Bracknell Forest Borough Landscape Character Assessment Final Report Prepared by LUC September 2015 Project Title: Bracknell Forest Borough Landscape Character Assessment Client: Bracknell Forest Council Version Date Version Details Prepared by Checked by Approved by V1 31/3/2015 Draft Report for Rebecca Knight RK RK consultation Lucy Key Kate Anderson Mary Jansson V2 24/7/2015 Final Draft Kate Anderson RK RK V3 14/9/2015 Final Report Rebecca Knight KA RK Landscape Character Assessment for Bracknell Forest Borough Last saved: 14/09/2015 12:24 Bracknell Forest Borough Landscape Character Assessment Final Report Prepared by LUC September 2015 Planning & EIA LUC LONDON Offices also in: Land Use Consultants Ltd Registered in England Design 43 Chalton Street Bristol Registered number: 2549296 Landscape Planning London Glasgow Registered Office: Landscape Management NW1 1JD Edinburgh 43 Chalton Street Ecology T +44 (0)20 7383 5784 London NW1 1JD FS 566056 EMS 566057 LUC uses 100% recycled paper Mapping & Visualisation [email protected] Contents PART 1: OVERVIEW 1 1. Introduction and Landscape Context 2 Background & Purpose of the Landscape Character Assessment 2 Context 2 Relationship to Published Landscape Studies 3 2. Methodology 5 Approach 5 3. The Evolution of the Bracknell Forest Landscape 9 Geological and Physical Evolution 9 The Cultural Evolution of the Landscape 11 4. Landscape Classification 17 PART 2: THE LANDSCAPE CHARACTER OF BRACKNELL FOREST 20 5. Landscape Type A Forested Sands 21 Landscape Character Area A1: Bracknell Forest 22 6. Landscape Character Type B Heathland Mosaic 29 Landscape Character Area B1: Crowthorne/ Sandhurst Heathland Mosaic 30 7. Landscape Character Type C: Clay Farmland 37 Landscape Character Area C1 Binfield and Warfield Clay Farmland 38 Evaluation 42 Landscape Character Area C2 Winkfield and Cranbourne Clay Farmland 46 Description of character 48 8. Landscape Character Type D: Wooded Clayland 53 Landscape Character Area D1 The Hazes Wooded Clayland 54 9. Landscape Character Type E: River Valley 59 Landscape Character Area E1: Blackwater River Valley 60 10. Landscape Character Type F: Settled Wooded Sands 66 Landscape Character Area F1: Chavey Down Wooded Sands 67 Description of character 69 11. Landscape Character Type G Wooded Estates 73 Landscape Character Area G1: Easthampstead Wooded Estate 74 Landscape Character Area G2 Sunninghill Wooded Estate 80 12. Landscape Character Type H: Wooded Parkland 85 Landscape Character Area H1: Windsor Great Park 86 Landscape Character Area H2: Windsor Forest 91 Appendix 1 Glossary of Terms 96 Appendix 2 Bibliography and References 101 Appendix 3 Field Survey Sheet 103 Appendix 4 Consultation 108 Appendix 5 User Guide 112 Figures Figure 1.1 Location plan Figure 1.2 Landscape character context Figure 1.3 Neighbouring character areas Figure 3.1 Bedrock geology Figure 3.2 Superficial geology Figure 3.3 Agricultural Land Classification Figure 3.4 Topography and drainage Figure 3.5 Habitat types Figure 3.6 Woodland and trees Figure 3.7 Nature conservation designations Figure 3.8 Cultural heritage designations Figure 4.1 Landscape classification PART 1: OVERVIEW 1 1. Introduction and Landscape Context Background & Purpose of the Landscape Character Assessment 1.1 LUC was commissioned in January 2015 to review and update Bracknell Forest Council’s landscape evidence base. This included a requirement to update1 the Borough’s Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), produced in 2002 by Babtie, and incorporating information from subsequent landscape studies2 to provide a comprehensive and up to date landscape character assessment for all land outside defined settlements (as defined in the Adopted Policies Map, 20133). 1.2 The LCA for Bracknell Forest will form part of the evidence base for the Borough’s emerging Local Plan, and future Supplementary Planning Documents. It is intended to provide a sound evidence base to inform work on policy development and development management, guiding development and land management that is sympathetic to local character and special qualities of the Borough, including encouraging the protection and enhancement of valued landscapes in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework4. It is also intended to promote an understanding of how the landscapes of the Borough are changing (as a result of a combination of natural, economic and human factors), and how they can be strengthened in response. 