree cover is concentrated on the slopes of hills and ridges, and long-distance ST16449/FINAL Page 2 MARCH 2018 NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT views are available from areas of high topography across the open moors and flood plains. 1.1.11 The population of North Somerset is estimated at 202,566 with concentrations in the main town of Weston-super-Mare, as well as the towns of Clevedon, Nailsea and Portishead which have been the focus of recent growth. Three of the four towns are located on the coast, with Nailsea located approximately 5km inland. Remaining settlements comprise villages of varying sizes, scattered throughout the district. There are a number of larger villages which have been the subject to lower levels of growth and development pressure, and other villages which have accommodated varying amounts of infill within their settlement boundaries. 1.2 Aim