95 - Northamptonshire Uplands : Analysis: Ecosystem Services

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Mixed farming
• Soils
• Watercourses

State – The area is important regionally for food production and the farmed landscape has changed as market conditions have changed.

Over 80 per cent of the area is classed as Grade 3 agricultural land with 11 per cent Grade 2 and 5 per cent Grade 4, reflecting the underlying geology and superficial deposits.

Farming is mixed though grassland is still the predominant landcover, with a wide range of arable crops grown on the better land, including rape, maize, wheat, barley, field beans and winter beet.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – There has been a shift in cropping patterns in recent years, with a 50 per cent loss of dairy farms, a 24 per cent decline in mixed farms and significant reductions of around 20 per cent in grazing livestock numbers and also in glasshouse production. Numbers of specialist pig and poultry producers have increased slightly, though numbers are low.

The arable area has increased significantly, with a 194 per cent increase in the area growing stockfeed, reflecting an increase in the intensity of remaining stock production.

Levels of other arable crops vary from year to year, the area of cash roots has increased significantly by 60 per cent to 336 ha and rape has also increased significantly.

Farm sizes have increased and are mostly large, at over 100 ha, and there has been a 5 per cent reduction in overall farm numbers as farms have merged.

Intensively managed soils can be vulnerable to loss of carbon, compaction and erosion. It will be important to maintain soil carbon levels and good soil structure to ensure future productivity.

Pressures in the area include loss of remaining permanent pasture to arable, re-seeding of permanent pasture, the landscape impact of novel crops such as miscanthus, the potential impact of growth of energy crops on future food production and the potential effects of diffuse pollution from fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides on the watercourses.

Pressure for the extraction of sand and gravel along the Nene Valley and development pressures around the main settlements and the transport corridors continue to affect some of the better quality agricultural land in the area. Balance is required between these competing land uses.

Opportunities – Manage soils to ensure continued sustainable food production which does not compromise other ecosystem services, increasing soil carbon and water infiltration, and seeking to avoid soil compaction, erosion and diffuse pollution through good soil management.

Encourage techniques such as inclusion of break crops and retention of winter stubble to manage the land and protect soil.

Encourage sustainable, mixed grazing particularly on parkland and semi-improved grassland by grazing hardy beef cattle with sheep to ensure good ecological condition.

In areas that are important for arable plants and farmland birds and mammals, seek to balance efficient production with uptake of agri-environment options to encourage biodiversity.

Encourage the uptake of agri-environment schemes to support sustainable livestock production, including management of meadows to produce hay; to protect remaining hay meadows and to enhance the species-richness of neighbouring meadows and pastures; and increasing connectivity of this highly fragmented habitat.

Promote best practice in food production and farm waste management to reduce impacts on the natural environment, soils and water resources.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Food provision
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Water availability
• Genetic diversity
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Small broadleaved woods
• Conifer plantations
• Soils

State – Woodland cover is sparse at around 4 per cent and is mostly in the form of small scattered woods, often on hill-top sites.

Around 70 per cent of the 3,966 ha of woodland is broadleaved (with a mix of species, but predominantly oak and ash), with 17 per cent conifer (a mix of Douglas fir, Scots pine and Sitka spruce) and only 2 per cent mixed. Only 272 ha is ancient woodland and 159 ha of conifers planted on ancient woodland sites.

With woodland so restricted, there is no significant commercial forestry industry and current timber provision is low.

There is scope to re-introduce coppicing in some woods and in new plantations to produce small section timber for local use, with additional potential biodiversity benefits.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – There has been little management of much of the existing woodland resource, but with
around 1,000 ha net increase in woodland due to new planting in recent years, there has been a significant increase in woodland cover of more than 25 per cent, though overall cover is still only around 4 per cent.

The existing woodland, parkland and many hedgerow trees could be managed more effectively to produce some limited timber for local use.

There is scope for low grade woodland products in the short to medium term, and for higher value timber products in the longer term if active woodland management is pursued.

A significant increase in timber production would be possible and the Forestry Commission has calculated a potential to double existing cover. However, while this could have significant benefits for climate change regulation, soil and water protection, these need to be balanced against the continued need for food production, landscape and biodiversity and in particular the need to protect the important historic parkland and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

With climate change species composition may change in existing woodland, including ancient woodland and novel tree diseases including sudden oak death and ash die-back will pose a significant threat to the two currently dominant species in the same way that Dutch elm disease did during the 1970s.

Opportunities – Restore and encourage management of the many small broadleaved and remaining ancient woods, the many areas of parkland trees, wood pasture and areas of amenity and shelter tree planting around villages, for local timber use and wood fuel.

Encourage new small-scale planting for timber production in appropriate locations where it can be accommodated without compromising key features of the area such as the prominent, scattered, small hill-top woods, parkland or open landscape character and away from features of archaeological, historical, geological or biodiversity interest.

Encourage planting and management for local timber production of the many hedgerow and waterside trees to maintain a well-wooded appearance on enclosed land and along rivers.

Encourage sympathetic management of the existing conifer blocks, through thinning, selective felling and re-shaping, to develop open glades and softer edges that follow the landform, and increase the proportion of broadleaved species and enhance the ground flora.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Timber provision
• Biomass energy
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating soil quality
• Climate regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers
• Canals
• Reservoirs
• Semi-natural habitat

State – The headwaters of a number of major rivers rise within the NCA, the Avon, Leam, Cherwell, Welland and Nene, plus major tributaries of the Ouse, Nene, Brampton and Ise.

Water resources are heavily exploited and are considered to be restricted, ranging from ‘no water available’ to ‘over-
abstracted’, and measures are in place to monitor abstraction rates.

The Grand Union and Oxford canals traverse the full length of the NCA, totalling 92 km in length.

Small portions of the eastern boundary of the NCA overlay the edge of a major limestone aquifer. There are a few minor groundwater abstractions from the aquifer east of Daventry.

There are several large reservoirs in the north of the NCA, the largest being Pitsford Reservoir, covering more than 300 ha. Pitsford as well as Hollowell and Ravensthorpe reservoirs lie along the Brampton branch of the River Nene and provide public water supply. The Naseby, Sulby, and Stanford reservoirs lie along the River Avon. The Daventry Reservoir impounds winter run-off from surrounding tributaries in order to release water to the Grand Union Canal in the summer.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The Avon and Cherwell are ‘over-abstracted’ within the NCA. The River Leam suffers from low flows during summer months and is heavily abstracted for public water supply and currently ‘over-licensed’ The Nene is an important source of water for public water supply from Pitsford and Rutland reservoirs (the latter lying to the north-east of this NCA). There is ‘no water available’ from the River Nene or its Brampton branch, worsening to ‘over-licensed’ near Northampton. The Cherwell is ‘over-abstracted’ within the NCA and there is concern that the flows are unnaturally low due to abstractions at Banbury and those used to support the Oxford Canal.

The reservoirs form an important part of the water supply network to surrounding large towns and to the two canals. The planned major expansions of nearby towns, both inside and around the NCA, including Northampton, Rugby, Daventry and Banbury, will place additional pressure on local water supplies. Increasing future demand from agriculture for irrigation or stock watering could also increase pressure on supply.

Climate change may have an impact on water resources, with low rainfall and drought leading to water shortages, reduced water quality and exacerbating low summer flows in rivers and could lead to an exacerbation of diffuse pollution. Heavier winter rain could exacerbate flooding in some areas.

The ability of the catchments to maintain a constant flow rather than experience episodes of flood and drought is enhanced by measures to maintain good soil structure and either grassland or woodland cover, both of which aid rainwater infiltration.

