Land at Woodhead Road, , Landscape & Visual Appraisal

June 2015

Cookson & Tickner Ltd, 5 South Terrace, Bristol BS6 6TG www.cooksonandtickner.co.uk

Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...... 1 2. Assessment of Landscape Effects ...... 2 Baseline Conditions ...... 2 Appraisal by Sub Site ...... 14 G8 ...... 14 G9 ...... 14 G10 ...... 15 G11 ...... 15 3. Assessment of Visual Effects ...... 16 Visual Receptors ...... 16 Visual Baseline (receptors likely to be affected by development) ...... 16 Viewpoints ...... 18 Appraisal by Sub Site ...... 22 G8 ...... 22 G9 ...... 22 G10 ...... 22 G11 ...... 23 4. Conclusions ...... 24

1. Introduction

1.1 Cookson and Tickner has been commissioned by Mel Morris Conservation to prepare a Landscape & Visual Appraisal for four housing allocation sites at Woodhead Road, Glossop. The total site covers an area of 7.8ha with a proposed capacity of 121 houses although details of any layout or design parameters are unknown. 1.2 Deborah Evans visited the site and conducted a site survey on Friday 22nd May 2015, when the weather was overcast with intermittent light rain.

PURPOSE AND FORMAT OF THIS REPORT 1.3 The purpose of this report is a Landscape and Visual Appraisal of a housing allocation site at Woodhead Road, Glossop, which has been completed in accordance with the Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Third Edition (Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment, 2013). 1.4 The report is set out under the following headings: Chapter 2: Assessment of Landscape Effects Chapter 3: Assessment of Visual Effects, including viewpoints Chapter 4: Conclusions

2. Assessment of Landscape Effects

2.1 This chapter provides an assessment of landscape effects by describing the baseline conditions, which includes analysis of landscape character, historic significance and a detailed description of the current landscape, before describing the likely landscape effects arising from the development.

THE ALLOCATION SITE

2.2 The allocation site lies directly northwest of Old Glossop, bound on the west by the Woodhead Road (B6105), on the south by Church Street, the east by the stream, Beeley Clough and Thorpe Street and to the north by woodland and a lane associated with Laneside Farm. The site is split into four sub- sites: G8 (north), G9 and G10 (west and centre) and G11 (east). A public footpath, Backsitch, doglegs across the centre of the site from west to east following the northern edge of G9 and G11. Detached properties set in large gardens occur along the western side of G10, while a remodelled historic terrace and recent new build, Beeley House, stand to the south and north of the footpath respectively at its eastern end.

Plan of the allocation sites

BASELINE CONDITIONS

Landscape context

National Landscape Context 2.3 The allocation site falls within National Landscape Character Area 54, Pennine Fringe, which is described as the transitional zone between the open moorlands of the and South Pennines and the densely populated urban conurbation of Manchester. The area wraps around

Manchester from Bolton in the north-west to the edge of Hazel Grove in the east, and includes the industrial towns of Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Dukinfield and Glossop. 2.4 The most relevant key characteristics identified within the NCA profile include: • Transitional zone between elevated, open moorlands and densely populated urban areas on lower ground. • Landform is a transition from upland to lowland, with smooth shoulders of land divided by steep- sided valleys with fast-flowing rivers. • Elevated vantage points provide extensive views across the adjacent Manchester Conurbation NCA. • Fringe area underlain by the Carboniferous Coal Measures rising to the north and east, into the Carboniferous Millstone Grit uplands. • Woodland cover is characterised by a range of woodland types concentrated along river valleys, as well as some newer community woodlands in the urban areas. • Field boundaries include dry ‘gritstone’ walls at higher elevations and hedgerows at lower elevations. • Limited semi-natural habitats include broadleaved mixed and yew woodland, lowland dry acid grassland, lowland meadows, lowland heathland, and purple moor-grass and rush pasture, which are often fragmented. • Extensive evidence of 18th- and 19th-century stone and brick-built industrial buildings, including mill lodges and reservoirs originating from the woollen and cotton industries. • Much of the countryside is influenced by recreational use from adjacent urban areas and the diversification of farmland, giving the area a distinct urban fringe character.

The National Park 2.5 The National Park arcs around Glossop, its boundary lying within 300m of the allocation site at its closest point at Cat Wood, northeast of G8. This proximity is accentuated by the rise in ground level from c. 200m AOD to c. 240m AOD. 2.6 The Peak District National Park forms the majority of the adjacent NCA area 51 Dark Peak, a landscape of large-scale sweeping moorlands, in-bye pastures enclosed by dry stone walls, and gritstone settlements, within the Pennine chain, which forms the wider setting of Glossop and the allocation site.

County Landscape Assessment 2.7 The allocation site lies within the area of Settled Valley Pastures identified in High Peak Borough Council’s adopted Landscape Character, Supplementary Planning Document SPD5, 2006. Key landscape characteristics associated with this landscape type include: • Moderate to steep lower valley slopes dissected by stream valleys. • Poorly draining soils over carboniferous shale and sandstone. • Wooded character associated with tree belts along streams and cloughs, scattered hedgerow trees and tree groups around settlement and farmsteads. • Small, irregular fields enclosed by mixed species hedgerows and occasional dry stone walls. • Network of winding lanes with irregular verges, sometimes sunken on steeper slopes. • Enclosed landscape with views filtered by trees. 2.8 The assessment describes Settled Valley Pastures as containing scattered farmsteads outside the compact settlements. This is a pastoral landscape with permanent improved pasture which gives way higher up the slopes to poorer grazing where the ecological value is greater. The landscape has a

strong network of winding lanes and roads and railways along the lower slopes above the floodplain. This is a well-wooded landscape with wooded cloughs around tributary valleys and hedgerows with some hedgerow trees which define irregular fields. Amenity tree groups are associated with settlements and there is woodland along the roads and railway lines. As with the field boundaries, the woodland often has irregular outlines.

