128 - South Hampshire Lowlands : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

The South Hampshire Lowlands National Character Area (NCA) is a lowlying plain between the chalk hills of the Hampshire and South Downs and Southampton Water. Its highest point is an outlying chalk ridge – Portsdown Hill – but the bedrock geology is mostly open marine, estuarine and freshwater Tertiary deposits. The NCA is dominated by the city and port of Southampton and its adjoining towns and suburbs – 29 per cent of the area is urban. In the more rural areas, it is a mixture of farmland, particularly pasture, and woodland.

Some 18 per cent of the land cover of the NCA is woodland, of which almost half is designated ancient woodland, a legacy of the Forest of Bere, a Royal Hunting Forest that once covered the area. Today the most significant blocks of woodland are West Walk near Wickham, Botley Wood at Swanwick and Ampfield Wood near Romsey.

Although a high percentage of the area is urban, the NCA has considerable biodiversity interest. Southampton Water is internationally recognised for its importance for breeding and overwintering waterfowl and waders and for its wetland habitats such as mudflats and salt marshes. Three Natura 2000 designations cover parts of the area – Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site, Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Area and Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation.

The NCA is drained by several rivers: the lower reaches of the Test and Itchen, the source and headwaters of the Hamble and the middle section of the Meon. These provide not only a refuge for species in decline elsewhere, such as otters, but also examples of unusual habitats such as the estuarine woodlands on the Hamble. Both the Test and Itchen are important sources of potable water.

The NCA however faces many challenges, particularly ongoing development. This will need to be implemented sensitively in order to safeguard not only the designated sites within the NCA but also the important adjacent sites such as the New Forest and South Downs National Parks.

Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)

See the Statements of Environmental Opportunity section for more details on the headlines listed below.

SEO 1

Promote creative and effective sustainable development – including a well-connected network of high-quality greenspace in and around Southampton, Romsey, Eastleigh and Havant – which benefits local businesses and communities, protects local distinctiveness, encourages public understanding and enjoyment of the natural environment, and helps to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

SEO 2

Conserve, manage and enhance the semi-natural habitats of the river valleys, their estuaries and intertidal areas along the coast, to maintain water availability and flow, reduce flooding downstream, improve water quality, and enhance their biodiversity and landscape benefits.

SEO 3

Protect, manage and enhance the area’s historic well-wooded character – including its ancient semi-natural woodlands, wood pasture and hedgerows – to increase biomass provision, link and strengthen habitats for wildlife, and improve recreational opportunities.

SEO 4

Conserve, manage, link and enhance the traditional mosaic of seminatural grassland habitats – including chalk grassland, watermeadows and unimproved grassland – for the benefits they provide in protecting and regulating soils and water, climate change adaptation as well as recreational opportunities and improved biodiversity.