The upper reaches of the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area (NIA) lie in this NCA. The NIA Partnership has a vision to create a resilient ecological network and improve ecosystem service provision in the Nene Valley.

Measures to ensure re-charge of the aquifer should be maximised through good soil management to maximise infiltration.

Opportunities – Ensure any further water abstraction, whether by existing users or by granting of new licences, is carefully monitored and controlled to avoid adverse impact on flow in the rivers.

Promote sustainable use of local water resources and use of water efficiency measures by commercial, agricultural and domestic users to reduce consumption where possible, especially in new developments.

Encourage the restoration of semi-natural habitats, such as wet woodland and grazing marsh, and the reconnection of flood plain watermeadows to improve water storage capacity and aquifer recharge, while reducing downstream flood risk and soil erosion, improving water quality, climate regulation, habitat networks and resilience to climate change.

Encourage implementation of the vision and objectives of the Nene Valley NIA, including tackling water resource and flow issues.

Through catchment sensitive farming and agri-environment schemes encourage the management of watercourses to prevent diffuse water pollution and allow water tables to rise where appropriate.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Water availability
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Regulating soil erosion
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Hereford and Dairy Shorthorn cattle
• Arable weeds

State – Numbers of cattle reduced by 17 per cent between 2000 and 2009, down to 38,600 animals.

Increases in the number of native breed cattle traditionally associated with the area, such as Hereford and Dairy Shorthorn, correspond with their use for conservation grazing.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The advent of agri-environment stewardship schemes and encouragement to sustainably graze areas of remaining semi-natural habitats and grassland and arable reversion to pasture on parkland for biodiversity, landscape and historic environment interest have led to a resurgence in interest in native breeds of cattle which used to be common in the area, such as Hereford and Dairy Shorthorn, but which had undergone declines in popularity in the 20th century. Promotion of these could be used to support a sustainable local food economy by encouraging local produce from traditional breeds.

Opportunities – Encourage the re-introduction of previously declining traditional cattle breeds such as Hereford and Dairy Shorthorn where possible, to diversify the grazing regime and to maintain the genetic diversity of agricultural animals against future threats.

Encourage the promotion and development of supply chains and markets for high-quality local produce from traditional breeds, encouraging a food economy that supports local tourism.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Genetic diversity
• Biodiversity
• Food provision
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Existing woodland
• Biomass planting

State – As of 2014 there were five wood fuel boilers installed in the area with a generating capacity of 970 kWth.

The area has a generally high yield potential for short rotation coppice, though this decreases to medium toward the south and west of the NCA (around Banbury and Upper and Lower Boddington).

There has been an increase in planting of miscanthus in recent years, particularly around Coton.

There has also been an overall increase in woodland cover in recent years owing to new planting.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – There are opportunities for sensitively sited energy crop planting. There is a medium potential yield for miscanthus throughout most of the NCA, rising to a high yield potential along the western boundary of the NCA. There is a high potential yield for short rotation coppice throughout, although this decreases to medium towards the south and west of the NCA around Banbury and Upper and Lower Boddington.

Small-scale planting of energy crops makes little structural change to the landscape when positioned on lower slopes in these undulating landscapes, particularly where the tall hedgerows remain in good condition. However, on ridgelines or where the hedgerow network is weaker, the landscape effects are more significant and should be carefully considered.

New plantings need careful siting to avoid impacts on sites of biodiversity, historical, archaeological or landscape importance and especially in or near the areas of parkland, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ridgelines or open field systems, ridge and furrow or deserted settlements.

There is scope for biomass production for local or regional use from managing existing woodland and from recently planted woods, with potential for improved biodiversity, climate regulation and development of local wood fuel supply.

Opportunities – Encourage management of broadleaved and coniferous woodlands, wood pasture and shelterbelts and the planting of new broadleaved woodland in suitable locations which do not interfere with the views from the ridges or the special qualities of the AONB, to increase production of biomass/wood fuel for local use.

Encourage biomass production including miscanthus and short rotation coppice in areas of high yield potential which do not suffer from soil erosion or conflict with the needs of food production, or important sites for biodiversity, archaeology, historic landscape or areas of parkland or the ridgeline views.

Encourage good hedgerow management in areas of biomass planting, protecting and restoring the traditional Midlands hedging style with its high A-shape and many hedgerow trees in order to mitigate landscape impacts.

Ensure that plantings of biomass crops avoid fields that are crossed by rights of way or are adjacent to popular routes, to avoid conflicts with recreation and enjoyment of the countryside.

Encourage local and regional markets for biomass and wood fuel to support sustainable woodland management.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Biomass energy
• Climate regulation
• Biodiversity
• Timber production

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Woodland
• Parkland
• Hedgerows
• Hedgerow and riverside trees
• Urban trees and greenspace- networks including parks
• Grassland
• Reedbeds

State – The majority of the soils of the NCA have low soil carbon content of 0-5 per cent, particularly where under continuous arable cultivation. However, in the north-west of the NCA, carbon content appears to increase marginally to 5-10 per cent.

Carbon content is likely to be higher under woodland cover within the NCA, as well as under the almost 850 ha of flood plain grazing marsh, permanent grassland, fen and heathland.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Carbon sequestration could be increased by improving soil structure, increasing organic
matter inputs and by reducing the frequency and area of cultivation.

An increase in the low levels of woodland cover would also assist with carbon sequestration. Soil carbon and soil storage will also be higher under the remaining areas of permanent pasture, reedbeds and grazing marsh.

While the area classified as urban is small at 4 per cent, in these areas the urban heat effect (where urban fabric absorbs and retains heat, raising temperatures over that in surrounding rural areas) could be mitigated by ensuring that trees are planted in urban areas and that green infrastructure is retained and enhanced.

Opportunities – Encourage well-designed expansion of woodland and shelterbelts, particularly around villages and settlements and encourage tree planting within settlements and urban areas, avoiding sensitive areas such as the open ridges and any areas of geological, biodiversity or archaeological interest.

Encourage woodland management in existing woodland to retain the benefits to climate regulation of high soil carbon and active carbon sequestration, through maintenance of a wide age structure.

Encourage use of a wide range of tree species in new planting to maximise resilience to climate change and novel diseases. Protect areas of green infrastructure in developed areas, especially parks and river valleys, encouraging restoration where necessary and include new areas of green infrastructure and urban tree planting in developments to reduce the heat island effect.

Encourage extensive grazing where possible and the retention of permanent pasture where this still exists and seek opportunities to extend areas of semi-natural habitats under low-input management, including permanent grassland, reedbeds and flood plain grazing marsh to protect soil structure and carbon storage.

Encourage a reduction in ploughing to increase soil organic matter, carbon storage/retention and drought tolerance of crops.

Encourage retention and management of hedgerows, hedgerow trees, wood pasture and parkland, all of which contribute to carbon storage.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating water flow
• Timber provision
• Biomass energy
• Biodiversity

No information available.

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers and streams
• Woodlands Hedgerows
• Parkland Wetlands
• Permanent grassland
• Soils

State – For information regarding the current state of water quality within this NCA, refer to the Environment Agency (Draft river basin management plan maps).

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Pressures affecting water quality include land use change, loss of permanent pasture and parkland, increased arable production, intensification of agricultural production, high levels of phosphorus from sewage works and road run-off.

Wider application of best practice land management (catchment sensitive farming techniques) to areas both within and outside the current priority catchment areas would significantly improve water quality.