Historic landscape context 2.9 The majority of the allocation area is not covered by designations; however, sub site G11 falls within the Old Glossop Conservation Area. 2.10 Two grade II listed buildings stand adjacent to the allocation site, the Roman Catholic church of All Saints to the south and Laneside Farm, a model farm, to the north.

Significance of the landscape 2.11 It is suggested1 that the origins of the allocation site lies in an oval, open field associated with the Anglo Saxon settlement of Glossop, which stood near the site of present day Castle Hill. The land stood between two main routes, which connected Glossop to the northwest and north, the northwest route and early representation of Church Street being recorded on a county map of 1791.

Detail of Burdett’s county map of 1791

2.12 The first detailed map evidence of the site is found on a Poor Law map of 1857, which reflects the perceived boundary of the earlier field, by now subdivided into a series of small fields and bisected along its western area by the Manchester – Saltersbrook Turnpike (modern B6105). This map records a general landscape arrangement, which survives largely unchanged today. The Roman Catholic church, associated presbytery and school are recorded, as is a path connecting the church and school. A group of cottages is shown at the north end of Thorpe Street, later consolidated into a single dwelling, and a single detached property is shown on the east side of the toll road, plot 546, which is today No. 48, Woodhead Road. Buildings are also recorded in the vicinity of the later ‘model’ Laneside Farm, the present farm cottages, with a dammed waterbody in the clough to the

1 Local historian Roger Hargreaves as per coms

east. The northwest extent of Backsitch path is also shown but appears to continue south off its present alignment to meet a central field boundary before continuing east along the established path.

Detail of the Poor Law map, 1857

2.13 By 1888 the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey records a consolidation of this layout with minor changes to the field boundaries and the establishment of the surviving line of Backsitch path. Trees are also shown, unlike on the Poor Law map, and record evidence of ornamental planting as conifers along Beeley Clough following the removal of the waterbody. A small fenced clump of trees is also shown immediately north of the school, with a second clump being recorded outside the site to the west of the toll road. In contrast very few trees are shown along the toll road or within the village edge to the southeast of the site. However, an ornamental landscape is clearly recorded around the Catholic church (described as chapel) and presbytery, which includes a garden enclosure to the west with a central path leading to the field edge. Tree planting is also recorded in the garden of today’s No. 48, Woodhead Road. While the landscape clearly records an agricultural purpose, the presence of footpaths and ornamental planting within the clough, and in association with the specific developments around its perimeter, suggests an appreciation of the landscape as an amenity to be enjoyed in the act of travelling through or besides it and in views to be experienced from the different dwellings.

Detail of the 1888 Ordnance Survey

2.14 The Ordnance Survey of 1921 records an additional complexity within the landscape with the addition of the model farm at Laneside. These buildings, particularly the tall and ornate dovecote, became eyecatchers within the views from within the site and the local area. Together with the bell- cote of the Catholic church and spire of the Anglican church, the dovecote established a new set of relationships across the landscape contributing to a perception of an ornamental landscape, with more in common with the established Manor Park to the south than to the upland pastures to the north of the farm.

Detail of the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey

2.15 The allocation site forms the immediate setting of a group of designated heritage assets, listed buildings and the conservation area, and while it can be described as the setting of these assets the historic evolution of the site suggests that in itself the landscape is of local significance and could be considered a heritage asset within the definition of the National Planning Policy Framework. The landscape is significant as it retains a layout largely unchanged since at least 1857 and reflects an aesthetic untypical of farmland in its ornamental planting, ornamented boundaries (which include iron railings) and in the relationship between ornamental buildings within it.

The current landscape 2.16 The current character of the land within the allocation site is that of undulating farmland which rises to the north and northwest with noticeably steep slopes to the east of Woodhead Road. The ground rises from c.160m AOD in the southeast to c. 200m AOD at Laneside Farm. The main watercourse within the site is Beeley Clough with a secondary field drain demarking an internal field boundary immediately to its west. The clough was fast flowing at the time of the survey, running through a partly designed channel in the woodland before becoming a meandering stream to the west of Thorpe Street. Further drains occur throughout the site and include a channel running parallel to the north side of the footpath. The well-used footpath, Backsitch, creates a strong diagonal across the landscape, which effectively splits the site into a north and southern area. The path runs through relic

hedgerows with some large gaps now defined by boundary trees, post and wire fence and short lengths of iron railing, giving a progressive experience of enclosure and exposure to the landscape.

