Wainwrights Quarry, Batham Gate Road, Peak Dale
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Wainwrights Quarry, Batham Gate Road, Peak Dale Landscape and Site Appraisal Prepared by PGLA For Mr W Bagshawe Final Report March 2016 Quality Checked* Document - WAI1309_LVA01 Revision - Final Report Written by: PGG / MI 229 Ducie House Tel: 0161 238 9138 * Reviewed by: PGG [email protected] www. pgla.co.uk Date: March 2016 2 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale 01 INTRODUCTION PAGE 4 02 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER DESIGNATIONS PAGE 4 03 EXISTING SITE OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS PAGE 11 04 POTENTIAL LEISURE OPPORTUNITIES PAGE 13 05 CONCLUSIONS PAGE 13 Landscape and Site Appraisal 3 01 INTRODUCTION 02 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER DESIGNATIONS 1.1 PGLA have been commissioned by Mr Bagshawe to provide a site and conducted a visual assessment in the field to identify the 2.3 The White Peak is an area of settled uplands lying on both sides of Landscape and Site Appraisal that explores the potential future uses potential impacts that the proposed development may have on the the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire at the southern for the Wainwrights Quarry, off Batham Gate Road, Buxton. The study character of the existing landscape. end of the Pennine Hills. Characteristic landscape features of The sets out the current condition of the broader landscape character and White Peak are: visual amenity as well as assessing the current condition of the site in 1.7 The findings of this exercise is laid out in the following text and aided terms of landscape value. The site is no longer a working quarry and by diagrams, plans and photographic visuals. Section 2 considers the • High open plateau has up until recently been used by a motorcycle club for scrambling existing landscape character and designations. This is used as a baseline • Stone walls and trail riding. The club has since re-located and has removed the and benchmark to develop the potential future use as described in • Pastoral farmland paraphernalia associated with the sport such as containers and mounds Section 4. Section 3 describes the condition of the existing site and • Villages built of local stone of disused tyres. The existing buildings and structures have also been analyses the Constraints and Opportunities for future development. • Character is strongly influenced by the underlying geology removed. Section 4 contains a proposed landscape layout for the site and its • Deeply cut dales and gorges, which contrast strongly with the proposed leisure uses. The Planting Plan that has been produced adjoining landscapes of the Dark Peak, South West Peak and 1.2 The site is located within undulating countryside that rises to the for the planning application also sets out the mitigation that can be Derbyshire Peak Fringe west of the site and within the site the land has been graded and re- implemented to reduce any foreseeable impacts and complement the • Very definite nucleated pattern of small rural villages with medieval formed as a result of the quarry extractions. To the east of the site proposals. origins, typically situated at the centre of their former open fields. is a neighbouring working quarry (Dove Holes Quarry) that is visible • Naturally occurring minerals in the limestone from certain locations within the site. The site also contains three main 1.8 The conclusion in Section 5 finds that the proposed development water bodies which are not contaminated. One pool in the south west does not erode the quality of the existing landscape and it could actually portion of the site is host to Great Crested Newts. The craggy cliff faces provide an overall benefit by improving the site with appropriate LOCAL CHARACTER AREA STUDIES that have been formed from the hewn stone are also considered to be landscape mitigation. foraging areas for bats. Further information on ecology can be found A localised study was carried out by High Peak Borough Council, in reports produced by Rachel Hacking Ecology. Access is gained to the published 2006. This study puts the site within the landscape type site from Batham Gate Road. 2.0 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER DESIGNATIONS ‘White Peak Plateau Pastures’. 1.3 This study appraises the existing landscape in terms of value, 2.1 The following documents have been reviewed as part of our WHITE PEAK PLATEAU PASTURES condition and the contribution that the site makes to its character. desktop study, which assists in setting the context for the assessment: It also identifies the opportunities and constraints that will influence Figure 2 shows where the site is located within the landscape character potential future uses for the site. The owner has instructed Mellor • The Character of England Landscape, National Character Area 52: study by High Peak Borough Council. The key characteristics of this Dowd to submit a Planning Application to offer the site over for future White Peak, prepared by Natural England. landscape type are: leisure use on a relatively modest scale. This document also identifies • MAgiC website (Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the • Gently rolling upland plateau . any appropriate landscape measures that can be introduced to mitigate Countryside) prepared by DEFRA and NaturalEngland. • Small blocks of woodland and tree groups around farms and any potential constraints to development and to support the potential • Landscape Character, Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) villages. opportunities. prepared by High Peak Borough Council (Adopted March 2006) • Semi-natural habitats confined to dry stone walls and trees. • Landscape Character Study - The Peak District National Park • Fields enclosed by a regular pattern of dry stone walls. 1.4 The purpose of this appraisal is to inform the development and Authority - 2008 • Network of roads, usually straight, throughout the landscape with siting of the proposed leisure development to ensure minimal impact wide verges. to the surrounding landscape and visual amenity is achieved. The NATIONAL CHARACTER AREA 52–White Peak • A settled landscape with villages, hamlets and isolated farmsteads. appraisal demonstrates that there are no major constraints to this type • The dominant building material is limestone with gritstone detailing. of development and the introduction of the low key leisure activities 2.2 A Character Map of the Peak District National Park divides the have been designed to be sympathetic with the current character of National Park and surrounding area into a series of Regional Character 2.4 A localised study of the area has also been carried out by The Peak landscape. Areas representing broad tracts of landscape which share common District National Park Authority, published in 2008. The most significant characteristics. Within each Regional Character Area a number of section of the document is the area that the site is located in, namely, 1.5 The methodology and approach adopted for this study is akin to Landscape Character Types have been defined based upon the pattern landscape type ‘Limestone Plateau Pastures’. (Figure 4) that used in larger and more detailed studies such as for Landscape of natural and cultural characteristics. The site in Peak Dale is located and Visual Impact Assessments and therefore the baseline study has within the “The White Peak”. The character descriptions within these LIMESTONE PLATEAU PASTURES been progressed in accordance with best practice. A thorough site and documents tend to be very broad as it addresses the characteristics over context analysis was undertaken initially during 2013 and various site a regional level. We have therefore summarised the key characteristics 2.5 This landscape character type is a planned agricultural landscape visits and surveys have been undertaken during 2015 and 2016. below and have focused more on the local character study for the derived from enclosures around and beyond village centres. It is mostly benchmark of the impacts in this appraisal. (See figure 3- Landscape associated with the more gently rolling central and eastern parts of the 1.6 PGLA has carried out a desk research exercise prior to visiting the Character Plan) limestone plateau. The key characteristics of this local character area are: 4 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale KEY CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH Site Boundary District Boundary Settlements Train Line Peak District DOVE National Park HOLES Public Rights of Way Pedestrian Route National Trail PEAK DALE A6 A5004 WORMHILL 0m 500m 1km BUXTON rt Scale 25,000 eprdced r rdnance Sre diital ap data rn cprit All rits resered Licence ner Figure 1 - Site Location with Access and Circulation Landscape and Site Appraisal 5 KEY Site Boundary Peak District National Park Settlements White Peak Plateau Pastures Limestone Dales Dark Peak Moorland Fringe Open Moors Enclosed Moorland Settled Valley Pastures Peak District National Park Peak District National Park 0m 500m 1km rt Scale 25,000 eprdced r rdnance Sre diital ap data Buxton rn cprit All rits resered Licence ner Figure 2 - High Peak Council Landscape Character Areas 6 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale 02 LANDSCAPE CHARACTER DESIGNATIONS KEY Site Boundary Peak District National Park Boundary Regional Character Areas White Peak South West Peak Dark Peak Western Fringe Dark Peak 0m 500m 1km rt Scale 25,000 eprdced r rdnance Sre diital ap data rn cprit All rits resered Licence ner Figure 3 - Peak District National Park Regional Character Areas Landscape and Site Appraisal 7 KEY Site Boundary Peak District National Park Boundary Landscape Character Types Limestone Plateau Pastures Limestone Village farmlands Limestone Hills and Slopes Limestone Dales Moorland Hills and Ridges