Priority actions include reductions in pesticide, sediment and nutrient run-off, a reduction in pathways for soil wash, pesticides and nutrients to enter ditches and watercourses, better soil and manure management, improved drainage-water and dirty-water management on farmyards, reduction of soil poaching by stock gathering at gateways, feeders and troughs and a reduction in damage from stock or machinery movement.

The Nene Valley NIA has key objectives to ‘improve the ecological status of the river and enhance ecosystems services’ and also ‘through effective engagement with farmers and landowners to maintain, restore and create BAP habitats and implement sustainable land management practices to strengthen the ecological network’. A desk study of watercourses has identified that siltation of the riverbed, disconnection of the river from its flood plain channelisation and habitat discontinuity are the key issues to address.

Water quality in the NCA could be further enhanced by ensuring that buffers of semi-natural vegetation, riparian woodland or reedbeds are encouraged and managed to ensure high levels of vegetative cover alongside watercourses, filtering run-off and enhancing water quality and biodiversity.

Non-native species such as Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed pose a threat in some areas as the lack of winter vegetation beneath them can lead to increased siltation and soil erosion on river banks.

In some arable areas, loss of hedgerows through field amalgamation and decline in condition of remaining hedgerows has reduced their ability to slow run-off or act as filters.

There is significant planned expansion of major settlements in and around the area which could potentially have further implications for water quality, particularly from increased phosphate from sewage, and a need to ensure sustainable water management is adequately built into urban extensions to prevent deterioration of water quality.

More extreme rainfall events as a result of climate change are likely to increase the risk of sediment and nutrient run-off, which could cause increased hydraulic scour and eutrophication effects. Warmer summers may raise water temperatures causing greater incidences of algal blooms and concentration of pollutants, thus affecting fish populations and other freshwater organisms.

Opportunities – Ensure appropriate grazing levels on grassland and manage river and reservoir banks to encourage a well-vegetated sward to reduce run-off rates, soil erosion, sedimentation and poaching of river banks by stock, through use of wide buffer strips and planting woodland.

Control invasive non-native species which threaten the stability of river banks and encourage use of break crops on arable land.

Work with the farming community to promote good nutrient and pesticide management, managing applications of pesticides, slurry and manure to maximise uptake and reduce run-off, by avoiding manure spreading in winter on frozen, hard ground or very wet ground, or when there is no grass growth, and through the use of biobeds.

Ensure that farm infrastructure is able to reduce rates of point and diffuse pollution generated in and around farmsteads through improved and roofed silage, slurry and manure storage, grey water separation, rainwater storage tanks, improvements to storm water overflows and good handling facilities, encourage the provision of livestock drinking troughs, sediment ponds and traps, swales with check dams, piped culverts in ditches, resurfacing of gateways, livestock and machinery tracks, watercourse crossings, gate relocation and hard bases for drinkers and feeders, though these all require sensitive design in this high-quality landscape.

Promote the Catchment Sensitive Farming scheme to farmers and landowners, encouraging uptake of advice and grants to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion.

Promote delivery of the the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area’s vision and objectives to domestic, agricultural and industrial stakeholders to improve water quality.

Ensure river engineering works are carried out in an ecologically sensitive manner, enhancing opportunities for conservation and habitat management.

Design new off-mains developments to include sustainable drainage systems to improve water infiltration and protect the aquifers and promote best practice to prevent effluent leakage from existing septic tanks.

Identify urban pollution pathways and introduce green infrastructure where possible to improve downstream water quality.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating water flow
• Timber provision
• Biomass energy
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers Avon, Cherwell, Nene, Ouse, Leam, Bampton and Ise
• Grand Union and Oxford canals
• Wetlands
• Woodland
• Soils
• Semi-natural habitats
• Grassland
• Parkland
• Flood plain grazing marsh
• Green infrastructure around urban areas

State – This NCA contains the headwaters of four major rivers – the Avon, Ouse, Nene and Cherwell – and many of their tributaries, some with a history of flooding.

Many of the soils in the NCA have impeded drainage; there is a very low level of woodland cover and a loss of permanent pasture, all of which contribute to the potential for high levels of run-off from heavy rainfall events.

Some areas of flood plain grazing marsh along the River Nene have been lost to a combination of development and gravel extraction.

In the north-west of the NCA, there are areas of flood risk from the River Avon and the Oxford Canal within, west and north of Yelvertoft, , which affects Yelvertoft as well as the A5, M1, and A14 roads.

In the north-east of the NCA, there is a low risk of flooding.

In Daventry there is no significant risk of fluvial flooding but there is a notable fluvial flood risk at Weeden Bec and eastward (largely outside of the NCA) associated with the River Nene, and affecting the A5 and M1.

In the south of the NCA there is generally a low risk of flooding; however, there is a risk of fluvial flooding north of and through the centre of Banbury, associated with the River Cherwell ( Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea Environment Agency 2011).

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Climate change could increase the duration and severity of rainfall events, exacerbating flood risk in the future.

Flood storage areas on the flood plains could reduce risk to settlements downstream, both within and outside the NCA. The Environment Agency preferred approach to flood management is to investigate flood storage options, combined with environmental enhancements to improve the natural state of rivers and their associated habitats.

There are opportunities to develop water storage and wetland habitats in old gravel extraction sites to help balance water flows as well as enhancing biodiversity and recreation.

Planting of riparian woodland can help to slow water flow and should be encouraged in appropriate locations. Existing woodland, parkland, permanent grassland and hedgerows all help to intercept water, and with their rougher surfaces and better soil structure also reduce run-off and minimise soil erosion.

Good soil management to avoid or reduce soil compaction and increase soil organic matter can aid water infiltration rates and reduce run-off.

Plans for extensive new development, particularly in flood plains around Weedon Bec and Banbury, will have an impact on flood risk and will need additional management.

In the north-west of the NCA, the Environment Agency aims to reduce dependence on raised flood defences by taking opportunities to restore the natural storage of floodwater on undeveloped flood plain to benefit Yelvertoft, as well as communities outside this area (including Rugby and Leamington Spa, outside of the NCA) (River Severn Catchment Flood Management Plan, Summary Report, Environment Agency, 2009).

In the north-east, the Environment Agency aims to reduce overall flood risk management activities in this area, and to reduce bank and channel maintenance in some locations, which will help naturalise rivers and improve the flow between the river and its flood plain (River Nene Catchment Flood Management Plan, Summary Report, Environment Agency, 2009).

Around Banbury planned flood defences are expected to reduce the probability of flooding locally (Thames Catchment Flood Management Plan, Summary Report, Environment Agency, 2009).

Opportunities – Manage grassland to encourage good ecological condition and high levels of vegetation cover to improve infiltration and reduce evapotranspiration, improve resilience to drought conditions and to slow flows due to increased surface roughness.

Reduce flood risk downstream by managing soils to reduce soil compaction and enhance soil organic matter to increase their permeability, and subsequent infiltration rates, through the use of extensive grazing systems.

Manage woodland, parkland and hedgerows and create new native woodland, avoiding sites of existing biodiversity or archaeological interest, to increase water infiltration and to slow flows.

Encourage restoration and extension of valley mires and reedbeds, grazing marsh, parkland and wet woodland along watercourses in the valleys to slow run-off and increase storage capacity.

Work with land managers and public authorities in nearby NCAs to address water flow issues at a catchment scale, including the implementation of the River Nene Catchment Flood Management Plan.

Promote green infrastructure and use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in urban areas to help mitigate the impact of flooding.