Backsitch in the northwest Backsitch in the east

2.17 The site retains a distinct internal layout of small fields bound by relic hawthorn and holly hedges and, predominately, post and wire fencing which is occasionally reinforced with sheets of corrugated iron. Two derelict sheds or shelters stand south of the footpath. Trees, including oak and alder, occur along the field boundaries and footpath but the land is open in character with expansive views to the surrounding landscape including the National Park. The land is noticeably wet with large areas of soft or common rush, which together with the fencing and sheds, contribute an unkempt character particularly to the land south of the footpath. In contrast, land to the north of the footpath has a more ornamental character through the aesthetic contribution of the decorative dovecote of Laneside Farm and its associated ornamented woodland. The woodland contains beech, purple beech and Scots pine, in addition to oak and more recent naturally regenerated ash and sycamore, which bounds the site to the northeast along Beeley Clough. The sections of ornamental iron fence, which survive along the north side of the footpath also suggest a conscious landscape composition in at least this part of the site.

Relic iron fencing to the north of the footpath A field shelter in the southern area of the sites

2.18 The site retains a strong rural character despite its proximity to the northern edge of Glossop and traffic movements along the busy Woodhead Road. Land beyond the site to the west below Mouselow Castle and east towards Shire Hall Hospital share common characteristics with the site in terms of scale and general form. Each of these open areas contributes to a mid-ground mosaic of fields and woodland, which surrounds Glossop before ascending into the upland landscape of heath, moor and forestry of the National Park.

View northwest with Backsitch in the mid ground View looking south from the northern end of the site

2.19 Housing around the perimeter of the site along Woodhead Road and Thorpe Street is well cared for with maintained gardens. Even land besides Beeley Clough to the west of Thorpe Street is ‘gardened’ with the addition of cottage garden plants to the waterside and boundary walls. The grandeur of the Catholic church, within its own ornamental landscape setting of formal tree planting and lawn, adds to this genteel character.

Description of the landscape character of the site within the conservation area 2.20 The sub site G11 falls within the conservation area of Old Glossop, which includes three fields to the west of the clough, forming the setting of buildings along Thorpe Street and the All Saints Catholic Primary School. This land retains a distinctly domestic character in relationship to the cottages on Thorpe Street in its scale, the strong visual connection between them and in surviving accesses opposite the cottages. This arrangement contrasts strongly with the open, grazed land rising to the northwest. The boundary of the conservation area within the site appears arbitrary, informed by the convenience of the historic field pattern rather than by a full understanding of the relationship of Old Glossop to the local landscape. 2.21 The landscape is characterised by a shallow but broad valley alongside the Beeley Clough, which descends through the ground as a meandering and open stream cut deeply into the landscape. The land has the appearance of a small, rough hay meadow with a high occurrence of garden plants, which have escaped from local gardens. Few trees occur within the immediate area apart from the relic clump, being either self-set ash and sycamore, or willow occurring close to garden boundaries. 2.22 The land is bound along the east by a low dry stone wall set with timber foot and farm gates. Traditional stone gate posts survive in the wall. Plants have established within the wall and contribute to a domestic character, which contrasts with the west land boundary, which is a post and wire fence. All of these features have a worn but not displeasing character, which adds to the richly textured experience of the immediate landscape. 2.23 A relic track appears to connect Thorpe Street with the land, crossing the clough on a narrow land bridge. The track is read as a slight depression in the landscape.

View south from the north of the conservation area View from Thorpe Street northwest over land within the site and conservation area

The contribution of trees to the character of the conservation area 2.24 Old Glossop Conservation Area is characterised by a high percentage of tree cover, the majority of planting occurring within the Victorian Manor Park to the south of the allocation site. The north boundary of the park is heavily wooded with a mix of historic lime and beech trees now augmented by naturally regenerated ash and sycamore. The park creates a distinct wooded backdrop to the northern area of the conservation area, notably Church and Thorpe streets, and screens off views of central Glossop to the south. The density of this wooded edge means that this screen would continue to be experienced during the winter months following leaf fall, creating a perception of separation between the historic centre and the industrial town. 2.25 The conservation area is also well planted outside the park with mature and semi-mature trees characterising the grounds of higher status buildings. As such, naturally regenerated trees create shade, and significant ground disturbance, in the Anglican church yard to the east, while an ornamental walk of pleached lime trees leads to the east door of the Roman Catholic church. A small triangle of lime and sycamore also separate the Catholic primary school from the busy roads beyond. 2.26 Three fields, including sub site G11, form the northwestern extent of the conservation area and although primarily farmland, trees occur along the field boundaries and most notably as the relic clump, now a group of three, to the northwest of the school, which are recorded on the 1888 Ordnance Survey and contribute an ornamental character to the farmland. 2.27 Outgrown but historically managed hedgerows also contribute to the character of the conservation area. Site evidence records a holly hedge surrounded the grounds of the Catholic church with a mixed holly and hawthorn hedge bounding the path between the church and the school. However, more recent hedges planted around No. 63 Thorpe Street create strong and discordant boundaries of mixed beech and conifer within the dominant and rural character of the edge of the conservation area, which contrasts with the use of native field maple along the eastern section of Backsitch footpath.

