Topic Paper 3 The Natural Environment Version 1.0 The Natural Environment Topic Paper This topic paper is one of a series, prepared by the Council, to support preparation of its Local Development Framework (LDF). The topic papers in the series currently comprise: 1. Demography and Social Trends 2. Policy Context 3. The Natural Environment 4. The Built Environment 5. The Economy 6. Tourism 7. Retail 8. Housing 9. Leisure and Open Space 10. Water 11. Transport The purpose of the papers is to provide all parties who may wish to participate within the Local Development Framework process access to the same baseline information that the Council intends to use in the preparation of its Development Plan Documents and Supplementary Planning Documents. They provide a digest, rather than a substitution, for fuller information obtained from other sources. Other topic papers may be added over time. Should you have any questions relating to the content of these papers, please contact [email protected]. This paper covers the natural environment, whilst the built environment and water are dealt with in separate topic papers. 1 Introduction 1.1 Swale’s natural environment has evolved over many hundreds of years and is one of its major assets. It has been created by the interaction of the natural environment and human activities, in particular the combination of physical, biological and cultural influences. 1.2 A Local Development Framework needs to provide policies that will guide development proposals in respect of a whole range of environmental issues, ranging from climate change, flooding, and pollution through to the protection and enhancement of environmental assets. It will also need to address those parts of the Borough with poorer environmental quality, urban regeneration opportunities and landscape and ecological restoration. 1 1.3 There have been a number of studies undertaken which will form evidence base for the LDF. Those relevant to the natural environment include: ● Sustainable Design and Construction ● Strategic Flood Risk Assessment ● Landscape Character and Biodiversity Assessment 2 Outline of Swale’s Natural Environmental Assets 2.1 Swale borough covers an area of 364 square kilometres. Whilst part of Swale is within the Government’s Thames Gateway Growth Area, it is nevertheless a predominantly rural Borough, with diverse communities, landscapes, and habitats. Much of the borough is rural and includes attractive landscape of the North Downs and the remote Swale and Medway marshlands, including significant areas of international wildlife importance. The borough is semi rural with the principle towns surrounded by villages and extensive tracts of countryside. The majority of the borough’s countryside is of an extremely high quality. 2.2 Swale has significant environment assets with some 26% (approx 10,900 ha) of land in the Borough designated either for its international or national value for biodiversity, with some 5% of this identified for its County (local) value. Some 59% (approx 24,800 ha) of the Borough’s landscape was designated by the 2008 Local Plan for its national, county, or local landscape quality. The Borough also contains large swathes of nationally important best and most versatile agricultural land. In addition, much of the lower lying land is at risk of tidal flooding. 2.3 Agriculture continues to shape the nature and character of the countryside and Swale remains associated with a long history of fruit production. Agriculture shapes much of the diversity of the Borough’s environmental resources too, including internationally important estuarine and coastal habits in the North Kent Marshes, the central plain of orchards and arable land, the wooded clay outcrop of The Blean, and the southern woodlands and dry chalk valleys of the North Downs dip-slope. 2.4 The Borough’s maritime influence is a product of its 111 km long coast – the longest of any Kent district. It includes the soft clay cliffs of Sheppey, its coastal marshes and mud, its inlets and creeks, the latter providing the basis of industries, such as barge building, and in modern times, tourism and leisure. 2.5 There is dereliction and poor environmental quality in parts of the Borough needing to be tackled, notably, Milton Creek, Queenborough/Rushenden, Sheerness and Blue Town, whilst the character of the countryside is affected by development and changes in the agricultural and forestry economies. 3 Existing Planning Policy 3.1 There is a swath of policy guidance on the natural environment. The policy context for the natural environment can be seen in Topic Paper 2. 2 3.2 However, the general policy direction of travel for this issue is the need for Council’s to both protect and enhance their environmental assets, locate development outside areas of high flood risk, minimise the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land, promote renewable energy schemes and work towards more sustainable development to help mitigate against climate change. There is also an emphasis on promoting the natural environment as a resource for recreation and the associated health benefits. 