Avoid inappropriate development in flood risk areas and minimise run-off from new development.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating water flow
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Climate regulation
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Geology and drift deposits
• Soils
• Woodland Parkland
• Permanent grassland
• Semi-natural habitats

State – There are six main soil types in the NCA:

• Slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base- rich loamy and clayey soils (covering 56 per cent of the NCA).
• Freely draining slightly acid but base-rich soils (21 per cent).
• Slightly acid loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage (11 per cent).
• Lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage (6 per cent).
• Loamy and clayey flood plain soils with naturally high groundwater (3 per cent).
• Freely draining slightly acid loamy soils (2 per cent).

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Maintaining good structural conditions will aid water infiltration, reduce impacts of climate change such as drought, aid aquifer re-charge and prevent pollution of groundwater.

The slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils may suffer compaction and/or capping as they are easily damaged when wet, leading to increasingly poor water infiltration and diffuse pollution as a result of surface water run-off. Management measures that increase soil organic matter levels such as minimum tillage through direct drilling can help reduce these problems, as can extensive grazing and careful timing of cultivations, stock movement and machinery movements.

In the areas with freely draining slightly acid but base-rich soils, where the calcareous layers are near the surface, these help to provide some natural resilience and enhanced workability. Some component soils are at risk from topsoil compaction and poaching and require careful management of weak topsoil (for example through minimum tillage and improved organic matter content) to maintain good soil structure. Development of iron pans can occur in some soils.

The slightly acid loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage are easily poached and compacted when the soil is wet, with weak topsoil structures being easily damaged, requiring careful timing of activities to reduce the likelihood of soil compaction.

Opportunities – Encourage best practice in soil management, adopting Defra’s Code of Good Practice (2009) and the Environment Agency’s ‘Think Soils’ initiative (2008) and improve structure and quality of the soils where possible by encouraging extensive grazing management and using low pressure machinery and managing stock and machinery movements, particularly in wet conditions to avoid compaction and poaching.

Encourage minimal tillage techniques such as direct drilling to reduce soil disturbance and encourage the use of break crops such as rape or beans which break up the soil. On freely draining soils return organic matter and manure to the soils to maintain fertility, encourage a build-up of organic matter and reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers.

When re-seeding, plan cultivation timings carefully and avoid using heavy machinery on wet soils to avoid damage to and compaction of topsoil. This will also improve water infiltration, reduce surface run-off and increase resilience to drought.

Encourage new tree planting, areas of semi-natural habitat or permanent grassland to stabilise soil and improve soil quality through increased organic matter and soil fauna.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Biodiversity
• Water availability
• Food provision

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Landform
• Woodland
• Parkland
• Hedgerows
• Pasture
• Semi-natural habitats
• Rivers and streams

State – Sixty per cent of soils are prone to erosion, associated mostly with the slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils and the loamy and clayey flood plain soils with naturally high groundwater.

A few of the component soils of the freely draining slightly acid soils (2 per cent of the NCA) have enhanced risk of soil erosion on moderately steeply sloping land where cultivated or bare soil is exposed, exacerbated where organic matter levels are low following continuous arable cultivation or where soils are compacted. There is the potential for wind erosion on some coarse textured cultivated variants.

Natural England recognises that arable land in the south of the NCA, around Upper Boddington, Chipping Warden and Moreton Pinkney, poses a risk to the adjacent River Cherwell and Grand Union Canal from soil erosion, as does soil erosion around Daventry and Banbury affecting the Grand Union Canal, requiring specific measures to target erosion reduction (HLS Target Statement EM01: Daventry and Banbury Target Area, Natural England, 2008).

Semi-natural habitats, including woodland, hedgerows, permanent pasture and parkland, provide areas of greater soil stability.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – There are four Priority Catchments in this NCA designated under Defra’s Catchment Sensitive Farming Initiative, which cover the Upper Cherwell, the Upper Avon and River Leam, the River Nene and the Upper Great Ouse, where sedimentation is identified as a key issue.

Employing soil management measures will improve soil structure and reduce erosion in areas most at risk, such as arable cultivation on the ridges and sloping valley sides and in areas with low soil organic matter levels or high levels of compaction. Measures could include well-timed cultivations, arable reversion, use of low pressure machinery and use of minimum tillage techniques.

Increasing areas of permanent grassland and wide buffer strips of grassland alongside watercourses in arable areas, and through arable reversion would also reduce erosion risk through the maintenance of good vegetative cover especially where such grassland is managed under extensive grazing regimes.

An increase in the area of semi-natural habitats would increase the area of land maintained under stable conditions, reducing risk of soil erosion, particularly along watercourses, helping to bind soils together, aiding water penetration and reducing erosion, for example through restoring and extending woodland, hedgerows, wetlands and mires.

Opportunities – Manage river and reservoir banks, grassland, flood plain meadows and riparian habitats to encourage a well- vegetated sward and provide wide buffer strips of permanent, unfertilised grassland in cultivated areas to reduce soil erosion, run-off rates and sedimentation.

Where possible encourage extensive agricultural practices which retain water in-situ and avoid poaching or damage from large numbers of livestock and mechanised activities to reduce soil erosion and damage to soil structure.

Encourage the use of minimum tillage techniques, such as direct drilling, to reduce soil exposure and break up.

Increase the area of native broadleaved woodland and scrub and hedgerows, targeted at areas of high risk of soil erosion but avoiding areas of existing biodiversity or archaeological interest, to act as wind breaks and to bind soil.

Where possible minimise machinery and stock movements in wet conditions, encourage well-timed cultivations, provide watering points and prevent livestock access to watercourses to minimise sedimentation and run-off.

Encourage uptake of Catchment Sensitive Farming Initiative advice and grants to promote good soil management in priority catchments.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Water availability
• Food provision
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Unimproved semi-natural grasslands
• Road verges
• Hedgerows
• Woodland

State – Areas of priority habitat such as flood plain grazing marsh, lowland meadow, lowland calcareous grassland, lowland dry acid grassland, purple moor-grass and rush pasture, lowland heath and woodland are very low (each less than 1 per cent of the NCA area), providing only limited nectar sources for pollinating insects.

There are remaining small examples of species-rich unimproved meadows, designated as SSSI, that support rich assemblages of species, including species important for insects such as knapweed, ox-eye daisy, devil’s bit scabious, betony, buttercup, lady’s bedstraw, cowslip and meadowsweet.

The hedgerows often have wide, grassy margins and the roads have wide verges, both of which support species not present in the more intensively managed fields.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The extensive areas of rape and field bean planting rely on insect pollination for crop production, but there are relatively few areas of semi-natural habitat to support pollinating insects.

The grassland, parkland, verges, woodlands and hedgerows provide good corridors between areas of semi-natural habitat for pollinators so their appropriate management is a priority for this service.

There is potential, through appropriate management, to increase habitat diversity, extent and connectivity, particularly of grassland types, hedgerows, verges and woodland and to enhance species diversity and thus to enhance this service.

Changes in temperature, humidity and soil moisture as a result of climate change may decouple the phenologies of pollinators from their host plants, change exposure to pollinator pathogens and increase exposure to pesticides if summer rainfall declines. These potential impacts highlight the need for greater connectivity of habitats to allow species to shift and adapt.

Opportunities – Encourage restoration and expansion of remnant hay meadows, species-rich pasture and meadows and species-rich road verges.

Encourage appropriate management of existing grassland, parkland, lowland heath, hedgerows and woodland habitats through appropriate grazing/ management to maintain and enhance species and structural diversity and maximise floral resources to increase provision of feeding and breeding sites for pollinators.