Trees screening the school from Church Street A mixed hedgerow within the conservation area

Summary assessment of the historic landscape character of the allocation site within the setting of the conservation area 2.28 The historic landscape character of the allocation site within the setting of the conservation area is determined by its degree of survival – which is high. The landscape retains a clear sense of the arrangement recorded on the 1888 Ordnance Survey, with many of the field boundary trees and hedges surviving together with Backsitch path. The landscape clearly reflects the small irregular fields, field drains, mixed species hedgerows, dry stone walls and pockets of woodland common throughout the local landscape, which evidence its past use. However, much of the detail of the historic landscape is deteriorating but not to the point where it could not be restored. Field boundaries are increasingly indistinct as walls and hedges are removed and even stretches of post and wire appear poorly maintained. Field trees, and to a lesser extent the woodland in the clough, are reliant on natural regeneration for succession rather than replanting. The hedgerows too while evidencing historic management are increasingly tall and gappy and few of the field drains appear to be actively managed, contributing to the wet ground although associated stone drains and culverts survive. 2.29 The greatest change within the setting of the conservation area has been increased development along Woodhead Road, where in filling has created linear development to the north and south of No. 48, the oldest grit stone house on the east side of the road. Similarly, the construction of Beeley House to the north of the conservation area has introduced new development into the landscape extending the line of Thorpe Street. Although outside of the allocation site, the impact of development between the Catholic school and church has similarly eroded the immediate and historic connection between Church Street and the landscape. 2.30 Site survey has shown that the historic landscape held ornamental purpose, this enhancement possibly being contemporary to the building of the model farm in c. 1920. The relic iron railings along Backsitch may date from this period, as do the purple beech within Beeley Clough, although the Scots pine and beech appear older and very likely the trees recorded in 1888.

Key characteristics

• An area of pasture with pockets of woodland and relic hedgerows on northern edge of the settlement creating a landscape buffer between the conservation area and green belt. • The centre of Glossop is screened to the south by Manor Park. However, development is present around the southeast, south and west edges of the site as small terraced cottages or fragmented development composed of detached houses in large gardens. Houses along the Woodhead Road are raised on account of the topography but also to enjoy views over the site.

• Four vertical structures, the bell-cote of the Catholic church, the Anglican church spire, the dovecote and Mouselow Castle mast dominate the immediate landscape, while the largest buildings close to the site are the school and Catholic church. • A single footpath crosses the site offering a series of open and closed spatial experiences affected by topography and surviving hedgerows. • The landscape has an unkempt character to the south of the path with redundant sheds, agricultural equipment and in-filled fence lines.

Hydrology

• The site is wet with springs rising along the contours and draining southeast. • Soft rush is common throughout the site. • Beeley Clough runs inside the east boundary of the site flowing through a narrow, wooded valley near Laneside Farm before changing to a fast flowing but open and meandering stream through the cottage land parcels to the north of the school. • A secondary drain acts as a internal field boundary within the east of the site and a third drain runs parallel to the north side of the footpath (a stone culvert taking the water under the path near its east end).

Vegetation patterns

• The site is notable for the retention of historic field patterns which are generally rectangular in form and small i.e. no more than two acres in size. The fields are enclosed by relic hawthorn or holly hedges or by post and wire fence in variable states of repair. • Trees, predominately oak, alder and ash, survive along the field boundaries. These trees include those, which appear on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey, such as a group of ash to the north of the school. While many of these trees are mature, natural regeneration is also common which suggests that similar trees will be retained in the landscape after their loss, sustaining the landscape character. • The site is notable for the established woodland, which follows the line of the clough to the east of Laneside Farm. The woodland is predominantly oak but includes beech, purple beech and Scots pine with a dominant understorey of rhododendron and holly. The rhododendron includes ornamental varieties. • More recent planting has also occurred along the lane to Laneside Farm on the south face of a bund erected to screen a new agricultural building from the foothpath and land to the south.

View towards Beeley Clough with ornamental conifers Pale pink Rhododendron hybrid in Beeley Clough

Seasonal effects

• The woodland and field trees are predominately broadleaf, leading to an increase in indirect and filtered views during wintertime.

Character

• The landscape can be described as intimate in its scale and individual components: it is contained with a sense of privacy. • The landscape is tranquil with birdsong and the movement of wind in the trees and across the land being evident despite the audible intrusion of the Woodhead Road. • The landscape is screened from the centre of Glossop by the tree planting within Manor Park, which itself creates a back ground to Old Glossop and contributes to the dominate rural character of the allocation site. • The wider setting of the landscape i.e. the upland pasture and moorland of the National Park contributes a sense wilderness to the experience of the site, which is reflected in the rough character of the land to the south of the footpath.

Topography

• Land within the site falls to the southeast in a series of broad and shallow terraces and swales. Some landforms may evidence earlier drainage patterns or historic paths (including a possible hollow way from Thorpe Street to Church Street).

Land use

• Pasture – sheep to the south of the path, cattle to the north. The different grazing regimes have contributed to different landscape characters, the sheep grazing off the southern pasture but leaving the soft rush and spear thistles creating an unkempt appearance.

Aesthetic/perception

• Land to the north of the path is softer and more cohesive in character, the grass is lusher, the hedgerows more complete and the woodland a pleasing, part ornamental foil to the increasingly ‘upland’ character of the landscape to the north. The dovecote functions as an ornamental eyecatcher within the scene. In contrast, Beeley House strikes a discordant note as a ‘character’ dwelling with manicured grounds within the surrounding pasture. • Land to the south of the path has a rougher beauty, which reflects the moors of the National Park beyond. It is a worn land with few remaining hedges and boundaries, a medley of different materials – wood, wire and tin. Rough shelters add to this sense of separateness despite the close proximity of the settlement edge. • The dwelling 63 Thorpe Street, an amalgamated terrace, stands apart from the landscape. This sense of isolation is conveyed both by the lack of openings on its western elevation and by a crisply cut and tall mixed beech hedge, which introduces a distinctly suburban element to the landscape. • The legibility of surviving ornamental planting, the ash clump in the southern area, is eroded by the character of the immediate landscape. • The school playing field creates a false boundary with the settlement, a creeping gentrification, which contrasts with the dominant landscape character.

