99 - Black Mountains and Golden Valley : Detailed Statements of Environmental Opportunity

This section expands on the Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity and provides further detail on each of the Statements of Environmental Opportunity.

SEO 1

SEO 1: Protect, manage and enhance the open, expansive upland habitats and peat deposits of the Black Mountains to ensure that they are healthy and contiguous, protecting the important species and the soil and water resources that they support

For example by:

• Managing and enhancing the extent, diversity and condition of upland habitats to ensure that they can support the important assemblages of bird species, including red grouse, peregrine falcon, merlin and breeding waders, allowing population sizes to be maintained and where possible increased. Maintain and restore vegetation cover on degraded areas of blanket bog, to promote active peat formation, to encourage carbon sequestration and to reduce soil erosion.
• Maintaining and restoring degraded heathland communities through sustainable grazing and burning regimes, to reduce poaching, aid water infiltration and reduce the loss of peaty soils through erosion.
• Seeking opportunities to retain water and slow down run-off by re- wetting, and maintaining and re-vegetating peat surfaces to bring blanket bog back into favourable ecological and hydrological condition, reducing water discolouration, sediment loss and peat erosion and improving downstream water quality.
• Seeking opportunities to restore and enhance links between fragmented upland habitats to improve the condition and increase the area of the vegetation. Aim to achieve a strong ecological network that is resilient to climate change and supports a more diverse range of species.
• Promoting links between landscape, sensitive land and soil management practices and high-quality food production, to enhance the marketability of products through high environmental standards.
• Conserving the peat deposits on the Black Mountains, which are important for storing carbon.

SEO 2

SEO 2: Protect, manage and enhance the upland fringes, the lower slopes and the valleys, with their mosaics of habitats including moorland, heathland, woodland, meadows and pastures, and their field patterns defined by hedgerows, to enhance ecological networks and strengthen the distinctive landscape character of the Black Mountains and Golden Valley.

For example by:

• Planning at a landscape scale for the expansion of various habitats, informed by an understanding of the historical development, ecology, species priorities (such as woodland bird populations and breeding curlew), recreational use and potential, and agriculture of the area, to create an interconnected network and mosaic of habitats – for climate change resilience, to prevent soil erosion and to enhance landscape character.
• Conserving and enhancing the mosaic and diversity of woodlands, trees, grasslands and semi-natural habitats by working with farmers and landowners to restore and maintain these habitats to enable them to capture and store carbon, thus reducing run-off and sedimentation in rivers.
• Managing woodlands to enable natural regeneration of existing woodlands and planting of new small-scale native woodlands. The expansion and connection of existing woodlands – particularly small areas of ancient, semi-natural woodland along the slopes and valley sides – will strengthen landscape character and improve their ability to capture and store carbon. Develop the potential of woodland to contribute to the local economy, including through products, skills, crafts and wood fuels.
• Ensuring that woodlands are well managed, to reduce run-off, guard against soil erosion, improve water quality and improve their ability to capture and store carbon. Thin coniferous woodland and replant it with native species where appropriate.
• Promoting and developing the use of trees of local genetic provenance, free from disease, for stocking and replanting, to reduce the spread of disease.
• Maintaining standing dead trees and fallen trees within historic parkland, hedgerows and woodland, to provide habitats for a range of species including invertebrates, roosting bats and birds; and replanting to replace fallen or decayed ancient and mature trees, to maintain landscape character, contribute to sense of place and enhance biodiversity.
• Promoting the management of species-rich hay meadows and pastures, to conserve and enhance their biodiversity interest.
• Maintaining pastoral character of the lower hills and river valleys by encouraging good land, water and soil management practices and sustainable grazing regimes, to maintain a sustainable livestock farming sector and reduce sediment loading and pollution in rivers.
• Developing stronger local food markets and branding, to support local producers and traditional products and to create strong links between people, food and landscapes.
• Working with the local authority and local parishes to create multi- functional greenspaces that incorporate sympathetic management for pollinators, including appropriate management of road verges, adding to the network of nectar sources close to food crops that require insect pollination. Encourage the use of field margins, beetle banks and headlands in arable land, to encourage pollinators and pest-regulating species and to act as wildlife corridors.
• Retaining, restoring, managing and planting new hedgerows in traditional local style, to enhance landscape character and improve habitat connectivity, particularly where this can assist in regulating soil erosion.