Increase connectivity of semi-natural habitats by creating corridors, buffers and stepping stones.

Survey the road verges of the NCA to map locations of species-rich verges and encourage appropriate management regimes of such verges to maintain floristic diversity.

Encourage best practise and minimise the use of pesticides and herbicides to reduce impacts on pollinators.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pollination
• Biodiversity
• Food provision
• Pest regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Broadleaved woodland
• Parkland
• Unimproved semi-natural grassland
• Road verges
• Hedgerows
• Arable margins

State – The remaining semi-natural habitats in the area, particularly areas of long grass, support a wide variety of predatory species such as beetles, which can contribute to pest regulation.

Ancient, semi-natural woodland, wood pasture and parkland support a wide variety of predatory invertebrates, birds and mammals.

Many of the small broadleaved woods, copses and shelter plantings around settlements contain largely ash and oak. The majority of mature hedgerow trees are also ash and oak and they also form a key component of the parkland trees.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Semi-natural habitats can support a wide range of predatory species which can assist with the regulation of pests that adversely affect food and energy crops. The current fragmentation and poor connectivity of such habitats limits delivery of this service in the NCA. Improving the diversity, complexity and connectivity of semi-natural habitats will increase the predator and parasitoid numbers and species that are likely to be supported.

Ash and oak are now key species in this NCA, since the loss of the previously dominant English elm after Dutch elm disease in the 1970s. They are important for sense of place, landscape character and biodiversity and are both at risk from novel tree diseases including ash die-back and sudden oak death. There is a clear need to plan for the spread of these and future diseases by increasing the species diversity of trees to maximise resilience and reduce the possibility of losing a key characteristic of the NCA.

Opportunities – Expand, restore and manage the remaining semi-natural habitats, especially woodland, parkland, grassland, hedgerows and road verges, to increase the potential to deliver a pest regulation service in the area, through increasing structural diversity and species diversity.

Encourage management of arable land to maximise the potential to use natural pest control methods for example through the development of networks of beetle banks, grass margins and headlands in fields.

Encourage woodland management and establishment techniques that favour the use of a wide range of tree species to reduce reliance on oak and ash.

Encourage landowners, farmers, public authorities and interest groups to survey and monitor for tree disease and to seek to identify and propagate locally resistant strains of ash and oak.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pest regulation
• Biodiversity
• Pollination
• Food provision
• Timber provision
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Gently rolling hills
• Wide views
• Mixed farming
• Parkland
• Many country houses and estates
• Tall hedgerows and many hedgerow trees
• Hill-top woods and copses
• Ironstone and brick settlements
• Ridge and furrow
• Reservoirs
• Narrow roads with wide verges
• Tranquillity

State – Sense of place is provided by the varied undulating landform of rounded hills and many long, low ridgelines that provide extensive views over the lower land, most noticeably supported by the abundant and prominent ridge- and-furrow field systems and frequent deserted and shrunken settlements, along with the characteristic parklands and estates that surround the many manor houses.

The small, nucleated villages are predominantly constructed of cob, ironstone and brick (with purer limestone a feature in the north) roofed in pantiles, thatch or clay tiles, and have large stone churches, often with prominent steeples. These are linked by straight, narrow, enclosure roads with wide verges, many following the ridges, with strong rectilinear field patterns and tall, A-shaped hedgerows with a great many mature hedgerow trees, with ironstone and limestone drystone walls in places.

The central area around Arbury and Charwelton has a well-wooded character due to the intricate pattern of hedgerows, frequent ash trees and small copses, while around Badby the landscape is particularly distinctive with dense hedgerows and woodland.

Elsewhere the woodland cover is sparse; limited to coverts and spinneys associated with the area’s strong hunting traditions. Navigable canals are an important visual component of the landscape, as are the area’s numerous and prominent reservoirs.

Inspiration is provided by the area’s distinctive manor houses and parklands, some designed by Repton and Brown, with the Elizabethan and Jacobean houses (notably Althorp, Holdenby and Canons Ashby) particularly associated with the court life of that period, the poems of Spenser and the masques of Ben Jonson. A sense of inspiration is further associated with the rural landscape and its visible historical associations, with ridge and furrow on green slopes most prominent and evocative in the evenings and winter when the low sun casts long shadows.

Inspiration and escapism may also be found along the open ridgelines that afford long views, as well as the areas of ancient woodland around Badby.

There has been significant urban development including housing, out- of-town shopping, warehousing and industrial areas) on the edges of the two towns and associated with the many strategic transport routes that cross the area, especially the M40, M1, A14 and other A roads, which can be intrusive in the wide river valleys and in views from the higher ground.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The south-west corner of the NCA (less than 1 per cent) lies within the Cotswolds AONB, reflecting the high quality of natural beauty in the area. The AONB is subject to a statutory management plan the aim of which is to conserve and enhance the landscape’s natural beauty.

The landscape of the rest of the NCA has no formal protection, although there are many scattered, small, individual sites which are protected as SSSI, Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Conservation Areas or Registered Parks and Gardens, though these lack an integrated management plan taking into account the wider landscape.

The main features of the area are all associated with feelings of escapism, spiritual refreshment and inspiration which are increasingly rarely to be found in this densely populated island.

The sparse settlement pattern contributes to the feeling of remoteness that can be found in the rural parts of the NCA. The vernacular styles and materials are highly distinctive, contributing strongly to the sense of place and allow the geology to be ‘read’ in the landscape.

Development is changing character in some areas, making topography and landform less legible. The open nature of the landscape means it is vulnerable to the effects of large-scale development which can compete with the small-scale nucleated settlement pattern.

Major road infrastructure developments and urban areas associated with Daventry and Banbury and the enlarged commuter villages near the main road and rail corridors do not reflect the local vernacular, which is becoming highly diluted in these areas.

Planned major urban expansion and transport infrastructure could reinforce the suburbanisation and industrial feel of these areas and will increase the area of the NCA affected by noise.

Parkland is at risk through lack of management of designed features, lack of succession planting and in some cases from arable conversion and enclosure and is considered further under sense of history.

The wide and far-reaching views available in many places both within and out of the NCA are a key feature and at risk from tall, vertical or large-scale development.

The tall mature, wide A-shaped hedgerows with their many mature trees are highly distinctive; they need careful management to conserve their characteristics and succession planting of hedgerow trees. Hedgerow condition is declining in places and trees have been lost, particularly in the arable areas, leading to a decline in the overall structure of the landscape.

Loss of elm during the 1970s had a major effect on the numbers of mature hedgerow and parkland trees and those that remain are largely ash and oak, both of which are now threatened by diseases including ash die-back and sudden death oak. Conserving and enhancing the key landscape features will have a beneficial effect on biodiversity in the area.

Opportunities – Protect views into and out from the NCA and the senses of rural remoteness and tranquillity, where these still remain strong, from tall, vertical or large-scale developments.

Promote farming systems that maintain and restore the farmed landscape and range of habitats, including the traditional grazing practices, field boundary management, and areas of parkland and woodlands.

Maintain, restore and recreate the patterns of hedgerows and many hedgerow trees, ensuring succession planning for the trees.

Where they occur, maintain and restore the ironstone and limestone drystone walls.

Encourage sensitive conservation and restoration of the remaining areas of both registered and non- registered historic parkland, including designed aspects of the landscape as well as the trees, which are central to the character of the area.

Maintain the historical integrity of settlements and farmsteads, encouraging the retention, conservation and restoration of local vernacular styles and features, such as the use of ironstone, cob and brick and thatched, pantile or clay tile roofs, as well as surviving historic farm building types and layouts.