• The long gardens of dwellings along the Woodhead Road blend better into the landscape, despite their obvious garden character on account of their large scale, which reflect the cottage ‘enclosures’ on the eastern side of the site. • The cottage enclosures reflect a softer character in contrast to the adjacent sheep pasture, with the meandering stream running through hay meadow augmented by cottage plants. The presence of common sempervivums such as House Leek within the boundary wall contributes to this charming and modest landscape area.

Value

• The landscape is considered to hold high value as a landscape buffer to the settlement as it dilutes the effect of fragmented development along the Woodhead Road and creates a physical connection between Old Glossop and Laneside Farm. • The landscape offers high value as a public amenity: the footpath is well used. The footpath has recently been dedicated to the interest of a local couple (2013). • The landscape offers medium to high value as a piece of attractive landscape in its domestic scale and variety. The footpath allows appreciation of the woodland near the farm and of the contrasts within the land to the north and south of the path.

INTERIM APPRAISAL BY SUB SITE

G8

Landscape effects 2.31 This sub site includes all land within the site north of Backsitch apart the property Beeley House. Development within this area would necessitate substantial engineering work to create terraces for building. Such intervention would completely change the existing topography of the site and its undulating fall to the southeast. Development may also require the building up of land in the vicinity of the field drain to assist drainage. Development may require the removal of some, if not all of the surviving internal hedges and field trees, which would significantly erode the character of the landscape. However, it is unlikely that planting in Beeley Clough, along the lane to the farm, the new bund or planting along the north side of Backsitch would be affected. The rural setting of Laneside Farm and of Beeley House would completely change.

G9

Landscape effects 2.32 G9 is located immediately to the south of Woodhead Road and Backsitch. The ground falls steeply from the road before falling again into a broad swale, which continues to the boundary of the sub site. Substantial engineering and hydrological work will again be needed to make this area viable for development, greatly altering its landscape character. Building up of the landscape would also completely change the experience of the northern end of the footpath, which would descend the slope in effect in a tunnel with reduced or lost side views, the land rising on either side to accommodate development. The work would necessitate the removal of much of the patina of the landscape, an abandoned shed, post and wire fencing and earthwork evidence of the historic path diversion.

G10

Landscape effects 2.33 This central sub site abuts the western boundary of the conservation area and while it is arguably a low value landscape in its own right it still conveys both the historic and landscape interest of the site in its field boundaries, relic hedgerow and fence lines and in the surviving hedgerow trees.

G11

Landscape effects 2.34 This sub site falls within the Old Glossop Conservation Area and lies adjacent to No. 63 Thorpe Street. Development here would extend the settlement edge into the landscape, removing the irregular landform and detail of fence lines, rough livestock shelters and hedgerow trees. The sub site includes the cottage enclosures west of Thorpe Street and therefore may affect the stone wall boundaries, the surviving timber gates and stone gateposts and the actual domestic scale of the enclosure landscape. Development could pose a risk to the stream, potentially re aligning it or even culverting it underground.

3. Assessment of Visual Effects

3.1 This section describes the potential visual impacts arising from the proposed allocation and for each of the six selected viewpoints.

VISUAL RECEPTORS

3.2 The visual receptors of the allocation are likely to include residents, members of the public using footpaths and passengers in moving vehicles. 3.3 Heritage receptors include listed buildings and Old Glossop Conservation Area. 3.4 The National Park is also a receptor and forms part of the wider context of the assessment.

VISUAL BASELINE (RECEPTORS LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED BY DEVELOPMENT)

Public Access

• Backsitch footpath is a principal landscape receptor within the site, its visual amenity experienced by people along its length. Other footpaths also occur along the west side of Woodhead Lane (seasonal/filtered views into site), Thorpe Street and the footpath connecting to Thorpe Row and Beeley Clough, which all provide visual connection with the site.

Existing development

• Houses along Woodhead Road, notably ‘Windy Ridge’ and No. 48, which are both three-storey high on the site side, enjoy expansive views over the site and beyond. • Houses west and above of Woodhead Road on Kingsmoor Fields also experience expansive views over the site to the east and south. • Cottages along Thorpe Street enjoy foreground views into the southern area of the conservation area and site and views from the upper windows of the central and northern areas of the site. • Beeley House has been specifically located to enjoy the intimacy of the site to the northeast of the footpath. • No. 63 Thorpe Street may lack any immediate visual connection to the site but enjoys a close proximity to it, creating a sense of rural identity and visual association. • Laneside Farm cottages are the oldest elements of the farm site and although tucked down within the below the farm lane, they experience the site as rolling landscape to the southeast, creating a distinct separation from the settlement beyond. • All Saints Primary School (and footpath to the church). The rural setting of the school on the edge of the village is part of its attraction and character, tied closely to the land. The private lane connecting the school to the church and the establishment of a new playing area reinforce this relationship through views and a general perception of adjacent countryside. • The Roman Catholic church and presbytery enjoy a similar relationship to the site as the school. Despite a boundary hedge and tree planting in the vicinity of the buildings, the sense of openness to the north makes an important contribution to the tranquil and reflective atmosphere of the buildings, reflecting their religious purpose.

