Landscape Character Assessment

1 Landscape Character AssessmentEnvironment DirectoratePublished by Environment DirectorateLancashire County CouncilDecember 2000 Design - Graphics Unit - Environment Directorate Copies of this document from:Environment DirectorateLancashire County Council Cross Street Winckley House Preston PR1 8 RDWeb: : 01772 264115 Web: LCC & Countryside Agencysupported by:The Lancashire Landscape Strategy was commissioned by Lancashire County CouncilEnvironment Directorate with grant aid fromthe Countryside Agency and financial supportfrom the following local authorities;Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council,Burnley Borough Council,Chorley Borough Council,Fylde Borough Council,Hyndburn Borough Council,North Yorkshire County Council,Pendle Borough Council,Preston Borough Council,Ribble Valley Borough Council,South Ribble Borough Council,West Lancashire District Council,Wyre Borough study was prepared for LancashireCounty Council by:Environmental Resources ManagementEaton House, Wallbrook Court,North Hinksey Lane, Oxford OX2 0 QSGeological Map based on British Geological Survey upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office Crown copyright.

2 Unauthorised reproductioninfringes Crown copyright and may lead toprosecution or civil County N LA 076716 Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character Scope and Context for this of the Landscape Character and of the Report32 The Evolution of Influences103 Lancashire s Landscape Character264 Lancashire s Urban Landscape Core (1100-1800) Age (1800-1930) (1930 ONWARDS)115 Glossary117 Bibliography121 Acknowledgements122A Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentLIST OF FIGURESPage Figure 1 Study Area 5 Figure 2 The Character Map of England - The North West 6 Figure 3 Previous Landscape Assessments 7 Figure 4 Historic Landscape Types 21 Figure 5 Geology 22 Figure 6 Landform 23 Figure 7 Habitats 25 Figure 8 Landscape Character Types 28 & 29& Landscape Character Areas Figure 9 Urban Landscape Character Types 30 & 112A Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentLIST OF PHOTOGRAPHSP hotographTitle and Credit Page

3 Williams1 2 Sabden, Forest of Bowland in winter. Countryside Agency/Mike Williams 1 3 Low tide, Morecambe Sparks 2 4 Enclosure walls and Williams25 Aughton across the Lune Sparks 36 Roman Ruins, County Council 11 7 Rock cut graves, Sparks 13 8 Textile Mill, County Council 14 9 Stonyhurst County Council 17 10 Terraced County Council 1811&12 Upland Habitats, Littledale & Corn Marigolds, Hickling2413 Saltmarsh, Sparks2414 Worsthorne Moor. Countryside Agency/Mike Williams 3115 Trough of Williams 35 16 Langden Brook at Williams 3617 Forest of Williams 4118 Parlick, Forest of Bowland. Countryside Agency/Mike Williams 43 19 Williams49 20 Read Williams5521 Brierfield Williams 5622 View from Millennium Williams 5923 Rawtenstall in Sparks 63 24 Anglezarke Reservoir, Williams65 25 Tarnbrook Williams 69 26 Frosty Morning, Crook O Sparks 73 27 Drumlins near Williams 77 28 Drumlin Field west of the Lune at Williams 81 29 Walled Lane south west of Gisburn Williams 85 30 Coastal Plain, Burscough.

4 Countryside Agency/Mike Williams 89 31 Downholland Williams 9332 Glasshouses near Banks. Countryside Agency/Mike Williams9433 Hesketh New Williams 9734 Warton Sands, south of Williams 9935 Sand dunes at Lytham St Jepson 10336 Warton Crag, view west to Morecambe Sparks10537 Limestone Pavement, Gait Barrows Nature Sparks10638 Limestone outcrop, Leck Williams 10939 Preston Flag County Council 11140 Backyards, County Council 114 41 Suburbs, south Sparks 115 Cover illustration:View across Burscough - Landscape Character Type 15, The Coastal Plain. Countryside Agency/Mike in SparksA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentFlow Diagram showing links between the Landscape Assessment , historic Landscape Assessment andproduction of Landscape strategy and Landscape Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentLANDSCAPE ASSESSMENTE volution of Lancashire - Physical InfluencesHuman Influences Classification (Types & Areas)Description (Types & Areas)Urban Landscape TypesHISTORIC LANDSCAPEASSESSMENTC lassification (Historic Types)Description (Historic Types)Value and PerceptionsForces for ChangeImportanceSafeguarding the TypeLANDSCAPE STRATEGYF orces for Change (Study Area Wide)Key Environmental Features (Types)Local Forces for Change (Types)

5 Implementing the StrategyIndicators of Landscape ChangeMonitoring Landscape ChangeSUPPLEMENTARY REPORTP rogramme for Monitoring ChangeTargetsLANDSCAPE POLICYCOUNTY COUNCILS tructure Plan PolicySupplementary Planning GuidanceDISTRICT COUNCILL ocal Plan PolicyDetailed District LandscapeAssessments and Policy Guidance:West Lancashire District Council s Natural Areas and Areas of LandscapeHistory Importance (Potentially) Other District LandscapeAssessments(Potentially) Design Guidance(1) Countryside Commission (1987) Landscape Assessment : a Countryside Commission Approach, CCD 18, Countryside Commission, Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character Assessment11 IntroductionIn October 1999, Environmental ResourcesManagement (ERM) were commissioned byLancashire County Council, in partnership withthe Countryside Agency, District Councils,Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Authority,North Yorkshire County Council and CravenDistrict Council, to undertake acomprehensive integrated Landscape andassessment of Lancashire including the urbanareas and to produce a Landscape strategyinformed by the Landscape characterassessment overall study consists of two separatereports;a Landscape Character Assessment anda Landscape Strategy.