4 Geology 3.3 The diversity of the Borough’s landscapes, and thus its overall natural environment, can be largely attributed to its very rich and varied geology and soils (see figure1). The upper chalk of the North Downs dip slope dominates the southern area of the Borough. Over the majority of its area it is overlain by clay-with-flints on the higher ground and head deposits in the valley bottoms. The fine loamy and silty soils of the clay-with-flints support cereals, permanent grassland and deciduous woodland. In the valleys the thinner well-drained calcareous soils generally support grassland. To the north of the chalk is a band of Thanet, Oldhaven and Blackheath beds overlain with a complex mix of brickearths and gravels. The main areas of settlement, including Sittingbourne and Faversham are located within this band, along with the Roman Road of Watling Street. The deep, well drained, often stoneless, fine silty soils throughout this area have traditionally supported a variety of crops, most notably apples and other top fruit with some hops. 3.4 London clay forms the geology of the northern and far eastern parts of the Borough, including the Isle of Sheppey. The London clay gives rise to two contrasting landscapes. Where it is low lying it is overlain with alluvial deposits, which form an almost continuous belt of marshland along the north edge of the mainland and across southern Sheppey. London clay also forms the higher ground of northern Sheppey, capped with a small area of Bagshot beds around Minster and the distinctive clay ridge of the Blean in the east. 3.5 On the marshland ditches and pumps drain deep stoneless clayey soils. Traditionally these soils support grazing, although some areas have been sufficiently drained to support cereals. The mudflats and saltmarshes are categorised as unripened gley soils. Some of these soils are flooded at high tide and generally they are conserved as saltmarsh habitats with some summer grazing. 3 Figure 1: Geology of Swale 5 Landscape Landscape character is identified by a series of character areas defined firstly for England, than at more detail for Kent, and again for Swale. English Landscape Character Areas 5.1 The Borough's landscape is varied, reflected by three distinct broad character types - the flat, open marshland of the Greater Thames Estuary in the northern part of the Borough, the orchards, arable land, woodland and dry valleys of the North Kent Plain and the dipping slope, valleys and downland woodland of the Kent Downs (See figure 2 below.) Historically the landscape was predominelty shaped by agriculture and remains so today. 4 Figure 2: Landscape Character Areas - England Greater Thames Estuary Character Area/Natural Area 5.2 Most of the land of Swale Borough is within the Greater Thames Estuary Natural Area. Soft sediments, forming extensive saltmarshes and mudflats, dominate the intertidal zone. These are separated along most of its length by man-made sea defences from the low-lying land. These areas were formerly subject to more frequent flooding, but are now mainly arable land, with much grassland and still some substantial areas of grazing marsh and its network of ditches, dykes, creeks and fleets. The value of this landscape is recognised in the designation of undeveloped parts of the North Kent coast as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. The marshland areas themselves are characterised by a lack of major settlements. Farmsteads and villages are located on higher ground within and on the edge of the marshes, whilst the large towns, industry, housing, caravan sites, transport routes and other structures now occupy what are often highly visible sites around the edges. North Kent Plain and Woodlands Character Area/Natural Area 5.3 This land, includes some of the most fertile and productive farmland in southeast England. It also includes large areas of woodland (such as the Blean Complex) and remnant orchard. A few small woodland blocks add variety to the horticultural landscape. Significant woodland cover with outstanding nature conservation interest is confined to pockets of higher ground around at Newington and, more significantly, at Blean where heavy 5 acidic London Clay soils support one of the largest continuous woodlands in England. The more common species such as sweet chestnut, sessile oak, hornbeam and beech cover are found amongst the enclosed pasture and arable fields. Within the central North Kent Plain, mixed farmland and arable landscapes of the Borough, the features of the present agricultural landscape probably began to be developed as the light soils were cleared during the Neolithic period and Roman times. Within the countryside, agriculture is still a predominant activity, although it continues to undergo great change, both economically and in the way the landscape is shaped by it.