Encourage the use of green infrastructure planning in new development that reflects and reinforces existing landscape character and integrates new development into the area without challenging the existing strong pattern of settlement and enclosure or the vernacular styles and materials.

Where appropriate provide access to and interpretation of sites of wildlife, geological, artistic, archaeological, historical or cultural interest; to encourage people of all levels of ability and mobility to better understand and be inspired by the landscape of the area.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of place/inspiration
• Geodiversity
• Sense of history
• Recreation
• Biodiversity
• Food provision
• Tranquillity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Scheduled Ancient Monuments
• Registered Park and Gardens
• Listed Buildings
• Conservation Areas
• Historic houses, parkland, estates and estate villages
• Ridge and furrow, deserted settlements and other unscheduled archaeological remains
• Enclosure patterns and hedgerows and walls
• Ironstone, cob and brick settlements
• Large churches and prominent steeples
• Grand Union and Oxford canals

State – The sense of history is particularly strong and evident in this NCA and is especially visible in the abundant and prominent ridge-and-furrow open field systems and deserted settlements, which are considered nationally important.

There are a great many archaeological sites, covering all periods from the Palaeolithic to the Second World War. The Scheduled Ancient Monuments include features such as iron-age hill forts, Roman villas, motte-and-bailey castles, tithe barns, settlements, abbeys, granges, ridge and furrow and open field systems.

There are also large numbers of non-scheduled sites on the Historic Environment Records held by the county councils, reflecting the long settlement history and particularly the good state of preservation of early features under the permanent, unploughed grassland of the park landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Key historic features of the NCA are the many manor houses such as Althorp, Canons Ashby and Cottesbrooke, and their associated parklands, (some laid out by important designers such as Repton and Brown) and estate villages with their distinctive architectural character.

Registered battlefields, including Naseby, Edgcote and Cropredy, are important heritage landmark features from the Civil War and the Wars of the Roses.

The local vernacular contributes strongly to the sense of history as do the Grand Union and Oxford canals and a great many villages have Conservation Area status.

There are more than 3,000 Listed Buildings in the NCA, including the large stone churches, a very high number for the size of the NCA, reflecting the past wool-based wealth of the area.

There is a low level of survival of pre-1740 farm buildings, mostly barns, although there are many fine stone-built former farmhouses of 16th to 17th-century date, often as coherent farmstead groups within the villages or on their fringes. There are also significant survivals of good examples of cob and thatched agricultural buildings.

The sense of history is supported by variations in field pattern, including irregular 16th and 17th century enclosure such as near the Charwelton Hills, east of Banbury and either side of the A14 around Cold Ashby and Holdenby, as well as the more dominant pattern of regular Parliamentary enclosure.

Main beneficiary – National

Analysis – Most of the Scheduled Ancient Monument sites are very small with little or no public access and the majority of the nationally important ridge and furrow and settlement sites have no formal protection. There has been a significant loss of ridge and furrow and other features through arable conversion and re-seeding of permanent pasture, reducing the ability to read the history of the area in the landscape.

Threats to archaeological sites in the area are arable cultivation, particularly deep ploughing, and neglect, leading to damage through tree growth and by burrowing animals. Sites at risk through ploughing include Roman Bannaventa, motte-and- bailey castles, hill forts and bowl barrows and those considered vulnerable include settlement sites such as Flecknoe, Hodnell Manor and Faxton.

While the NCA contains a large number of Registered Parks and Gardens, most parkland is not on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, so has no formal protection and much is in declining condition as its historical, archaeological and landscape significance has been under recognised. Some has become separated from the house which once supported it and divided ownership is resulting in the loss of cohesive conservation of historic designs and loss of parkland character and trees. Some have been converted to arable or re-seeded and are losing their designed features. There has been some parkland restoration in recent years, particularly through agri-environment schemes, but there remains scope for far more. The setting of some historic houses and parks is increasingly affected by wind energy developments.

The site of the battle of Edgcote (1469) has recently been added to the register of battlefield sites and is now at risk from the proposed route for HS2.

Many of the prominent stone churches are in need or structural repair and some are recorded as being at risk, including Daventry, Naseby and Aston-le-Walls.

The high number of Listed Buildings contributes strongly to the sense of place. They require sensitive conservation and maintenance to conserve their historic character.

Conservation Areas associated with the Grand Union and Oxford canals are a feature in and around Daventry and Banbury, though part of the Grand Union Canal bank at Weedon Bec is on the Heritage at Risk register.

Post-1950 boundary loss is concentrated across the undulating hills south of Daventry and combined with holding re-organisation around new roads, such as the A14, across the area north of Northampton and along the M40 corridor south of Banbury.

Opportunities – Protect, conserve, sensitively manage and where appropriate, restore all Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Registered Parks and Gardens, registered battlefield sites and Listed Buildings, especially those designated sites and Listed Buildings which are considered ‘at risk’.

Protect, conserve and enhance the remaining areas of parkland and their settings and encourage development of comprehensive conservation management plans for both Registered and non-registered parks and gardens that take into account the designed landscapes and features as well as their biodiversity and archaeology value and the needs of agriculture.

Encourage the conservation and sensitive management of non-scheduled archaeological features, including from damaging activities such as ploughing, animal burrowing and tree growth.

Encourage surveying, conservation and interpretation of non- designated sites, especially those on the Historic Environment Records, to research and raise awareness of the history and time-depth of the area and to improve enjoyment and understanding of heritage assets.

Conserve and restore, and where appropriate convert barns and other farm buildings, especially those of cob and thatch, using appropriate local materials.

Conserve small-scale vernacular features, which no longer serve their original purpose, along with historic settlement and farmstead forms and field patterns that reflect the past cultural history of the farming industry and its distinctive practices. Encourage use of best practice and traditional techniques and materials in the maintenance and repair of Listed and other historic buildings.

Encourage sympathetic conversions of buildings and new developments in the towns of Banbury and Daventry and in nearby villages which respect particular character, vernacular styles and materials.

Maintain and restore hedgerows and walls and encourage a reduction in levels of replacement by fencing to maintain the cultural influence of farming patterns in the landscape.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of history
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Tranquillity
• Biodiversity
• Recreation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Quiet rural valleys and hills
• Parkland
• Historic features
• Woodland
• Reservoirs
• Rivers
• Long-distance views
• Dispersed and sparse settlements
• High levels of tranquillity
• Quiet rural lanes with wide verges
• Areas of semi-natural habitats

State – The 2006 CPRE tranquillity map shows that the most tranquil area is centred round Moreton Pinkney in the east of the NCA, running from Daventry in the west to Northampton in the south-east, Brackley in the east and Banbury in the south-west.

Around 50 per cent of the NCA is still classified as ‘undisturbed’ according to CPRE 2007 data, although this represents a decline from 80 per cent since the 1960s. The main ‘undisturbed’ areas are found between Daventry and Banbury, away from these two major settlements and away from the main road corridors of the M1, M40 and A14, which have had a significant impact upon tranquillity across wide areas in the past 50 years.

Wind farms have been recently built around the NCA and within it, particularly around Yelvertoft and are having a cumulative impact on levels of tranquillity in these areas, introducing large, industrial, moving structures into some of the remaining tranquil rural areas.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Tranquil landscapes are important in delivering health and wellbeing benefits to people, with close contact with natural features also providing good sensory environments for relaxation, which has a calming and restorative effect on mental wellbeing for both visitors and residents.

