1 INTRODUCTION in December 2004, Environmental Resources
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1 INTRODUCTION In December 2004, Environmental Resources Management Ireland Limited (“ERM”) in association with ERA-Maptec Ltd was commissioned by North Tipperary County Council to prepare a Landscape Character Assessment of North Tipperary. The objective of the study was to complete a thorough assessment of the character, value and sensitivity of North Tipperary’s landscape in order to provide the basis for policy formulation and informed decision-making regarding landscape management in the County. North Tipperary (shown in Figure 1) contains a variety of landscapes. The extensive upland areas of the County rise dramatically above the fertile limestone plains. These upland zones support a variety of habitats and land uses ranging from blanket bog to coniferous forestry. The geological faults around the Silvermines led to the deposition of metallic deposits that were to be exploited by humans 400 million year later. The low lying pastoral plains provide important communication corridors between the upland zones and the less accessible raised bogs areas in the north and eastern extremities of the county. To the west, Lough Derg and the River Shannon provide further landscape variety within the County and are important recreational, tourism and ecological resources for North Tipperary. As a landlocked county, North Tipperary is bounded by a number of counties with landscape features providing many natural boundaries. For example, the River Shannon and Lough Derg, define the boundary between the counties of Clare, Galway and Offaly. Extensive raised bog defines the eastern boundary with Counties Laois and Kilkenny. The valley between the Silvermines and Slieve Felim mountains offers a further natural boundary with Counties Limerick and South Tipperary. Human interaction with the natural environment has created a wide range of distinctive, predominantly rural landscapes and settlement patterns. The influence of humans on the landscape has had the most profound influence on the contemporary North Tipperary landscape. 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE REPORT In October 2004, North Tipperary County Council adopted a new County Development Plan. The Plan outlined the intention to prepare a County Landscape Character Assessment to provide guidance on the significant landscape and visual impacts associated with a number of development types. The assessment will facilitate a planning-led and informed approach to development that has the potential to impact on the landscapes of the County. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL 1 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL 2 Two key tasks are required as part of this assessment and plan process namely: 1. The preparation of an objective and unbiased assessment of the landscape of North Tipperary which enables a thorough understanding of the landscape in respect of its capacity to accommodate a range of development types without causing an unacceptable deterioration in the quality of the receiving landscape – A Baseline Landscape Character Assessment. 2. A study of the key development issues that represent forces for change to the North Tipperary landscape and the development of specific recommendations in relation to each force for change -A Landscape Strategy for North Tipperary 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT This Draft Final Report presents initial findings on the landscape character, diversity, key characteristics, sensitivity and forces for change. It provides a detailed baseline picture of landscapes in North Tipperary and is an important platform upon which the Landscape Strategy has been developed. This Draft Final Report will subject to public consultation currently planned for Autumn 2005 and the outcomes of that consultation process will most likely result in the revision of the Draft Landscape Character Areas. Chapter Two: The Evolution of the North Tipperary Landscape. The landscape patterns we see today have evolved gradually over millions of years through both natural and human forces. The Landscape Character Assessment report begins by describing the principal forces that have shaped the North Tipperary landscape. Important and distinctive geological, cultural and habitat features and their distribution are described. Chapter Three: The Present Day Landscape of North Tipperary. This chapter provides the definition and identification of Landscape Character Types (LCTs) found within the County. A description of each LCT is presented, accompanied by an initial identification of forces for change for each LCT. Chapter Four: A presentation of each Landscape Character Area (LCAs). These presentations are accompanied by written descriptions on formative influences, elements and features defining each LCA, including human influences, principal forces for change, current condition of the landscape and sensitivity to change. Attention is drawn to those characteristics that are particularly distinctive, rare or vulnerable. Chapter Five: Forces for Change. This chapter discusses the forces for change operating currently on the landscape and discusses them in terms of landscape implications, policy directions and recommendations for landscape management. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL 3 2 THE EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH TIPPERARY LANDSCAPE 2.1 INTRODUCTION In order to understand the landscapes within North Tipperary, it is necessary to outline the physical and historical influences that have created the contemporary landscape. The interplay between solid geology, glacial processes, soil formation, hydrology and ecology has formed the basic materials upon which human activities have impacted. This is, however, a constant and ongoing interrelationship, with topography, access to water and soil conditions influencing the spatial distribution and types of human activities practiced within the County over the past several millennia. Although human habitation has been the most recent landscape influence, in many ways it has been the most profound. Patterns of land ownership, settlement development, agricultural and ritual activities have all been modified in response to local variations of biotic and abiotic elements and constraints. A description of the physical landscape of North Tipperary is presented below and is followed by an overview and analysis of human activities within the Tipperary landscape from prehistoric to contemporary times. 2.2 PHYSICAL INFLUENCES 2.2.1 Solid Geology(¹) The underlying geology of North Tipperary (Figure 2) is formed from two principal rock formations, each rock type generally being associated with particular landscapes. Much of the County is composed of limestone lowlands from the lower Carboniferous Series (approximately 325 million years ago), and generally covered by glacial deposited sediments. The limestone in this area supports generally good quality pastoral farmland but in areas such as the Shannon Callows, and the eastern boundary with Laois and Kilkenny, the poorly drained geology has led to the creation of raised bog since the end of the last glacial period in Ireland (approximately 10,000 years ago, the Midlandian period). Elsewhere within the County, blocks of harder, less easily eroded limestone create distinct landscape elements within the wider, flatter limestone surround, by forming small hills and stretches of limestone ridges. In themselves, such hills and ridges are not particularly elevated, (commonly around 200m OD); however they create visual interest in an otherwise low (1) Geology of Tipperary, Geological Survey of Ireland, 1996 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL 4 ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT NORTH TIPPERARY COUNTY COUNCIL 5 lying area. Examples of these limestone ridges can be found south of the Callows and Redwood Bog and in areas such as Black Hill, east of Roscrea. The mountains and hills that rise above these lower areas are composed of a variety of older rocks of differing age and composition. Old Red Sandstone is generally found around the perimeter of these uplands, whilst the interiors are formed by far older Lower Palaeozoic rocks, largely composed of greywacke, mudstone, and slate. Old Red Sandstone is a tough rock, resistant to erosive influences and this characteristic generally creates upland moorland or blanket bog at the summits of these hills. The Devilsbit formation is considered to contain the oldest of the Old Red Sandstone rocks in the South Midlands while the highest peak in North Tipperary (Keeper Hill, 695m) is capped by this rock. Palaeozoic rocks are more susceptible to erosion and the difference in erosion rates can lead to significant height disparities between Red Sandstone and Palaeozoic rocks within mountain ranges. An example of this can be found on the steep slopes on the northern aspect of Keeper Hill. Elsewhere, Palaeozoic rocks can sometimes support upland blanket bog summits, such as Mauherslieve. More commonly, these rocks create a thin soil on rounded hills. The County also contains two faults caused by the displacement of terrenes (blocks of rocks) by a sideway movement along a northeast-southwest fracture of the earth’s crust. The Navan-Galtee Fault, which is situated below the limestone floored corridor around Thurles, and a tributary (splay) known as the Silvermines Fault running in the same orientation around the Silvermines area. These faults acted as conduits for significant metallic deposits and the creation 400 million years later of mineral extraction within the Silvermines and