Transport patterns

• Drivers and passengers in vehicles travelling along Woodhead Road may enjoy fleeting views of the site, especially in winter. They will also share a general awareness of the land as rural and undeveloped on their approach into Glossop. • Vehicles travelling along Thorpe Street will experience a greater amenity of the landscape as they are closer to it and will be travelling at slower speeds.

Visual amenity

• The site holds high visual amenity for the local community along boundaries and footpaths, from windows, private gardens and even from within moving vehicles as ‘countryside on their doorstep’.

Nature of views

• Fore-mid ground views are influenced by topography and planting with hedgerows, trees and woodland breaking up the site into smaller areas but not sufficiently to diminish its overall amenity value. • Intimate and channelled views towards the site can be experienced along footpaths and between houses on account of the rising ground and the tiered character of development within the conservation area. However, these views are experienced within the wider context of the landscape particularly where the loss of hedgerows has created new openings and a stronger visual connection. • From within the allocation site, especially from the western and northern areas, the relationship of the site to Old Glossop and to the wider landscape beyond is clear although the scale of the surrounding National Park can appear detached from the site, particularly as the appreciation of such views is weather dependent. • Views from the site do, however, provide a sense of continuity in establishing visual relationships with similar areas of land around the fringes of the town. The landscape appears stratified with linear field systems bound by tongues of woodland in the lower levels of the valleys. There is a sense of progression out from the site to the village/town through the mid ground and on to the upland moors, a perception reliant on the retention of this visual connection.

VIEWPOINTS

3.5 Six viewpoints have been selected to help inform a wider appraisal of the allocation site within the landscape. These viewpoints, agreed with High Peak Borough Council, have been prepared by Mel Morris Conservation in line with the guidance set out in the Landscape Institute Advice Note 01/11 Photography and photomontage in landscape and visual impact assessment.

Viewpoint location plan

Selection of viewpoints Viewpoint Reasons for selection of viewpoint 7 • View north from Backsitch (Footpath No. 5, Glossop) capturing the northeast of the site and looking northeast towards the National Park boundary at Cat Wood • Popular public right of way 8 • View south from Backsitch (Footpath No. 5, Glossop) capturing the southern extent of the site against the backdrop of Old Glossop and Manor Park with land rising into the National Park to the south • Popular public right of way • Detached houses overlooking site on west (right side of photograph) along Woodhead Road 9 • View southwest from Cat Wood (Footpath No. 6, Glossop) capturing the setting of the site within the wider landscape context of Glossop with land rising to the National Park to the south • Popular public right of way

• Viewpoint close to the boundary with the National Park and within green belt 10 • View northwest from Shire Hill (Footpath No. 7, Glossop) capturing the setting of the site to the north of the town • Popular public right of way associated with semi-ancient woodland of Shire Hill, a nature reserve • Viewpoint within green belt 11 • View northwest from junction of Footpath No. 195, Glossop and No. 37, Charlesworth on Derbyshire Level. Expansive view towards site placing it in the wider landscape context of the town and surrounding landscape • Popular public right of way • Viewpoint within the National Park 12 • View north towards the site from Cliffe Road, Whitfield on elevated ground besides a public road • View experienced by dog walkers, horse riders, motorists, bicyclists and local residents

VISUAL EFFECTS ARISING FROM THE PROPOSED ALLOCATION

View 7 3.6 The viewpoint is within the proposed allocation site and would be experienced by people using the public footpath. 3.7 The view would change from the immediate perception of open farmland bound by woodland along Beeley Clough to a development with internal roads and property boundaries. The relationship of the footpath to the woodland would change as views would be screened or fragmented, contributing to a loss of visual appreciation of its different planting and overall landscape contribution. Similarly views east towards Beeley House and the farm cottages and the dovecote at Laneside Farm may be lost. 3.8 Views towards the National Park to Peaknaze Moor and Bleaklow are unlikely to be affected i.e. they could still be enjoyed but the relationship of the National Park to the site would be altered through the loss of a visual progression from pasture to wood to upland farm and moor. An appreciation of the National Park would be eroded from the viewpoint by a sense of detachment created by the development of the foreground.

View 8 3.9 The viewpoint is within the proposed allocation site and would be experienced by people using the public footpath. 3.10 The view would change from open farmland, sloping towards the edge of Old Glossop to a development with internal roads and property boundaries. 3.11 Development would remove much of the distinctive character of the view including the derelict hut, internal field boundaries, field trees, earthworks and the soft rush, which grows throughout the wet ground.

3.12 Development would screen the houses and their gardens along the Woodhead Road, the houses in effect becoming part of the development rather than the existing fragmented development alongside the road. 3.13 Views of Thorpe Street would be eroded by development, reduced to only part of their roofs, while existing views of roofs along Church Street are likely to be lost altogether. The spire of the Anglican church would remain visible but the understanding of its relationship to the village and site reduced through the loss of a clearer visual connection. 3.14 The woodland of Manor Park is also likely to remain in part of the view, due to its maturity and mass. However an appreciation of its role as a landscape backdrop to that part of the conservation area would be eroded as an understanding of its full scale is visually reduced. 3.15 Development within the view would again create a step-change in the perception of the progression of the landscape as flowing towards the settlement edge and being reflected in the open fields above Whitfield and below Kinder Plateau. This strong sense of visual connection would be eroded by development and create a detachment between the foreground and distant National Park.