Despite a dramatic decline in tranquillity and an increase in disturbance overall, much of the NCA still retains a feeling of remoteness and tranquillity. The remaining areas of parkland and their historic country houses, the extensive areas of ridge and furrow and other historic features, the rural areas of pastoral farmland, the canals, rivers and reservoirs, woodland and semi-natural habitats all play an important role in delivering this service to people in the NCA and surrounding area.

The sparse settlement pattern, narrow rural country lanes with their wide verges, distinctive, small, attractive villages and far- reaching views are also often associated with feelings of escapism, spiritual refreshment and inspiration.

HS2 would further contribute to the erosion of tranquillity which has occurred, with the current proposed route due to cut through some of the most undisturbed and tranquil parts of the NCA.

Opportunities – Protect the panoramic, uninterrupted views from the NCA over surrounding lowland areas and protect the remaining areas with a strong sense of remoteness and tranquillity from tall, vertical or large-scale development and use of night-time lighting.

Retain the distinctive, quiet, rural character of the farmland, villages and farms where it still persists, through maintaining the nucleated settlement pattern and rural lanes, restricting development primarily to the main settlements and ensuring it is appropriate in scale and reflects local vernacular styles and materials.

Control lighting in new developments and conversions, for example by using down-lighters, timers and sensors, to minimise light pollution.

Encourage quiet recreational activities which respect the special qualities of the area.

Encourage interpretation of factors contributing to tranquillity to increase people’s enjoyment and understanding of the area.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Tranquillity
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Recreation
• Sense of history
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rights of way
• Historic houses, estates, designed parkland and estate villages
• Woodland
• Canals
• Reservoirs
• Country Parks
• Registered battlefield sites
• Historic features
• Distinctive villages
• Areas of high tranquillity

State – The rights-of-way network criss-crosses the rolling hill and valley landscapes and extends to 1,335 km (at a density of 1.32 km per km2), including long distance routes such as the Jurassic Way, Knightley Way, Midshires Way, Brampton Valley Way and Macmillan Way, many of which offer superb panoramic views across the NCA and into surrounding areas.

There is very little publicly accessible land (only 1.3 per cent in total), of which the largest area (573 ha) is National Trust land, with only 100 ha of CRoW Access land, 88 ha of country park, 73 ha of Forestry Commission ‘Walkers Welcome’ land and 272 ha of ‘Woods for People’ land.

The many country houses, gardens and parks which are open to the public are popular recreation destinations, especially Coton Manor, Althorp, Canons Ashby, Kelmarsh, Cottesbrooke and Upton House.

Pitsford Reservoir provides not only a valuable recreational resource for fishing, boating, sailing, birdwatching and picnics, but also an important wildlife habitat, in particular for birdlife and especially wildfowl.

Ravensthorpe Reservoir is a valuable habitat for many wintering birds and summer breeding birds, while several other reservoirs also offer recreational opportunities within the area.

The two navigable canals (Grand Union and Oxford) provide further recreational assets, while the distinctive wooded landscape around Badby is a popular area for walking.

The Brampton Valley Way provides accessible walking, cycling and horse riding along a disused railway.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – With ongoing development pressure in the area, there is likely to be demand to further increase recreation use of the area. There is scope to accommodate this, though careful planning would be needed to avoid conflicts between users or adverse effects on the remaining areas of high tranquillity, areas of biodiversity value, archaeological or historic importance, or on soil or water quality.

There are opportunities to link with and encourage use of the area by people in the large towns surrounding the NCA, especially through increased green infrastructure links.

The Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area seeks to “enhance awareness of, access to and benefits from the Nene Valley for growing local communities in a sustainable and sympathetic way, while ensuring that the designated sites at the core are brought into/remain in favourable condition”.

Management of country parks and major visitor venues should seek to minimise or mitigate any effects of increased recreation on tranquillity, biodiversity or historic features. There are also opportunities to increase people’s understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the area, particularly its strong historic heritage.

There is scope to encourage the restoration of existing and future gravel extraction sites as wetland sites which include provision of access and recreation facilities.

Opportunities – Conserve, restore and enhance the historic parkland and designed landscapes and country houses and, where appropriate, increase and enhance public access to and understanding of these sites.

Maintain and expand public access in the area, including the many long distance routes and encourage provision of new areas of open access, seeking opportunities to improve and expand the rights-of-way network and creating additional multi-user paths.

Seek ways to manage access, recreation, visitor pressure and demand at key sites to prevent or mitigate conflict between different users or adverse effects on the natural environment.
Encourage development of green infrastructure that links with surrounding rural areas and recreation provision, especially in new developments.

Enhance the quality of the watercourses so they provide habitats and features and opportunities for fishing and wildlife watching. Encourage multifunctional restoration of gravel extraction sites along the Nene Valley, to deliver a wide range of services including biodiversity and recreation.

In the part of the NCA which lies in the Cotswolds AONB, support forms of quiet open-air recreation that do not conflict with the purpose of designation and which benefit from and value the high quality of the landscape and natural environment.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Recreation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history
• Tranquillity
• Biodiversity
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• SSSI
• Local sites
• Parkland
• Woodland
• Semi-natural grasslands
• Reservoirs
• Arable plants
• Farmland birds

State – Only around 1 per cent (1,365 ha) of the NCA area is covered by priority habitats, primarily wet woodland, flood plain grazing marsh, lowland meadow and lowland calcareous grassland, with small areas of lowland dry acid grassland, purple moor-grass, reedbed and lowland heathland.

There are no internationally designated sites. There are 14 SSSI, totalling less than 1 per cent of the NCA area.

There are 314 local sites scattered across the area covering nearly 3,000 ha; around 3 per cent of the NCA.

In the south-west (between Banbury and Priors Marston), an area dominated by arable and improved pasture (that extends further west outside of the NCA) supports nationally important concentrations of farmland birds, important areas of lowland meadow and calcareous grassland and is a nationally important area for rare arable plants (HLS Target Area Statement WM15: South East Warwickshire Target Area, Natural England, 2008). Around Upper and Lower Boddington there is a nationally important area for arable farmland birds (HLS Target Area Statement EM01: Daventry and Banbury Target Area, Natural England, 2008).

The few areas of ancient woodland and the parkland are particularly important, forming the most extensive stands of semi-natural habitats and providing important habitat for both woodland plants, lichens invertebrates, butterflies and mammals, including bats, for example Stanford Park, which supports the richest assemblage of lichens in Leicestershire.

There are concentrations of acid grassland west of Northampton and south of Daventry, and of lowland meadow sites in south Northamptonshire, often associated with other semi-natural features.

The remaining areas of lowland meadow and calcareous grassland are tiny, fragmented, isolated and widely scattered throughout the NCA, with poor connectivity, apart from through the network of hedgerows. They support a wide range of wildflowers, grasses and sedges and notable species including broadleaved helleborine, meadow saxifrage and adder’s tongue fern.

The many reservoirs form an important resource for wintering birds, especially wildfowl. Pitsford Reservoir supports wintering birds such as shoveller and breeding birds such as great crested and little grebes, teal, kingfisher and reed warbler.

The Brampton Valley Way and Grand Union and Oxford canals provide important wildlife corridors.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The scattered, highly fragmented, small SSSI include meadows and pasture, marsh, parkland, the Upper Cherwell river, woodland and Pitsford Reservoir and the majority, 78 per cent, in favourable condition, with 19 per cent in unfavourable recovering condition and only 2 per cent in unfavourable condition.

