Area 2 Marshfield Plateau

Area 2 South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment Draft Proposed for Adoption 12 November 2014 MarshfieldPlateau Area 2 Marshfield Plateau Contents Sketch map 36 Key characteristics 37 Location 38 Physical influences 38 Land cover 38 Settlement and infrastructure 40 Landscape character 40 The changing landscape 42 Landscape strategy 44 Photographs Landscape character area boundary www.southglos.gov.uk 35 Area 2 South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment Draft Proposed for Adoption 12 November 2014 MarshfieldPlateau å9 ç8 á1 ç7 á2 è3 á4 æ6 æ5 Figure 7 Key Marshfield Plateau å9 Photograph viewpoints Sketch Map Scale: not to scale 36 www.southglos.gov.uk Area 2 South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment Draft Proposed for Adoption 12 November 2014 MarshfieldPlateau Area 2 Marshfield Plateau The Marshfield Plateau landscape character area is a gently sloping agricultural plateau dissected by two shallow river valleys. N Key Characteristics ¡ Gently undulating, upland plateau/dip ¡ Plateau/dip slope landscape dissected by slope landscape with open character. two river valleys, consisting of an enclosed Covered by mainly large regular shaped and textured landscape of irregular, arable fields generally defined by medium sized pasture fields and wetland Cotswold stone walls, often in a state meadows. Divided by hedges, some stone of disrepair but which provide some walls, with scattered woodland copses. connectivity between other habitats, Valleys contrast strongly with the open including for notable and European plateau. protected species. ¡ Limited settlement, comprising a town, ¡ Areas of calcareous grassland that villages, a hamlet and scattered isolated supports a diverse range of flora including farms and buildings, united with the areas of species rich grassland while landscape through their common use of arable farmland provides nesting and Cotswold stone as a building material. foraging potential for birds. All are visible features contributing to landscape character. ¡ Western and southern boundaries are defined by a significant change in ¡ Major roads and one major pylon line topography, the Cotswold Scarp (west) cross the open landscape. The traffic and and Ashwicke Ridges character area pylon line are visually intrusive and traffic (south), offering extensive views beyond is audible. Away from these there are the area. however tranquil areas that are undisturbed by visual, noise and other disturbance. ¡ Small scattered areas of woodland and copses of ancient woodland and few trees contribute to a generally simple, exposed landscape of open views. www.southglos.gov.uk 37 Area 2 South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment Draft Proposed for Adoption 12 November 2014 MarshfieldPlateau The local Marshfield stone used for many of the Location buildings is locally distinctive, being greyer than The Marshfield Plateau landscape character the more honey coloured stone found further east area is located in the south east of South and north in the Cotswolds. Gloucestershire and within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Land Cover This landscape character area is defined to the The plateau/dip slope area consists of large, east by the South Gloucestershire Authority mainly arable, regular shaped fields on the flat boundary, although the landscape character to gently sloping upland landscape (Photo 3). of the plateau extends beyond. The northern There is very little tree cover within the plateau, boundary follows the M4, which marks a broad other than a few isolated copses and mature and subtle area of transition between the specimens along the field boundaries and around Marshfield Plateau and the slightly less undulating the edges of settlement. Exceptions on the and more heavily vegetated Badminton Plateau to plateau are small woodlands adjacent to the west the north. and north west boundary. Some woodland is also found within the Broadmead Brook valleys To the west, the boundary is defined by the fairly (Photo 6), of which only Harcombe Wood is of any abrupt change in topography formed by the significant size. Cotswold Scarp. The southern boundary also follows an often distinct change in topography Fields over the plateau area are largely divided between the plateau and upper valley edges of by Cotswold stone walls. These are often in a the Ashwicke Ridges landscape character area, state of disrepair and in some cases have been which includes incised valleys which lead towards removed, with only remnant grass mounds left to the River Avon. (See Figures 10 & 13). define the former wall position. There is a particularly strong framework of walls Physical Influences evident within the following areas: The underlying geology of the area is predominantly Great Oolitic Limestone with ¡ to the north west of the area, south of Fullers Earth and a small area of Athelstan Tormarton; Oolitic Limestone to the west. The soils are predominantly Brown Rendzinas with a small ¡ to the south around Marshfield, where the proportion of typical Calcareous Pelosols. pronounced change between stone and hedgerow boundaries follows the sharp This geology creates a landform of gently rolling junction between plateau edge and scarp upland plateau/dip slope, its highest point of 220 beyond; metres is at Tog Hill in the south west corner. The plateau is incised by two gently sloping valleys, ¡ along the main roads and elsewhere close to formed by two branches of the Broadmead settlements and farms. Brook, fed by a number of springs. The brook gently meanders along the valley bottom, flowing Intermittent, thick and clipped hedges also form approximately north eastwards. (See Figure 7). prominent field boundaries, principally to the west, adjacent to the Cotswold Scarp and within Along the eastern boundary the Broadmead the Broadmead Brook valleys. Brook valley becomes more small scale, with a narrow steep sided valley profile. A number of Land cover within the two valleys consists of side valleys are dry and there is only one small a mixture of arable and pasture, with irregular man-made pool to the north of West Littleton. shaped medium sized fields on the valley sides 38 www.southglos.gov.uk Area 2 South Gloucestershire Landscape Character Assessment Draft Proposed for Adoption 12 November 2014 MarshfieldPlateau and semi-enclosed meadows on the valley Biodiversity bottom (Photo 1). The mosaic of habitat in this character area Field boundaries within the valleys consist of a provides for a diverse range of species. mix of stone walls and intermittent, clipped and thick hedges. There is a higher percentage of This area includes nationally important habitats associated tree cover, formed by small areas such as calcareous grassland and some 31 ha. of woodland on the valley sides and overgrown of ancient woodland. Of the two areas of ancient hedgerows/trees, which demarcate streams in woodland, one is designated as a Site of Nature the lower wetland areas. Conservation Interest. Key species likely to be associated with these habitats include bats Field size is often closely related to landform. and dormice both of which are present across Smaller fields have been formed from the the District and are UK priority species with enclosure of medieval open fields, generally found associated Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP). There within the Broadmead Brook valleys. Over the appears to be some connectivity for species plateau, much larger fields have been formed, by such as these between the wooded areas and the enclosure of open common and downland. other habitats via the stone walls, hedgerows and scattered trees. Across the character area, where the transition has been made from sheep pasture/mixed There are eleven sites within the Marshfield agriculture to arable, the field boundaries have Plateau designated as SNCIs for the calcareous often been neglected and, in some cases, have and neutral grassland present on the sites and been lost. includes species-rich grassland. This diverse habitat supports a range of invertebrates and ant There were a number of tumuli and long barrows hills are a regular feature. These invertebrates in scattered over the plateau landscape, indicating turn provide a food source for mammals including its past historic importance. A Long Barrow at bats. Dyrham Park is also designated as an SNCI Lapdown Barn and Round at Littleton Down near for the parkland present at the 100 hectare site. West Littleton still exist and are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments. However, most of the The characteristic stone walls are of habitat value others, especially the large group near Marshfield, for a diverse range of species from invertebrates have been removed. Ridge and furrow is also to reptiles and amphibians for commuting, evident in some locations such as at West End, foraging and as a refuge. Arable fields are as are traces of mediaeval field systems in the important for many species of ground nesting form of strip lynchets in the valleys surrounding farmland birds including birds which have been Cold Ashton. listed by BirdLife International as being Globally Threatened Red listed species. The stubble Dyrham Park, a Registered Historic Park, to the left over winter across the farmland provides a west of this area, partly falls within this and partly precious foraging resource when food sources within the adjacent Cotswold Scarp character are scarce for many farmland birds. area. The open parkland within this area includes linear woodland and Cotswold stone walling The few watercourses within

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