Dursley Landscape Character Assessment Final Report for the Future Dursley Neighbourhood Development Plan November 2015 Dursley Landscape Character Assessment Final Report for the Future Dursley Neighbourhood Development Plan November 2015 Tel: 029 2043 7841 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.whiteconsultants.co.uk Future Dursley NDP Dursley Landscape Character Assessment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY White Consultants were appointed to assist the Future Dursley Neighbourhood Development Plan in September 2015 by undertaking a local landscape character assessment (LCA) of the parish. The prime purpose of the LCA defined in the brief is to provide a baseline character description for Dursley which will add to and enhance understanding of the special and unique qualities of the landscape. In addition, the sensitivity of different areas to development has been requested to help inform decision-making on development sites in the future. It is, of course, just one factor to be considered. The study looks at Dursley within its national and local context and describes the physical, cultural and social influences on landscape character and its perceptual and aesthetic characteristics. The relationship between the settlement and its surrounding landscape is explored. Dursley lies within the Cotswolds National Character Area. Much of the landscape around the town is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish lies in the Ewelme Valley cut through the Oolitic limestone on the western edge of the Cotswolds just before it meets the Severn Vale/Berkeley Vale. The Cotswolds scarp lies to the north west and the valley is enclosed by steep sides, ridges and hills including Stinchcombe Hill, and the distinctive Peaked Down (Cam Peak), Cam Long Down and Downham Hill.