Remaining semi-natural habitats are also mostly small, fragmented sites. The majority are scattered small broadleaved woods, some ancient such as Badby, with some small areas of lowland meadow, lowland calcareous and dry acid grasslands, purple moor-grass and rush pasture, reedbeds, and lowland heath scattered throughout the NCA, with strips of flood plain grazing marsh around Banbury.

There are many pressures on the remaining biodiversity of the area. Pressure for development around Daventry and Banbury and for new or improved transport infrastructure is significant, including plans for HS2, which will cross the southern half of the NCA. There are opportunities to ensure future development takes into account the needs of biodiversity in green infrastructure planning.

In recent years, diffuse and point pollution of watercourses by pesticides, herbicides and nutrients, as well as soil erosion have become significant issues in the area. The entire NCA is a nitrate vulnerable zone and Catchment Sensitive Farming schemes have been developed to address these issues.
Climate change may well cause fluctuation in water levels, temperatures, periods of drought and changes in current plant and animal communities.

There have been some improvements in habitat condition in some areas in recent years. Uptake of agri-environment schemes has been above the national average, primarily for lowland pasture on neutral/acid soils and regeneration of grassland/semi-natural vegetation.

There has been significant restoration of historic parkland, where agri-environment scheme support for tree planting and arable reversion to permanent pasture have reversed declining condition, including biodiversity locally. There remain significant opportunities for more parkland restoration.

Succession planning for the many veteran and ancient trees is also required to ensure future habitat continuity for the important lichen and deadwood invertebrates the parkland supports.

There has been significant uptake of the Woodland Grant Scheme for both new planting and woodland management. This, combined with the significant amount of hedgerow restoration and new hedgerow tree planting, is having a positive effect on biodiversity and landscape condition. There remains significant scope to increase woodland cover in appropriate places.

The hedgerows and wide road verges connect the widely scattered areas of remaining biodiversity interest and require conservation, restoration and enhancement and succession planning with planting for hedgerow trees.

The Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area seeks to restore, recreate and reconnect biodiversity networks and improve delivery of ecosystems services along the Nene Valley and has undertaken habitat opportunity mapping of the NIA area.

Opportunities – Conserve and enhance the historic parkland and designed landscapes, ensuring succession planning for ancient and veteran trees and the species they support including lichens, invertebrates and bats.

Manage arable land to increase biodiversity, including the nationally important arable plants and farmland bird species.
Restore, expand and encourage management of broadleaved woodlands and wood pasture away from areas of biodiversity importance and historic features, using a range of species to reduce threats from novel diseases.

Restore, recreate or maintain hedgerows using the local Midland hedging style, especially where condition has declined or where they have been replaced by fencing. Maintain and enhance the quality of the watercourses, canals and reservoirs, including through control of invasive species and ensure that water abstraction and poor water quality do not affect wetland habitats, so they continue to provide quality habitats and opportunities for fishing and wildlife watching.

Restore, manage extend and enhance grassland and wetland habitats alongside the Upper River Nene, encouraging delivery of the NIA objectives, using the Nene Valley Habitat Opportunity Mapping.

Encourage the agricultural practice of hay-making to maintain and restore species-rich meadows.

Conserve, enhance, restore and appropriately manage species-rich verges to ensure these local features are retained in the landscape and encourage volunteer surveys to establish whether management remains appropriate. Manage grazing of grassland habitats and neighbouring areas at levels that will encourage restoration of good ecological condition, to increase connectivity of the grassland network. Restore, conserve, expand and enhance areas of acid grassland on suitable geology to west of Northampton and south of Daventry to increase connectivity of remaining concentrations of acid grassland.

Manage, conserve, expand and enhance purple moor-grass pastures, reedbeds and lowland heath and, where conditions are appropriate, increase the extent and connectivity of these fragmented habitats.

Encourage sustainable farming practices such as the use of winter stubbles and wide field margins and where possible seek a reduction in the use of pesticides, herbicides and nutrients to enhance biodiversity and improve water and soil quality. Seek ways to manage recreation and visitor pressure to avoid or mitigate any damage to biodiversity through trampling or disturbance while offering people opportunities to engage with the natural environment and learn more about it through interpretation.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Biodiversity
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Recreation
• Tranquillity
• Climate regulation
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Regulating soil erosion

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Jurassic limestone and Lias geology
• Glacial till
• Sands and gravels
• Soils
• Landform/elevation above surrounding areas
• Ironstone buildings

State – There are three important geological SSSI and 24 Local Geological Sites in the NCA, two demonstrating underfit streams on the Rivers Cherwell and Itchen and one quarry site at Napton Hill, which exposes important Middle Lias fossil suites.

The area is mainly underlain by the sedimentary strata of the Lower and Middle Jurassic periods. Muds and limestones of the Lias Group are found in the west and limestones and sandstones of the Northampton Sands at the base of the Inferior Oolite Group overlay the Lias Group in the east of the area. These are very rich in iron, resulting in the formation of rocks of distinctive colours. In the far east of the NCA, the clays and sandy limestones of the Great Oolite Group outcrop, continuing outside the NCA in a broad swathe through the central part of Northamptonshire.

Overlying the solid geology in the east and north of the area are thick superficial deposits of Quaternary till (boulder clay), with stretches of alluvium (sands and gravels) in the main river valleys, both dating from the Wolstonian glacial cycle.

While the area was not glaciated during the Pleistocene, it was affected by extreme periglacial erosion, which has influenced the drainage of rivers including the Cherwell.

The soils of the area are variable and relate to their underlying geology and superficial deposits, mostly types of loamy and clayey soils, often seasonally wet or with impeded drainage.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – It is important to protect the features of geological interest, ensuring that appropriate exposures and important features of the underfit streams remain accessible for study.

The underlying geology and soils give the area many of its characteristic landscape features, including the ridges and undulating hills and valleys, drainage patterns, land use and settlement patterns, contributing strongly to the sense of place and to the wide, far-reaching views across surrounding lowland vales.

This contribution of geology to sense of place is further reinforced by the ability to read the geology in the characteristic use of locally quarried ironstone and limestone in the farmsteads, churches, settlements and drystone walls of the area. The sand and gravel deposits found in the Nene Valley are exploited commercially.

The geological resource also provides a record of past environmental change, helping us to understand and plan for future environmental change and the impacts it may have on landscapes and biodiversity.

There are opportunities to raise awareness of the importance of geology and geomorphology to the landscape, history and biodiversity of the area, through increased interpretation.

Opportunities – Conserve, manage and enhance geological SSSI, Local Geological Sites and other non designated local geological features.

Retain and encourage restoration, using appropriate local materials, of historic houses and settlements, barns and other farm buildings and ironstone and limestone drystone field walls that reflect the geology of the area and its cultural history. Encourage sympathetic conversions of buildings and new development in Daventry and Banbury and surrounding villages that respects the particular character, vernacular styles and materials of each, to ensure local geology remains visible in settlements.

Encourage greater understanding of the importance of the area’s geology through improved access to exposures and quarries, where appropriate ensuring appropriate sections of SSSI rock exposures remain free of vegetation and debris.

Encourage community involvement in conserving geodiversity and developing interpretation of the impact geodiversity has on the landscape, food provision, soils, water flow and biodiversity to increase knowledge and understanding.

Encourage research to understand past environmental change and support future climate change adaptation and mitigation. Ensure the commercially useful reserves of sands and gravels are exploited in a way that maximises their potential and that extraction sites are restored in ways that maximise the services such sites can deliver for biodiversity, regulation of water flow and recreation.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Geodiversity
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history
• Biodiversity
• Food provision
• Recreation
• Regulating water flow
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion