Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Prepared for Government of Jersey by Fiona Fyfe Associates May 2020 www.fionafyfe.co.uk Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The lead consultant would like to thank all members of the client team for their contributions to the project. Particular thanks are due to the Government of Jersey staff who accompanied field work and generously shared their time and local knowledge. This includes the skipper and crew of FPV Norman Le Brocq who provided transport to the reefs and marine areas. Thanks are also due to the many local stakeholders who contributed helpfully and willingly to the consultation workshop. The original landscape characterisation for terrestrial and intertidal areas was done by LUC for the 1999 Jersey Countryside Character Appraisal. This ILSCA expands and updates that earlier work. Innovative and in-depth projects such as this require the combined skills of many professionals. This project had an exceptional consultant team and the lead consultant would like to thank them all for their superb contributions. She would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution of Tom Butlin (1982- 2020) for his outstanding and innovative work on the visibility mapping. • Jonathan Porter and Tom Butlin (Countryscape) • Carol Anderson (Carol Anderson Landscape Associates) • Nigel Buchan (Buchan Landscape Architecture) • Douglas Harman (Douglas Harman Landscape Planning) All photographs have been taken by Fiona Fyfe unless otherwise stated. Carol Anderson Landscape Associates ii FINAL May 2020 Prepared by Fiona Fyfe Associates for Government of Jersey Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Foreword Ministerial Foreword It gives me tremendous pleasure to introduce the Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment which has been commissioned for the review of the 2011 Island Plan. Jersey’s coast and countryside is a unique and precious asset, which is treasured by islanders and is one of the key reasons why people visit the island. Understanding what makes the island’s environment so special is crucial to ensuring that it is appropriately protected, and that change is properly managed, so that we can continue to enjoy it now and into the future. Land Use Consultants produced the Jersey Countryside Character Appraisal in 1999, which provided an integrated and holistic understanding of the island’s rural character, and which has been fundamental in the development and maintenance of our planning policies for over two decades. This was a visionary and seminal piece of work for Jersey that has served the island remarkably well. I am delighted, therefore, that this work is now being updated by Fiona Fyfe Associates: to reflect current best practice in landscape character assessment methodologies; but also expanded to include an assessment of the character of Jersey’s marine environment, out to our territorial limits. As an island, there are inevitably strong physical, cultural and perceptual links between Jersey’s landscapes and seascapes, and we have seen much change and development over the last 20 years, particularly along parts of our coastline. It is essential, therefore, that the new Island Plan can continue to protect the island from current threats and manage the forces for change which may adversely affect our island environment. The Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment provides us with a rich analysis of both our marine and terrestrial environments and the relationship between the two. I feel confident the study will prove to be a critical tool for future decision-makers. Deputy John Young Minister for the Environment iii Prepared by Fiona Fyfe Associates for Government of Jersey FINAL May 2020 Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Contents Contents Executive Summary v Part 1: Introduction 1 1.1 The Jersey ILSCA 2 1.2 How to use the Jersey ILSCA 2 1.3 Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment 3 1.4 Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services 5 1.5 Methodology 6 1.6 Special Qualities of Jersey’s Landscape and Seascape 7 Part 2: The Story of Jersey’s Landscape and Seascape 9 2.1 Geology and the evolution of Jersey’s natural environment 10 2.2 Early inhabitants 19 2.3 Living off the land and sea 20 2.4 Settlement and buildings 22 2.5 Defence and Occupation 24 2.6 Tourism and Finance 26 2.7 Designated Sites 26 2.8 Forces for change 31 Part 3: Landscape and Seascape Character of Jersey 33 3.1 Jersey’s Character Types and Areas 34 A Cliffs and Headlands 38 B Coastal Plain 50 C Escarpment 66 D Enclosed Valleys 80 E Interior Agricultural Plateau 94 F Rocky Shores and Bays 108 G Bays with Intertidal Flats and Reefs 116 H Offshore Reefs