6 This first report, thelandscape Character Assessment , is an objectivedescription and classification of the Lancashirelandscape. It forms the basis for the evaluationand guidance provided in the timescale of theLandscape Strategy is tobe concurrent with and reviewed during thereview period of the next Joint LancashireStructure Plan Scope and Context for this StudyThe study area is shown on Figure all of the administrative county ofLancashire, and Blackburn with DarwenUnitary authority and part of the CravenDistrict of North Yorkshire up to theboundary of the Yorkshire Dales National area was included to provide detailedassessment of the whole of the Bowland Fells,Bowland Fringe and Pendle Hill and LancashireValleys Countryside Character Areas asdefined in the Character Map of England. Forthe purpose of the report the Study isreferred to as a Landscape Strategy Landscape Character Assessment uses as astarting point the Countryside Agency sCharacter Map of England (Figure 2), andincorporates as far as possible informationfrom a number of earlier landscapeassessments carried out across the county, aswell as making reference to studies in adjacentareas.

7 (Figure 3). In 1993 the County Councilcarried out a Landscape evaluation for thepurposes of the Structure Plan Review basedon Countryside Commission guidance(1)toidentify Landscape Character areas within theCounty. These Landscape Character areas haveformed the basis for Landscape policy in theLancashire Structure Plan Character assessments have alsobeen carried out in recent years in the twoAreas of Outstanding Natural Beauty(Arnside/Silverdale and the Forest ofBowland), in the South Pennines (CountrysideAgency Character Area 36) in West Lancashire(Natural Areas and Areas of LandscapeHistory Importance) and Wyre Districts, andin the adjacent authorities of Sefton andCumbria. Significantly, this Assessment has beeninformed by the historic Landscape assessmentof Lancashire carried out by the CountyPhoto 1. 2. Sabden, Forest of Bowland in Service, which commenced inJanuary 1999. The project characterised thedistinctive, historic dimension of Lancashire surban and rural environment and iscomplementary to this Landscape Flow Diagram overleaf shows therelationship between Landscape Assessment ,historic and Assessment draws together previouswork, producing a comprehensive integratedcharacter Assessment using up-to-daterecommended methodology.

8 Where existingDistrict guidance is operative as in WestLancashire, the Landscape Strategy willcomplement it and should encourage theproduction of further detailed Districtassessments and of the Landscape CharacterAssessmentThis Landscape Character Assessment adopts anholistic approach which considers thelandscapes of Lancashire as a mosaic ofdifferent Landscape types and Character areas,each with particular characteristics and subjectto particular forces for change. Theassessment is intended to provide anunderstanding of the area s Landscape and toform a basis for the Landscape strategy study as a whole will inform the newStructure Plan and local plan policies onlandscape, as well as supplementary planningguidance. It will also assist local planningofficers in development control and will guideand inform project planning and landscapemanagement by the Lancashire CountrysideService. The strategy is also intended to fulfil awider remit by helping to promote publicawareness of Landscape Character and theimportance of conservation and enhancementof Landscape Character Assessment has fourmain objectives: to outline how the Landscape of Lancashirehas evolved in terms of physical forces andhuman influences; to classify the Landscape into distinctlandscape types identifying key characteristicsand sensitivities and providing principles toguide Landscape change; to describe the current appearance of thelandscape, classifying it into distinct zones ofhomogeneous Character , summarising the keyfeatures of each Landscape Character area; to describe the principal urban landscapetypes across the County, highlighting their historical Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character AssessmentA Landscape Strategy for LancashireLandscape Character Assessment2 Photo 3.

9 Low tide Morecambe 4. Enclosure walls and heather.(1) Countryside Commission (1993) Landscape Assessment Guidance, CCP 423, Countryside Commission, Cheltenham.(2) Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage (1999) Interim Landscape Character Assessment and MethodologyThe study used accepted, systematic methodsof Landscape Assessment (1)supplemented bythe new guidance on Landscape characterassessment(2). The main tasks were: familiarisation with the study area throughoverlay mapping, desk study and compilationof material onto detailed field survey forms. site survey including completion of field surveyforms for Character areas, mapping oflandscape types and Landscape characterareas at 1:50,000, and preparation of aphotographic record. background research into the geological andphysical evolution, human influences on thelandscape, and ongoing land use change anddevelopment pressures. consultations with key individuals andorganisations to assist the team inunderstanding local Landscape Character andforces for change.

10 Report preparation, including descriptions oflandscape Character types, landscapecharacter areas and the physical and humaninfluences which have shaped their of a sound landscapeclassification laid the foundations for allsubsequent of the ReportThis report presents a full description andclassification of the landscapes within the studyarea, together with an analysis of its geologyand topography, and the historic evolution ofpatterns of land cover, land use andsettlement. It will provide a valuable source ofinformation for planning and land managementin Landscape patterns that we see todayhave evolved gradually over thousands ofyears, through both natural and human Report begins, in Section 2, by describingthe principal influences that have shaped thelandscape in the county. Important anddistinctive geological, cultural, historic andhabitat features are highlighted, and theirdistribution is sets the scene forSection 3, whichreviews Landscape Character across the studyarea, presenting the classification of landscapecharacter types, urban Landscape types andcharacter areas and drawing attention to thosecharacteristics and features that areparticularly distinctive, rare or special.