National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents www.naturalengland.org.uk 1 National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents Introduction National Character Areas map As part of Natural England’s responsibilities as set out in the Natural Environment White Paper,1 Biodiversity 20202 and the European Landscape Convention,3 we are revising profiles for England’s 159 National Character Areas North (NCAs). These are areas that share similar landscape characteristics, and which East follow natural lines in the landscape rather than administrative boundaries, making them a good decision-making framework for the natural environment. Yorkshire & The North Humber NCA profiles are guidance documents which can help communities to inform West their decision-making about the places that they live in and care for. The information they contain will support the planning of conservation initiatives at a East landscape scale, inform the delivery of Nature Improvement Areas and encourage Midlands broader partnership working through Local Nature Partnerships. The profiles will West also help to inform choices about how land is managed and can change. Midlands East of Each profile includes a description of the natural and cultural features England that shape our landscapes, how the landscape has changed over time, the current key drivers for ongoing change, and a broad analysis of each London area’s characteristics and ecosystem services. Statements of Environmental South East Opportunity (SEOs) are suggested, which draw on this integrated information. South West The SEOs offer guidance on the critical issues, which could help to achieve sustainable growth and a more secure environmental future. NCA profiles are working documents which draw on current evidence and knowledge. We will aim to refresh and update them periodically as new 1 The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature, Defra information becomes available to us. (2011; URL: www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm80/8082/8082.pdf) 2 Biodiversity 2020: A Strategy for England’s Wildlife and Ecosystem Services, Defra We would like to hear how useful the NCA profiles are to you. You can contact the (2011; URL: www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13583-biodiversity-strategy-2020-111111.pdf) 3 European Landscape Convention, Council of Europe NCA team by [email protected]. (2000; URL: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/176.htm) 2 National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents Summary the east, including the Sovereign Harbour complex constructed in the 1990s. Eastbourne Park is a grazed wetland surrounded by the urban development The term ‘Pevensey Levels’ refers to the low-lying area between Eastbourne of Eastbourne and providing a green corridor linking to the Low Weald. Its and Bexhill in East Sussex. It is a wetland of national and international primary role is flood storage, and it has an essential role in mitigating the effects conservation importance and 37 per cent of the National Character Area of flooding on the surrounding built environment, but it is also important for (NCA) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Ramsar site. The Levels are recreational opportunities, archaeological interest and biodiversity. predominantly rural and mostly grazed pasture, and consist of extensive drainage networks and flood plain. The NCA also includes the urban centre of The coast forms the southern boundary of the NCA. A shingle bank extends Eastbourne which is a busy seaside town with a population of nearly 100,0004 along the length of the coastal strip and acts as a sea defence, protecting and up to 5 million visitors each year. A coastline of shingle beach stretches homes and businesses, roads, railway links and the tranquil grazing marsh. along the length of the area, punctuated by settlements, historic military buildings and sea defence structures. The area is framed by the steep scarp of the South Downs in the west and the higher ground of the High Weald in the north, with views of the English Channel to the south. Much of the Pevensey Levels was under water until the medieval period and the whole area is low lying and vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly coastal flooding. Sea defences consist mainly of open beach managed by periodic shingle replenishments, maintenance of groynes, recycling of material around the beach and re-profiling during and after storms. In the long term, these measures may need reviewing as sea levels rise. Managing the environmentally important Pevensey Levels is dependent on careful and continuous water management through a system of sluices and pumps. Eastbourne is the main settlement within this small NCA with its essentially Victorian seafront and later settlement further inland and along the coast to Click map to enlarge; click again to reduce Click map to enlarge; click again to reduce 4 99,412 was the 2011 census figure 3 National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents Statements of