1.3 This report is set out in two parts. Part 1 provides an overview, comprising four sections: • Section 1 provides the context to this study and its relationship to other published landscape studies • Section 2 presents the methodology and approach to the study • Section 3 presents the physical and cultural evolution of the Bracknell Forest landscape • Section 4 introduces the landscape classification 1.4 Part 2 of the report presents the landscape character of Bracknell Forest in detail by character type. 1.5 The report is supported by five appendices: • Appendix 1 provides a glossary of terms • Appendix 2 includes the bibliography and references • Appendix 3 presents a sample of the field survey sheet • Appendix 4 presents the comments made during the consultation and our responses to these • Appendix 5 presents a ‘User Guide’ which is designed for both developers and decision-makers to help them consider landscape character when planning any type of change outside urban areas Context 1.6 Bracknell Forest Borough covers an area of 10,941 hectares (42.2 square miles) in East Berkshire (see site location plan in Figure 1.1). To the north and east of the borough lies the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, to the west is Wokingham Borough, to the south-west Hart 1 Since this is an update of an earlier report it contains information from the Babtie Report where this is still relevant. 2 Bracknell Forest Borough Council Landscape Analysis of Sites Allocations and an Assessment of Gaps/Green Wedges (2006) by Entec UK Ltd; Character Areas Assessment SPD (March 2010) by Tibbalds and Kirkham Landscape Planning Ltd; Strategic Housing Site Options Landscape Capacity Study (April 2010) by Kirkham Landscape Planning Ltd. 3 Site Allocations Local Plan, 2013, Bracknell Forest 4 National Planning Policy Framework, DCLG, 2012, paragraph 109 2 Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham Bracknell Forest Surrey Heath District Hart District 0 1 2 E km Bracknell Forest - Landscape Borough boundary Character Assessment County Figure 1.1 Berkshire Location Hampshire Surrey Map Scale @ A4: 1:85,000 © Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey 100019488 CB:Green_C EB:Green_C LUCGLA 6323-01_010_Location_Plan 20/07/2015 District and to the south-east lies Surrey Heath Borough. Approximately thirty percent of the land area in Bracknell Forest is built up, the remainder is predominantly agriculture and forestry (approximately a quarter is registered as agricultural holdings and a fifth is forest, with the large Crown Estate woodland in the east of the borough covering about 10% of the land area). 2.5% of the area is managed as country parks and open space. The Green Belt covers 35% of the land area of the borough - this designation serves a strategic role by checking the unrestricted sprawl of London and preventing neighbouring towns from merging with one another. It aims to keep land permanently open and protect the rural and undeveloped character of land 12 - 15 miles from the outer edge of London. The boundary was first formally identified in the Central Berkshire Structure Plan in 1980. 1.7 The main settlements within the borough comprise the central town of Bracknell; the urbanised communities of Sandhurst and Crowthorne to the south; and the communities of Binfield, Warfield and Winkfield in the northern part of the borough, as well as smaller scattered hamlets, residences and farms. 1.8 The main railway line from Reading to London Waterloo runs through the borough, serving Bracknell and Martins Heron stations, while the Reading to Guildford line runs through Sandhurst and Crowthorne. 1.9 The M4 and M3 Motorways run to the north and south respectively, providing routes to London, Heathrow airport, and the south west of England and Wales. The A329(M) runs from the M4 to the centre of Bracknell. The A3095, A322 and A329 emerge from the ring road and connect with Camberley, Bagshot and Ascot respectively. Smaller roads form a distributary network within the borough. 1.10 A network of Rights of Way cross open fields, heath lands and woodlands. Many of the large areas of heathland and woodland have open access, although there are restrictions around the firing ranges and many areas of Crown Estate forest which is only accessible via permit. 1.11 Most of the agricultural holdings in Bracknell Forest are relatively small, less than 20 hectares, although there are a few with land holdings in excess of 100 hectares. More than half of the agricultural properties are farmed on a part time basis. Relationship to Published Landscape Studies 1.12 Landscape does not stop at administrative boundaries but continues seamlessly into surrounding Boroughs. Therefore an aim of this LCA update was to join up with surrounding authorities’ LCAs, and to nest within existing regional and national assessments. Existing assessments are as follows: National Level 1.13 National Character Area Study, Natural England (2013) - NCAs divide England into 159 distinct natural areas. Each is defined by a unique combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity, history, and cultural and economic activity. Their boundaries follow natural lines in the landscape rather than administrative boundaries. Two occur partly within the present study area, these are the NCA 115 Thames Valley and NCA 129 Thames Basin Heaths. These broad areas form the highest level of LCA across the study area and are illustrated in Figure 1.2. County Level 1.14 The Berkshire Landscape Character Assessment5 was undertaken to broaden the understanding of the Berkshire landscape and aid the Berkshire Joint Strategic Planning Unit in formulating development plan policy and targeting future management initiatives.