SEO 3

SEO 3: Protect and manage the rivers Dore and Monnow, their flood plains and their associated watercourses, to maintain high water quality and enhance their nature conservation interest, to strengthen their contribution to landscape character, to help reduce the potential risk of flooding both within the National Character Area and downstream, and to increase the recreational opportunities they provide for public enjoyment.

For example by:

• Promoting a catchment-scale approach to enhancing the water quality within the National Character Area’s (NCA’s) rivers and streams, to restore and maintain good water quality and comply with the Water Framework Directive.
• Ensuring that any future development addresses water use, abstraction and demand, to minimise impacts on water quality, resources, flood risk and associated aquatic habitats, and to improve the ecology and resilience of reservoir and river systems.
• Working with the farming community to promote good land, soil and water management on farmland, and ensuring that farm practices maximise grass growth, minimise run-off rates and reduce diffuse pollution.
• Promoting sustainable river management that works with natural processes and allows storage of flood waters, reducing run-off rates and managing the downstream flood risk.
• Retaining, restoring and protecting bankside vegetation and the natural flood plain function of the rivers by appropriately managing, restoring and creating wetland habitats such as flood plain wetlands.
• Improving the management of agricultural drainage and land use, increasing flood water storage capacity, reducing surface water run-off and soil erosion, reducing impacts of flooding, and improving resilience to climate change, water quality and biodiversity.
• Working with the farming community and water companies to create grassland buffer strips, watermeadows and wet woodland next to rivers, to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.
• Managing bogs and mires, to protect peat soils, increase water-holding capacity and encourage active peat formation, to mitigate the effects of climate change.
• Promoting sustainable recreational opportunities along and on the watercourses, enabling quiet enjoyment, while continuing to conserve and enhance biodiversity.

SEO 4

SEO 4: Protect, manage and enhance the qualities of tranquillity, wildness and remoteness and the historic and geological assets while providing nature-based recreational opportunities that are accessible to a diverse range of people and encourage sustainable tourism.

For example by:

• Maintaining a sense of wildness and remoteness through ensuring that new developments are sympathetic to these objectives.
• Planning and seeking to accommodate development so as not to increase disturbance through traffic or light pollution.
• Actively managing visitors by ensuring that there are a wide range of opportunities – for example, circular walks from the villages – that allow visitor load to be spread. Manage visitor access and recreational activities to ensure that there is no impact on tranquillity for visitors and local communities. For example, provide information and interpretation in a range of destinations and develop access opportunities throughout the NCA.
• Reducing car numbers by developing alternatives to car-based transport, for example by creating a minibus for walkers linking to circular walks, developing and promoting walking and cycling
  opportunities from key centres such as Hay-on-Wye, and providing information on public transport into the area.
• Exploring opportunities to increase sustainable tourism initiatives that will improve visitors’ enjoyment, understanding and environmental awareness and will support the local economy, while protecting the special qualities of the area.
• Creating strong links between nature-based activities and the local community and economy. For example, encourage and incentivise local businesses such as bicycle hire, woodland management, guided walks and farm diversification businesses, to develop local tourism.
• Developing interpretation material for the area that promotes its unique qualities, wildlife and links to wider environmental issues such as climate change.
• Developing the rights-of-way network and promoting opportunities to visitors for circular walks of various lengths. Ensure that paths are well marked and maintained and that key features, wildlife and points of interest are highlighted.
• Conserving, enhancing and making accessible the network of geological sites where appropriate, to help improve the understanding of the role that geodiversity plays – in particular its connection to biodiversity, landscape character, and industrial and cultural heritage.
• Providing opportunities for designation of Local Geological Sites in this area which have not yet been covered by funding.
• Developing interpretation material to increase public awareness of the underlying geology and glacial features that shape the landscape.
• Encouraging the use of locally available building stone to maintain the vernacular character of the area.
• Encouraging sustainable geotourism based on the geodiversity of the area.
• Conserving archaeological and other historic features in the landscape with heritage interest, while recognising the potential for undiscovered remains.
• Using understanding of the area’s traditional and historical architecture, and its distinct patterns of settlement, to inform appropriate conservation and use of historic buildings, and to plan for and inspire any environmentally beneficial new development that makes a positive contribution to local character.
• Maintaining and restoring traditional farm buildings, through continued agricultural use where possible, and ensuring that through re-use their heritage interest is retained.
• Maintaining the diversity of geology and traditional buildings, by using, promoting and encouraging locally sourced materials and skills for walling and building repair and construction.