Environmental Opportunities: ■ SEO 1: Manage and plan for change in the function of the network of watercourses, water management infrastructure and wetland habitats across the Levels to provide benefits in improved flood management, water and soil quality, viable agricultural futures and protection of sub-soil archaeology, and to increase the range and extent of habitats and species and their resilience to climate change. ■ SEO 2: Manage and enhance the distinctive character of the open, low- lying Pevensey Levels landscape and its heritage features such as medieval farmstead sites, boundaries and relics of the salt making industry, benefiting landscape character, tranquillity, and sense of place and history. ■ SEO 3: Safeguard and manage the shingle beaches and coastline features that maintain the existence of the NCA and its associated habitats and species, benefiting protection against coastal erosion and flooding, biodiversity, sense of place and history, and geodiversity. ■ SEO 4: Plan for the creation of a strong landscape framework associated with the identified future growth of Eastbourne, Hailsham and Bexhill and along the A22 corridor. Manage and enhance access to green space within the area, balancing recreational provision with nature conservation, and ensure that Eastbourne’s surviving population of mature elms is protected. The ditches of Pevensey Levels SSSI feature 70 per cent native aquatic plants. 4 National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents Description Physical and functional links to other National Distinct area Character Areas ■ Willingdon Levels The Pevensey Levels National Character Area (NCA) forms the transition between the Low Weald NCA to the north-west and the English Channel. It is bounded on the north and east by the higher ground of the High Weald NCA, while to the south-west the steep scarp slope of the South Downs NCA dominates the backdrop. This area of alluvial marshland drains the elevated landscapes of both the High and Low Weald, its main river (Waller’s Haven) draining into the sea. Part of the South Downs chalk aquifer lies under the western edge of the NCA but most of the water supply for the town of Eastbourne comes from the Cuckmere catchment via Arlington Reservoir in the Low Weald, although Waller’s Haven supplies some water to Bexhill in the High Weald NCA. There are few actual farmsteads on the Levels, with most livestock belonging to farms on surrounding higher land outside the NCA. The coast runs the length of the NCA, from Cooden in the west to Eastbourne, where the seafront is bisected by the boundary with the South Downs NCA in the east. The East Coastway rail line runs between Ashford International and Hastings, through Eastbourne and north to London. The A22 links Eastbourne to the M25 and South London and the A259 forms vital connections between settlements along the coast such as Eastbourne, Bexhill and Hastings. National Cycle Route 21 runs from Pevensey, through the Weald of Kent and Sussex to Greenwich in South London. Water levels on Pevensey Levels are controlled by a series of pumps, sluices and other structures. 5 National Character 124. Pevensey Levels Area profile: Supporting documents Key characteristics ■ Low-lying tract of largely reclaimed wetland, actively maintained by ■ Widely spaced roads and isolated settlements combine with the overall purpose-built drainage systems and river flood plain improvements, with open character to provide a sense of remoteness. Roads tend to be long views to the dramatic and distinctive backdrop of the South Downs slightly raised above the surrounding land, forming visual divisions in and out over the sea. A predominantly open landscape with extensive the landscape. grazed wet meadows and some arable fields with characteristic dykes, ■ Electricity transmission lines and pylons form vertical features in the wetlands and wide skies. The open, windswept feel is further enhanced flat and open landscape. by the scarcity of trees and hedges in the landscape. ■ Low density of dispersed settlement, mostly farmsteads on medieval sites, away from main centres of population. ■ Local landscape diversity is added by ‘eyes’ – islands of higher ground, many with farmsteads – and also by reed-fringed ditches, scattered willows and patches of standing water with adjacent rushy pasture. Ditches of high biodiversity value, particularly for invertebrates and aquatic plants, typically fringed with reeds, and with patches of standing water and rushy pasture reinforcing the wetland character. ■ Pevensey Castle overlooks the Levels near the coast, dominating the landscape and adding to the historic interest of the area along with Martello towers and Eastbourne Pier. ■ Numerous salt works where seawater was evaporated to form salt crystals, resulting in distinctive low mounds. ■ Shingle beaches with views along the coast dominated in the west by the Victorian seafront at Eastbourne and the Sovereign Harbour complex. Martello towers on the shingle beach at the entrance to Sovereign Harbour. The High Weald is in the far distance.