21. Landscape and Visual Impact 21 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT 21.1 Introduction 21.1.1 This chapter provides an assessment of the Hinkley Point C Development on the local and wider landscape and on a range of identified sensitive visual receptors. The assessment has been undertaken through a combination of review of available information on landscape character and sensitivities, consultation with appropriate organisations, the use of 3d modelling techniques and the establishment of a number of viewpoints around the proposed Hinkley Point C Development Site from which potential visual impact may be apparent. 21.1.2 The assessment has been undertaken through a staged approach which is reflected in the structure of this chapter. The landscape and visual policy context for the scheme is set out in section three and is followed in section four by a description of the assessment methodology. 21.1.3 The fifth section consists of a baseline study of the landscape and visual resource of the existing site and its surroundings. This breaks the landscape down into component parts, which assists with identifying any elements or features that might be particularly sensitive to the proposed development. 21.1.4 The sixth section sets out the potential landscape and visual impacts that the scheme could have without any mitigation, including construction phase landscape and visual effects and potential effects on the completion of the scheme. Mitigation measures are described in section seven and the significance of any residual effects are described in section eight. 21.1.5 In parallel with EDF Energy’s consultation process, National Grid is consulting on its proposals to provide a new high voltage overhead line between Bridgwater and Seabank near Avonmouth, together with more upgrades and modifications to existing overhead lines in the vicinity of Hinkley Point. The geographic overlap between EDF Energy’s and National Grid’s consultations is largely confined to communities between Bridgwater and Hinkley Point in the area where National Grid’s proposals predominantly involve upgrading existing overhead lines rather than the provision of new overhead lines. 21.1.6 A new 400kV substation will be required on the Development site and output from the nuclear power station to the substation would be transmitted through 2 new EDF Energy overhead lines carried by towers within the site boundary. To facilitate connections between the proposed substation and the national grid high voltage electricity transmission system, six overhead line landing gantries are required along the southern and eastern boundaries of the substation site. The landing gantries will connect via overhead line to three overhead line terminal towers (pylons) outside the substation compound to the south and east. The National Grid substation overhead line landing gantries and terminal towers (pylons) and the EDF Energy overhead lines will form part of the EDF Energy Development Consent Order (OCD) application. Modifications to the existing overhead line network south east of the substation will also be required and this will form part of a separate DCO application by National Grid. Volume 4 of the Environmental Appraisal provides an assessment of the cumulative effect of the Hinkley Point C Development and the National Grid’s proposals in the vicinity of the Hinkley point C site. HINKLEY POINT C PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION – STAGE 2 | 1 ENVIRONMENTAL APPRAISAL – VOLUME 2 21. Landscape and Visual Impact 21.2 Study area 21.2.1 A wider study area of the landscape and visual impact assessment was determined by the analysis of the Ordnance Survey data and broadly followed the extent of the predicted visibility of the development site within the surrounding landscape. This wider study area was then reassessed using 3d modelling techniques and the advice of the consultation bodies identified during the assessment process. A number of viewpoints (covering an area of approximately 20km radius from the centre of the site) have been determined to assist in the visual impact assessment. For the purposes of the landscape assessment, a detailed study area has been established which includes an area 5km out from the development site. The perceptual impacts on landscape character areas and types have also been considered within the Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) Figure 21.1. 21.3 Legislation, Policy and Guidance a) Introduction to Planning Context Analysis 21.3.1 The Hinkley Point C Development Site is located within West Somerset Council (WSC). The wider study area lies within three other local planning authority areas, namely: North Somerset Council, Sedgemoor District Council (SDC), and Taunton Deane Borough Council Figure 21.2. Aspects of planning guidance and policy, which are of particular relevance to this assessment, are examined below and shown in Figure 21.3. Guidance on national designations as well as local authority planning policy notes have been used to inform the decision making process. b) National Landscape Designations 21.3.2 Three important national designations exist within the wider study area: Exmoor National Park; Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); and Mendip Hills AONB. i) Exmoor National Park 21.3.3 Exmoor National Park is situated within the counties of Somerset (71% of the park) and Devon. The boundary of the National Park is located approximately 14km, and beyond, to the west of the Hinkley Point C Development Site. It was designated in 1954 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Each national park in England has been managed by its own National Park Authority since April 1997, following the Environment Act 1995. Its aims are to "conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks" and "promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Parks by the public” (Ref. 21.1) including responsibility for the conservation of the historic environment. ii) Quantock Hills AONB 21.3.4 The Quantock Hills AONB was designated in 1956 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and was the first AONB designated in England. It has the area of 9900 hectares and at its closest is located approximately 4km south-west of the Hinkley Point C Development Site. It falls within the boundary of three local planning authorities (LPAs), namely: WSC, SDC and Taunton Deane Borough Council. 2 | HINKLEY POINT C PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION – STAGE 2 ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT – VOLUME 2 21. Landscape and Visual Impact iii) The Mendip Hills AONB 21.3.5 The Mendip Hills AONB lies approximately 18 km north-east of the Hinkley Point C Development Site. 21.3.6 Further description of the AONB landscape character is provided in the landscape baseline Section 21.5. iv) Local Landscape Designations 21.3.7 There are no local landscape designations that cover any part of the Hinkley Point C Development Site. However, there are a number of local planning designations and policy guidance notes covering landscapes of particular interests that are present in the wider study area. These are listed and briefly described below: Inheritance Tax Exemption Sites; Historic Landscape; Green Wedge; Conservation areas; and Historic Parks and Gardens. v) Inheritance Tax Exemption Sites 21.3.8 Capital tax exemption is available for land of 'outstanding scenic, historic and scientific interest'. Four sites have been identified within the detailed study area for their exceptional scenic quality. Fairfield Estate is adjacent to the western boundary of the Hinkley Point C Development Site and includes Fairfield House and Dodington Hall, which are listed buildings. East Quantoxhead Estate is an area of high scenic, conservation and historic interest lying partly within the Quantocks Hills AONB. Kentsford Farmhouse and Orchard Wyndham are located around the village of Williton, approximately 10km to the west of the site. vi) Historic Landscape 21.3.9 Historic landscape characterisation is a programme initiated by English Heritage to increase understanding of the wider landscape beyond that of the planned parkland of the country estate. Historic characterisation is described by the Council for British Archaeology as "a way of going beyond intuition to get beneath the skin of a place and look at its essential qualities and character” (Ref. 21.2). The historic landscape characterisation programme does not restrict itself to historic buildings, ornamental landscapes and purely archaeological features, but embraces other man made features such as hedges and managed woodland. Recognising the historic character of a landscape is intended to allow the landscape itself to be managed and protected within the English planning system. Historic landscape characterisation has no statutory basis, however local planning authorities are required to "take account of the historical dimensions of the landscape as a whole" (Ref. 21.3). vii) Green Wedge 21.3.10 Green Wedge is a local landscape designation within the SDC Local Plan. Its function is to contain urban development within a defined boundary around settlements. The nearest Green Wedge designation is located approximately 11km to the north-east of the Hinkley Point C Development Site, adjacent to the coastline settlements between Burnham-on-Sea and Brean Down. HINKLEY POINT C PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION – STAGE 2 | 3 ENVIRONMENTAL APPRAISAL – VOLUME 2 21. Landscape and Visual Impact viii) Conservation Areas 21.3.11 Conservation areas are tracts of land that have been given protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded. The designation is usually applied to areas considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of their special architectural or historic interest, "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance", as required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (Section 69 and 70). 21.3.12 Twenty six conservation areas exist within 20km of the Hinkley Point C Development Site and within the boundary of four relevant LPAs.