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 onthe 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 andits • 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

BUXTON rt Scale 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

rt Scale 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

rt Scale 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

Open Moorland

Wooded Slopes and Valleys

Valley Pastures with Industry

Enclosed Gritstone Upland

rt Scale eprdced r rdnance Sre diital ap data rn cprit All rits resered Licence ner

Figure 4 - Peak District Landscape Character Types 8 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale • A rolling upland plateau KEY • Pastoral farmland enclosed by limestone walls Site Boundary Combs Reservoir (SSSI) • A regular pattern of small to medium sized rectangular fields Peak District National • Localised field ponds Park Boundary • Open character Sites of Special • Tree cover is largely restricted to discrete groups of trees, often around Scientific Interest (SSSI) Lee Farm farmsteads IsolatedMeadow stone farmsteads (SSSI) and field barns National Nature • In places, larger coverts and occasional belts of sycamore, beech or ash Reserve (NNR) Promontory fort on trees. Combs Edge Bull Ring henge Environmentally • Relict lead mining and quarrying remains Sensitive Area • Prehistoric monuments, often on hilltops Monument • Open views to surrounding higher ground • Stock proof fencing and deteriorating hedgerow • Loss of some semi-natural vegetation: ancient woodland, semi-natural Monks Dale (SSSI) grasslands and heathland Derbyshire Dales National HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL DESIGNATIONS Nature Reserve (NNR) 2.5 Figure 5 shows the locations of the sites of historical, cultural and Lady Low barrow environmental importance in the locality. The landscapes around Dove Duchy Quarry (SSSI) Holes and Peak Forest are exceptional for the large number of early industrial limekilns and shallow quarries, dating from the 17th to the early 19th centuries. Bowl barrow on Withery Low DUCHY QUARRY SSSI

2.6 The rock faces and outcrops within this site provide excellent exposures of limestone layers formed about 335 million years ago. This is a nationally important, early Carboniferous, geological locality.

Bowl barrows on Bole Hill BOWL BARROW ON WITHERY LOW

2.7 The monument includes the north-eastern of a pair of barrows. Bowl barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to Standing cross the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400- Waterswallows Quarry 1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes (SSSI) ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods.

THEDerbyshire DERBYSHIRE Dales DALES National NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE Nature Reserve (NNR) 2.8 The Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve is a series of unconnected limestone dales in the Peak District National Park. The reserve consists mainly of limestone grassland, scrub and valley woodlands. Other habitats

include hay meadows, streams and dew ponds, scree, acid grassland and Topley Pike and rt small areas of ‘limestone heath’. Monks Dale SSSI is lies withing the National Scale Deepdale (SSSI) eprdced r rdnance Sre diital ap data Nature Reserve. The White Peak of Derbyshire and Staffordshire is one of rn cprit All rits resered Lismore Fields MesolithicLicence ner the most important masses of carboniferous limestone in Britain. and Neolithic settlement Figure 5 - Historical and Cultural Designations Landscape and Site Appraisal 9 KEY 03 EXISTING SITE - OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS Site Boundary

KEY Access Point Site Boundary

Trees Access Point

Trees Ponds Views Over Site Over Views

Ponds Rock Face GCN Great Crested Newts

Views over surrounding Rock Face countryside Calcareous Grassland

Grassland Continuous Scrubland Dirt Tracks Gravel Access Tracks Views Birch Views towards Views Dove Holes Quarry Sycamore DALE ROAD Steep Sloping Land Steep Sloping Land

Sycamore Ash Willow Topography Topography Rowan Possible Secondary High level High level Access Point Medium Level Medium Level

Low Level Sycamore Sycamore Willow Ash Low Level Rowan Views towards Dove Holes Quarry Sycamore

Primary Access Point

Intermittent Hedge BATHAM GATE ROAD

Views towards GCN Dove Holes Quarry

Figure 6 - Site Appraisal - Existing Features and Opportunities and Constraints (2013) -Not To Scale

10 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale 3.0 EXISTING SITE - OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

3.1 The site is visually well contained and is bound to the south by Batham Gate Road and Dale Road to the east. The western boundary is higher than the majority of the site and leads to recreational playing fields. A public footpath travels in parallel to western boundary and is marked on Figure 1 Access and Circulation. The northern boundary is demarcated by a post and wire fence that separates the site from the grazing grasslands of the adjacent agricultural land.

3.2 The periphery of the site has maintained the original levels but internally the site has been artificially lowered as a result of the previous Figure 7 - View looking eastwards across site use as a quarry. Water bodies have formed in the lower portions of the site indicating that the excavations and extractions have occurred below the natural water table. Steep embankments and sheer rock faces form the edges to some of the pools. There are a number of raised landform profiles that have resulted from quarrying and also shaped for use in the redundant motorcycle track activities.

3.3 There are stands of dense trees and understorey planting along the southern boundary that forms an effective screen to the road, however, this is intermittent in places and vehicles can be seen passing by from within the site. Secondary regeneration has occurred throughout the undisturbed portions of the site as well as the rock faces. The species are predominately Figure 8 - View looking south across site willow and sycamore with some ash and rowan.

3.4 The site is visually exposed from the eastern edge and the neighbouring working Dove Holes Quarry is visible from many locations within the site, however, the design proposals include reforming the land profile and introducing tree and understorey planting along the eastern boundary to help screen the view of the quarry from any potential leisure development, See Indicative Landscape Sections drawing submitted with the Planning Application. The suggested native species would reflect that whichis existing on site and within in the wider landscape. Suitable species would be field maple, birch, rowan, willow, hazel and hawthorn and other native species, see Planting Plan and Schedule submitted with the Planning Application for more detail. Figure 9 - View looking westwards across site 3.5 Re-modelling the landform within the quarry site will help screen the adjacent quarry and also to create parcels for the proposed future uses, such as camping and also fishing with associated lodges set into a gentle sloping hillside. The waterbodies could also be reformed to create naturalistic pools to complement the landform. Water treatment could be introduced to create suitable habitats for fish and other wildlife and flora.

3.6 The site has the potential for increasing biodiversity and habitat creation and it is anticipated that eco-trails will be introduced to offer interest and provide habitat interpretation for those staying at the campsite. The trail could also link to the public footpath network and in by so doing extend the provision to the general public. Figure 10 - View looking north across site

Landscape and Site Appraisal 11 04 POTENTIAL LEISURE OPPORTUNITIES

1 Entrance 9 Dog Off Lead Area 1 Entrance 9 Dog Off Lead Area 16 16 2 Proposed Management Building 10 New Woodland Planting 2 Proposed Management Building 10 New Woodland Planting

3 Shower Toilet and Wash Facilities 11 Proposed Path/Cycle Route 3 Shower Toilet and Wash Facilities 11 Proposed Path/Cycle Route 11 11 4 Fishing Lakes with jettys 12 Pond to be retained and fenced 4off Fishing Lakes with jettys 12 Pond to be retained and fenced off

5 Caravan Plots with geogrid 13 Reed Bed 5 Caravan Plots with geogrid 13 Reed Bed surfacing and divided by hedges surfacing and divided by hedges 6 Glamping area with pods/lodges 14 Boardwalk 6 Glamping area with pods/lodges 14 Boardwalk

9 9 7 Picnic Area 15 Camping area for tents 7 Picnic Area 15 Camping area for tents 8 Parking 16 Supplementary woodland planting8 Parking 16 Supplementary woodland planting to be incorporated at future stages to be incorporated at future stages DALE ROAD DALE ROAD

10 10 14 14

5 5 5 5

8 8

15 15

4 4 Red Line Site Application Boundary Red Line Site Application Boundary

16 5 16 6 5 6

7 6 7 6

2 2 15 14 15 14 8 8 6 4 6 4

5 5

13 13 1 1

11 11 11 11 5 5

3 3

229 Ducie House 229 Ducie House 5 5 t 0161 238 9138 t 0161 238 9138 Ducie Street Ducie Street e [email protected] e [email protected] w pgla.co.uk Manchester w pgla.co.uk Manchester BATHAM GATE ROAD BATHAM GATE ROAD M1 2JW M1 2JW Project Title Project Title 11 7 11 Proposed Development 7 Proposed Development 12 12 Wainwrights Quarry, Wainwrights Quarry, Peakdale Peakdale Job Ref. Job Ref. WAI1309 WAI1309

Client Client W Bagshawe W Bagshawe

Drawing Number Revision Drawing Number Revision WAI1309_L01 - WAI1309_L01 -

Drawing Title Drawing Title

0m 10m 20m 30m 40m 50m 0m 10m 20m 30m 40m 50m Indicative Landscape Layout Indicative Landscape Layout

North North Scale 1:1000 Scale 1:1000 Scale Date Scale Date Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data © Crown Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data © Crown 1:1000 at A1 March 2016 1:1000 at A1 March 2016 copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Licence number 0100031673 Figure 11 - Indicativecopyright 2016. All rightsLandscape reserved. Licence number 0100031673 Layout4 , Not to Scale 4 4 4 12 Wainwrights Quarry, Peak Dale 05 CONCLUSIONS

4.0 POTENTIAL LANDSCAPE STRATEGY AND LEISURE OPPORTUNITIES 5.0 CONCLUSIONS

5.1 The Landscape and Site Appraisal has demonstrated that the - Remodel landform to create development parcels proposed development comprising of fishing lakes with associated camping for tents, pods and tourers will not be detrimental to the - Retain existing pools and introduce fish with lodges on eastern bank character and appearance of the existing landscape character.

- Introduce native planting to eastern boundary to screen quarry 5.2 The study has demonstrated that the site is set in a fairly concealed position and is actually well screened by the topography - Use existing access and internal roads for circulation with reception of the existing landform and existing mature vegetation within the / office at entry point with possible parking and drop off area for surrounding landscape. The existing quarry site is scarred by the campers to reduce vehicular access to the majority of the site. recent use of the motorcycle club activities and is both visually and ecologically poor in its offer. - Create areas for tourers with permeable plastic paving grids (See images below) and grass areas for camping with centralised wash 5.3 The proposed options have demonstrated that the character of and shower block. the landscape can be restored and enhanced whilst also providing a centre for low key leisure activities, such as camping and fishing. - Introduce ‘eco-trail’ as to ecologist recommendations including The site can become entirely visually contained with supplementary historic information relating to sites previous use. native planting. As a result of these activities the site can be vastly improved to increase the biological diversity and general appearance - Create central informal open space and points of interest around of the area within a sensitive landscape location. the site.

- Informal fishing in the lakes.

- Set development within substantial landscape framework to retain visual enclosure. Introduce native planting to reflect landscape character.

Landscape and Site Appraisal 13 Produced by:

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229 Ducie House Ducie Street Manchester M1 2JW

( 0161 238 9138 * [email protected] 8 www. pgla.co.uk