View 9 3.16 This view is outside the allocation site within the green belt and close to the boundary of the National Park on the northeast of Glossop. The view would be experienced by people using the public footpath or working on the land. 3.17 The allocation site is well screened within the view by the woodland along Beeley Clough and an intervening field boundary. The photograph was taken in Spring before all of the trees had come into leave. However the northwestern edge of the site is perceptible on account of a glimpse of the dovecote and clear views of the mast at Mouselow Castle, which help orientate the view. 3.18 If this area of the site were to be developed it is likely that topography within the site would enable glimpsed views of housing along this northwestern edge. 3.19 The restricted view of the site suggests that development would have little impact upon this view. However, while it would not disrupt the existing appreciation of the farmland sloping south down to Glossop, or of the distant views of the National Park, it would alter the perception of that view from a predominantly rural one to a suburban one with the awareness of development close by further fragmenting and eroding the local landscape character.

View 10 3.20 This view looks towards the allocation site and would be experienced by people using the public footpath, visiting Shire Wood or working on the land. 3.21 This is a complex view, which captures the combination of the industrial character of Glossop in the surviving factory buildings and the strong vertical presence of an incinerator chimney near the town centre, the Mouselow mast and distant masts and pylons. The view contains a high percentage of woodland represented by Manor Park, the river corridor, Mouselow Castle and Cat Wood, together with the characteristic field systems of the ‘Settled Valley Pastures’, which all convey a strong linearity within the landscape. 3.22 The view also contains dominant built features, notably a chapel on the south side of Glossop, the raised terrace, Nos. 13-41 Blackshaw Road, the red brick house, Windy Ridge, on Woodhead Road with the houses on Kingsmoor Fields above. The spire of the Anglican church and the dovecote are also legible although their impact upon the landscape is effected by light and weather conditions, whereas the bell-cote of the Catholic church tends to merge with other buildings behind it. 3.23 The development would be very apparent in the view, reading as an extension to housing near Shire Hall Hospital and merging with housing to the west of Woodhead Road, creating the impression of a continuous line of development to the south of Mouselow Castle. The legibility of the spire of the Anglican church would be reduced, set against a built rather than pastoral background. The

appreciation of the dovecote as a separate and rural building would also become eroded, the structure becoming part of the greater development within the view. 3.24 Development would significantly increase the value of the small parcel of land below Kingsmoor Fields, which in effect would become the last visible open piece of land on the approach into Glossop from the north. Similarly, the land northwest of Laneside Farm on both sides of the B6105 and land to the southwest of Mouselow Castle would have greater value in the view in conserving the rural setting of the town.

View 11 3.25 This view looks northwest towards the allocation site from within the National Park and would be experienced by people using the public footpath, cycling or driving along the road. 3.26 While the view is dominated by the suburban edge of Glossop in the foreground, its scale allows the viewer to appreciate the wider setting of the town and its relationship to the distant uplands within the National Park beyond. 3.27 The allocation site is surprisingly legible within the view, the strong diagonal of Backsitch and the red brick of the house Windy Ridge helping to draw the eye. The site appears enclosed by woodland, that of Manor Park, Laneside Farm itself, Beeley Clough and planting beyond the site at Wimberryhill. This density in planting makes the fields within the site stand out. The steeply sloping ground of the northwest of the site is also clearly apparent in the view, which would accentuate any development within this area. The historic buildings associated with the site are also part visible in the view but, through distance, the dovecote appears to have a closer relationship with Shire Hall Hospital than to either of the churches. 3.28 Development would contribute to an erosion of the landscape mosaic within the view in effect joining up the development near the hospital to existing housing southeast of Mouselow Castle. Development would raise the amenity value of land to the northwest of Shire Hill within the view, as it would be perceived to be one of the few remaining parcels of undeveloped land on this side of Glossop. 3.29 However, development is unlikely to create major fragmentation within the view on account of its scale. Mouselow Castle would in effect become a natural edge to Glossop. This impression is strengthened by open land to the southwest and northeast of the castle site and Cat Wood which all lie on a similar contour. The National Park would remain the distant but defining feature within the view.

View 12 3.30 This viewpoint looks north towards the allocation site over Glossop and Manor Park. This view is experienced by people walking dogs, horse riders and residents. 3.31 The viewpoint records an expansive and dramatic view crudely separated in the mid ground into distinct areas of development within Glossop and woodland, including Manor Park, Mouselow Castle and Shire Hill. The largest area of open fields within the mid ground view is the land extending down into Glossop from the northwest of Shire Wood. The most discordant features within the view are the blocks of forestry on the slopes of Peak Naze and within Blakemoor Plantation to the north of the town, which contrast strongly with the open moorland and predominantly broadleaf woodland in the valleys below. 3.32 The allocation site is barely visible in the view as the planting of Manor Park and the woodland of Beeley Clough, with only the dovecote being visible, screen it. The sense of rural landscape in the immediate vicinity of the site is dependent upon farmland to the northeast (south of Cat Wood) and northwest (below and above B6105).

3.33 It is unlikely that development would affect this viewpoint: it would not change the general landscape arrangement and would not affect the established visual relationship between Glossop and the National Park.

INTERIM APPRAISAL BY SUB SITE

G8

Visual effects 3.34 Development within this sub site would lose views of the farmland to the north of the footpath. Clear views of the woodland along Beeley Clough would be lost. The contrasting sense of enclosure and openness experienced while travelling along the footpath would also change, potentially being exacerbated by the proximity of dwellings and the erection of associated new boundaries such as hedgerows or fencing. Development may screen views of the farm cottages and dovecote effectively removing them from the landscape experience. 3.35 The progression of views from the field to the wood to the mid ground pastures and upland moors would be compromised by development, the eye in effect jumping to the mid ground and losing a sense of connection with the foreground. 3.36 The steeply sloping ground along the northwest of G8 would increase the awareness of development from the Old Glossop Conservation Area disrupting its contextual relationship with the agricultural landscape and with Beeley Clough and its own ornamented landscape. The lost of the agricultural landscape and pastoral edge of the settlement would effectively merge the western side of the conservation area with the urban area of Glossop to the west, losing a sense of separate identity and its early agricultural character. 3.37 The visual impact upon Beeley House would be significant, its setting changing from rural to suburban.

G9

Visual effects 3.38 Development within this sub site would dominate views from the south and southeast from within the Old Glossop Conservation Area and beyond (viewpoints 10 and 11), rising above potential development in area G10. Development may also compromise the legibility of the footpath, the northern extent of which would be lost from view from the southeast. Within these same views the housing to the south on the east side of Woodhead Road would lose their rural setting becoming part of a continuing line of development rather than its conclusion. These properties, which include No. 48 Woodhead Road and Windy Ridge, also risk being overlooked by new housing to the north, which is likely to stand at a higher level on account of the rising topography. This impact is unlikely to be mitigated by a single mature beech tree standing on the garden boundary of Windy Ridge. 3.39 Views towards the Old Glossop Conservation Area from G9 would be changed by the development which would block progressive views southeast particularly from Backsitch footpath. In descending the hill initial glimpses and later direct views of the Roman Catholic church and southeast of Thorpe Street would be blocked by development for long lengths of the footpath.

G10

Visual effects 3.40 This sub site is clearly visible within the site from the edge of the conservation area, houses along Woodhead Road and the Catholic church and presbytery. Visual impact would be high, development

standing out against the rural landscape to the north of Backsitch and against the mid ground horizon if viewed from the school. Even if only this sub site were developed, the experience of Backsitch would change completely, development effectively visually separating the footpath from the village to the south, Laneside Farm and land within G8 and G9 in views from the conservation area. Views of the Catholic church are particularly important across G10 from the footpath where its monumental presence is evident.

G11

Visual effects 3.41 Development in this sub site would completely change the relationship of Thorpe Street to the landscape, pushing the landscape back and removing it from the daily visual experience of local residents. From within the sub area, the well-preserved form of the Georgian domestic buildings would also lose their drama and wider landscape impact. Development would fragment the site, creating a sense of separation from land north of Backsitch and to the west. Despite their strong property boundary the residents of No. 63 would also experience increased visual isolation from the landscape, contributing to a loss of perception of a rural setting.

4. Conclusions

4.1 This Landscape and Visual Appraisal has shown that the landscape within the allocation site holds local significance in the survival of its field pattern, footpath, planting and principal built features, which have survived largely unchanged since 1857. There is a distinct ornamental character to the landscape which remains legible and which could be enhanced and which is considered to contribute positively to the setting of the Old Glossop Conservation Area. 4.2 The allocation site is surprisingly visible in most of the viewpoints, due in part to its distinctive topography, the line of the footpath and the legibility of ornamental or visually dominant associated buildings, which include the churches, the dovecote of Laneside Farm and the red brick house, Windy Ridge. Substantial changes within the site, albeit a small area within the broader landscape context of Glossop, would create notable and lasting change within the identified views. 4.3 The historic and current character of land within the allocation site also contributes to a broader mosaic of similar landscapes, which encircle Glossop offering transition from the urban and industrial valley bottom to the upland moors. While one of several examples, the shared characteristics contribute to the overall landscape character and setting of the town, and of the different conservation areas within it, and is therefore significant. 4.4 The landscape within the allocation site is considered an important resource and visual amenity for local residents, especially when experienced in views from the settlement edge and from the footpaths. Despite fragmented development along the Woodhead Road, the audible intrusion of the road and the addition of Beeley House, the landscape offers tranquillity on the northern edge of a busy town. 4.5 The landscape is therefore both significant and sensitive in both heritage and landscape terms and these values would be greatly altered by development within it. 4.6 Site G11 is particularly sensitive, being within the conservation area, where development may affect the special interest of the conservation area and the historic character and significance of the landscape itself. 4.7 G10 is also highly sensitive representing the central portion of the site and as the immediate setting to the conservation area. Development within this area would be intrusive physically and visually fragmenting the landscape and eroding the setting of the conservation area. 4.8 G9 may offer one or two sites for specific development as a continuation of existing development along the Woodhead Road despite its dominant presence within the viewpoints. However, the acceptability of development would require clear design parameters and mitigation. 4.9 G8 albeit the largest land area is equally sensitive. Development here is restricted by topography and drainage and, arguably, by the strong surviving ornamental landscape layer. Development within the site would in effect rule out its restoration and the potential of an enhanced future relationship between the model farm, the wider landscape and the settlement. G8 is the immediate setting of the farm and cottages, informing and benefitting from its later historic layers. The surviving hedgerows and railings along the footpath contribute to this by evidencing designed views into and across this landscape, concluded in the mid-ground by the ornamented woodland. The landscape also includes elements, which are arguably reversible such as the modern agricultural barn and screening bund, which present real opportunities for enhancing the character and significance of the landscape. It would appear that the only feasible development site outside that of the farm has already been realised at Beeley House.