and Islands 132 I Shallow Sea 146 J Deep Sea 156 iv FINAL May 2020 Prepared by Fiona Fyfe Associates for Government of Jersey Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Contents Part 4: Coastal Units 165 4.1 Introduction to Coastal Units 166 1 St Ouen’s Bay 168 2 Grosnez 173 3 Grève de Lecq 176 4 Bonne Nuit 179 5 Bouley Bay 182 6 Rozel 185 7 St Catherine’s Bay 188 8 Grouville Bay 191 9 St Clement’s Bay 195 10 Grève D’Azette 198 11 St Aubin’s Bay 201 12 Portelet 205 13 St Brelade’s Bay 208 14 Corbière 212 Part 5: Landscape Design Guidance 215 5.1 Introduction 216 5.2 Accommodating New Development 216 5.3 Enhancing rural character 225 5.4 Views and visibility 231 Appendices 239 Apx. A: References and sources of further information 240 Apx. B Changes made to Character Area boundaries 242 Apx. C Attendees at stakeholder workshops 244 Apx. D Glossary of Acronyms and Technical Terms 245 List of Maps Map 1a Key Habitats (terrestrial) 17 Map 1b Key Habitats (marine) 18 Map 2a Designated Nature Conservation Sites (terrestrial) 27 Map 2b Designated Nature Conservation Sites (marine) 28 Map 3a Designated Cultural Heritage Sites (terrestrial) 29 Map 3b Designated Cultural Heritage Sites (marine) 30 Map 4a Character Types (terrestrial) 36 Map 4b Character Types (marine) 37 Map 5 Jersey Coastal Units 167 v Prepared by Fiona Fyfe Associates for Government of Jersey FINAL May 2020 Jersey Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment Executive Summary Executive Summary Jersey contains a rich diversity of landscapes and seascapes. Its location in the English Channel, close to the French coast, means that it has environments and cultural influences which are unique within the UK. This Integrated Landscape and Seascape Character Assessment (ILSCA) is both an analysis and a celebration of Jersey’s landscapes and seascapes. It is intended for use by a wide range of people, including planners, land and marine managers, developers, local people and community organisations. The ILSCA is an update of the 1999 Jersey Countryside Character Appraisal. Its scope has been expanded to include the entire Bailiwick, and it reflects the changes which have taken place in the landscape and seascape since 1999, as well as the forces for change which are currently affecting Jersey, and which are likely to occur over the next decade. It also incorporates up-to-date research and understanding, particularly with regard to the marine environment. Jersey’s complex geological and environmental history, combined with both terrestrial and maritime influences, creates an extra-ordinary diversity of landscapes and seascapes. These have been further enriched by millennia of human occupation, farming, fishing and travel, all of which have left their marks in the landscape and seascape. Jersey’s rich geological, ecological and cultural heritage is reflected in the number of designated sites, which sit within a wider landscape and seascape habitat framework. Many issues are currently affecting Jersey’s landscapes and seascapes, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. These forces for change may be natural (such as coastal erosion) or man-made (such as new development). They include land-based and marine development, agricultural and land management changes, infrastructure, recreational pressure and climate change. These forces for change are described in the ILSCA, along with recommendations to ‘protect, manage and plan’ to protect and enhance Jersey’s landscapes and seascapes for the future. The ILSCA identifies 10 distinctive Character Types, covering terrestrial, intertidal and marine environments. These Character Types are divided into 34 smaller Character Areas, each of which has a distinctive sense of place. A series of profiles describe these Character Types in more detail, including a summary description, key characteristics, natural influences and sites, cultural influences and sites, perceptual qualities, natural capital and ecosystem services, Character Areas, sensitivities, condition and forces for change, strategy and guidelines. The ILSCA also identifies 14 Coastal Units. These are an additional layer of assessment focussing on the most complex area (the coast) where many different Character Types and Areas meet and/or are inter-visible. The Coastal Units are primarily defined using visibility, so typically relate to bays, with headlands dividing them. The Coastal Units describe how the terrestrial, intertidal and marine Character Types and Areas fit together to create bigger compositions at the coast, and help to cement the project as an integrated landscape and seascape character assessment. Each Coastal Unit is described in terms of its location, constituent character areas, description, coastal