Landscape Character Assessment of Cannock Chase District A report produced by Ashmead Price and Steven Warnock on behalf of Cannock Chase Council March 2009 1 Landscape Character Assessment of Cannock Chase District Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4 Aim of Study Background information Approach and methodology The Study Area (Figure 1) 2. Landscape Character Assessment ................................................................... 9 Introduction and Key Plans (Figures 2 &3) Sandstone Hills and Heaths .............................................................................. 12 Description and Key Characteristics Photographs and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement Sensitivity SH01, SH05, SH18 Land Cover Parcels table Wooded Estatelands .......................................................................................... 19 Description and Key Characteristics Photographs and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement Sensitivity WE07 Land Cover Parcels table Settled Farmlands ............................................................................................... 24 Description and Key Characteristics Photographs and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement Sensitivity SF15, SF16, SF17, SF28, SF29 Land Cover Parcels table Coalfield Farmlands ........................................................................................... 31 Description and Key Characteristics Photographs and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement Sensitivity CF19, CF24, CF26 Land Cover Parcels table Planned Coalfield Farmlands ............................................................................ 38 Description and Key Characteristics Photograph and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement 2 Sensitivity CP21, CP22 Land Cover Parcels table River Meadowlands ............................................................................................ 48 Description and Key Characteristics Photographs and LDU/ LCP plan Strength of Character Summary of Condition and Landscape Condition table Vision Statement Sensitivity RM13, RM14 Land Cover Parcels table Urban Areas ........................................................................................................ 52 Introduction UR02, UR08, UR10, UR27 Land Cover Parcels table Ashmead Price 16 Bond End Yoxall Burton on Trent Staffordshire DE13 8NH Tel 01543 473222 www.ashmeadprice.co.uk 3 1. Introduction Aim of study Cannock Chase Council is in the process of developing its Local Development Framework. The principal document, the Core Strategy underwent three Issues and Options consultations during 2006, 2007 and 2008 and a Preferred Options consultation is planned for April 2009. The Council require a District Level Landscape Character Assessment, in order to gain a clearer picture of the landscape outside the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This work will contribute to the production of the Council’s Core Strategy, which will ultimately set out the strategic approach for where future new development in the District should be directed. This study and supporting analysis will assist the Council in identifying areas for landscape conservation, improvement, or regeneration and in setting a baseline for future monitoring. Background information Staffordshire County Council has produced a Landscape Character Assessment which has been used as supporting documentation for the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Structure Plan 1996. The County Council has also produced a document of more specific relevance to Cannock Chase District, largely based on the County Level assessment of the Cannock Chase and Cank Wood Joint Landscape Character Area (Countryside Character Volume 5: West Midlands – The Countryside Agency). More detailed Landscape Character Areas have also been identified in the Cannock Chase AONB Management Plan, which is currently being reviewed. Cannock Chase Council wish to develop the County Level Assessment by: i. Updating information on the landscape character types within Cannock Chase District. ii. Obtaining a more detailed breakdown of the Landscape Character types at a District Level. iii. Integrating with the District Level Historic Landscape Characterisation as part of the Assessment. iv. Identifying landscape sensitivities to development in terms of conservation, enhancement and regeneration. Approach and methodology The process of landscape characterisation involves a combination of desk study and field survey to systematically divide the countryside into discrete and relatively homogenous units of land, within which the constituent physical, biological and historical elements occur in repeating patterns and share certain aesthetic characteristics. These units of land, termed Land description units (LDUs), are the building blocks of the landscape and they form the framework on which all subsequent evaluation and decision making is based. This study started with the existing county (1:50,000) LDU dataset and refined this to a greater level of detail. LDU boundaries were adjusted to follow map based features, such as roads and field boundaries. The codes defining each LDU were also checked and where necessary, amended. This resulted in the definition of a new landscape type in the coalfield area. 4 LCP Mapping Land description units can be sub-divided into smaller Land Cover Parcels (LCPs), based on differences in land cover and historic pattern. The land cover analysis identified features within each LDU, such as areas of parkland, larger woodlands, patches of disturbed land, smaller urban areas and other non-agricultural land. The county based historic (HLC) analysis was used to help identify parish boundaries and areas of farmland with different sizes/patterns of fields. A Level 2 LDU map had already been produced for Staffordshire and the study refined the Level 2 LDUs and subdivided them into smaller Level 3 (1:25,000) Land Cover Parcels (LCPs). Land Cover Parcels are sub-units of LDUs, and are derived with reference to HLC, farm census information, 1:25,000 OS base maps and parish boundaries, to ensure that broad patterns of ownership, field pattern and landscape development are defined. These units provide a better scale of unit at which to most appropriately assess capacity and condition. The LCP’s covered the District, excluding the AONB and the built up areas, and extended into adjacent authority areas where an overlap occurred. Field Survey Field assessment followed the mapping to gather additional information on each of the LCPs. Field survey built on the map analysis by providing essential information about the visual dimension of the landscape that could not be gained from the desk study. The primary function of the field survey was to identify the key characteristics that contribute to local distinctiveness; and to gather information about the condition of the landscape, in particular the impact of recent change. The condition, of a landscape, which should be clearly distinguished from its character, is a measure of how far removed that landscape is from an ‘optimal’ state, where all the key characteristics are present and functioning. Condition, therefore, has a functional as well as a visual dimension. The latter reflects the degree to which the existing landscape pattern appears visually fragmented, due to the loss of existing features, or the imposition of new features which appear ‘out of place’. The functional dimension embraces a range of issues related to the ecological health of the countryside and the extent to which present day land use respects the inherent ecological/cultural character of the land. A key task of the field survey was to produce an informed assessment of the forces for change within each of the LCPs defined by the desk study. A standard field sheet was used to identify: key landscape characteristics (natural and cultural); condition and evidence for change. At a detailed level there are numerous other factors that come into play including visual and perceptual matters and the relationship of the landscape to settlement. A key task of the field survey was to produce an informed assessment of the forces for change within each of the LCPs defined by the desk study. These were all considered as criteria on a standard proforma. The LCP’s will help define the basis for site assessment in the future, so that if a site is split by more than one LCP, a proforma would be filled out for each sub- division. If a site lies fully within an LCP, one proforma would be completed for that site. The field survey was undertaken in February 2009, using the LDU and LCP desk study map, with each area referenced and numbered. The field survey was carried out by driving and walking along public roads, bridleways and footpaths. The field sheets were filled in at the time and photographs taken to record ‘typical’ conditions. Categories of condition were derived from the field notes descriptions of each LDU, and a qualitative value was assigned as Good, Medium or Poor. Issues were assessed under the headings of field boundaries and trees; land use or land cover, ecological integrity and the impact of built