38 - Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield : Analysis: Landscape Attributes & Opportunities

Analysis supporting Statements of Environmental Opportunity

The following analysis section focuses on the landscape attributes and opportunities for this NCA.

Further analysis on ecosytem services for this NCA is contained in the Analysis: Ecosytem Services section.

Landscape attributes

A generally low-lying landscape of rolling ridges with large rivers running through broad valleys.

• Underlying Coal Measures geology has significantly affected the landscape form with local variations in landscape character reflecting variations in the underlying geology.
• Rounded sandstone escarpments stand above mud-floored valleys.
• Mills and factories tended to follow watercourses along the valleys while the underlying coal gave rise to a very active mining industry.
• Underlying geology providing availability of resources (notably water power and iron ore as well as coal).
• Strong cultural identity arising from the history of industry, particularly coal mining and steel making.
• This continues to be a source of significant local changes in landscape as new extraction sites become active and old sites are restored.
• Mining subsidence flashes, restored spoil heaps and open cast mining sites provide opportunities for habitat creation and recreation.
• Small-scale sandstone quarries provide opportunities for the local restoration of vernacular buildings.

Fragmented landscape with remnants of pre-industrial landscapes and semi-natural habitats.

• Brownfield sites, woodlands, heathlands, river valley habitats and mining subsidence flashes throughout the landscape, with field boundaries of clipped hedges or fences.
• Heavy development in river valleys means populations are near to natural resources providing opportunities for access to, and engagement with, the natural environment by large urban communities.
• Only 3 per cent of the NCA is priority habitat and there is only one internationally designated site within the NCA, increasing the importance of remnant patches of semi-natural habitats for biodiversity.
• Tree cover is fragmented and made up of a framework of hedgerow trees and small woods together with more extensive woodlands on the steeper valley slopes. The impression of a more wooded landscape is apparent in some areas.
• Although the centre of this NCA is rural in character it is still significantly influenced by the surrounding urban areas, with the presence of transport infrastructure, residential areas, industry and quarries.

Widespread features of industrial heritage such as mills, goits, tips and old transport infrastructure (such as canals and bridges) still evident, along with more recent mining villages.

• Industrial buildings remain significant landmarks and focal points.
• Mining villages such as Goldthorpe (the last pit to close in Barnsley) retain their character and identity.
• The legacy of wealthy industrialists is visible within town and city centres through the grandiose 19th-century architecture evident in civic buildings such as churches, museums, galleries and civic centres, and in the countryside through their large country houses and associated parks and estates.
• There are 4,967 listed buildings.
• The landscape is rich in industrial archaeology, including features such as bell pits, mills and goits, tips, old railways and tramways, canals and bridges, used to tell the story of mining at sites such as the National Mining Museum in Overton, Wakefield.
• Many of the woodlands have strong industrial links with oak having been managed for pit-props or bark for the tanning industry and sycamore to provide bobbins.

Many large country houses and estates create focal points within the landscape.

• Established by wealthy industrialists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Feelings of inspiration and escapism are likely to be associated with the reservoirs around Leeds and the large imposing country houses, parks and estates to be found through the area for example Wentworth Castle (a Grade 1 listed Park), Wentworth Woodhouse, Cannon Hall, Bretton Hall and Nostell Priory.
• There are 34 registered parks and gardens, including several large cemeteries, within the major urban areas
• Many of these now provide opportunities for access and recreation.

Widespread influence of transport routes, including canals, roads (M1, M62) and railways.

• The dense network of roads along with major transport routes such as the M1, M62 and the main railways, all contribute to the urbanisation of the area with ribbon developments emphasising the urban influence in the landscape.
• Opportunities for greater blue and green infrastructure linkage and provision.
• These linear corridors can play a role in both aiding and preventing species migration through their design and delivery on the ground.

The Trans Pennine Trail and Ebor Way long distance routes pass through the area.

• A relatively high density of public rights of way, in an area with extensive built-up areas, creates opportunities for local populations to access the natural environment and its cultural heritage
• The NCA offers a network of rights of way totalling 2,920 km at a density of just over 1.7 km per km2 including the Trans Pennine Trail and Ebor Way long distance routes. There are also small areas of open access land covering 508 ha, or just 0.3 per cent of the NCA, and areas of open space resulting from the restoration of past mineral workings.
• Registered Parks and Gardens, accessible woodlands and country parks also provide opportunities for recreation
• The reservoirs of Leeds (the Eccup and Ardsley) are an important recreational resource providing walking, running and cycling circuits close to where people live as well as being important for angling and wildlife.

Landscape opportunities

• Protect the evidence of the industrial era, retaining key and iconic buildings. Plan to encourage development that does not detract from these buildings and their settings.
• Protect cultural links with the industrial past and enhance public understanding of the effects on the landscape today, retaining some industrial features including spoil tips.
• Protect existing fragmented semi-natural habitats and plan to better manage, buffer, expand and link these habitats where possible. Plan improved connectivity between habitats.
• Manage woodlands more appropriately to accommodate wildlife and access. Plan to increase woodland within the NCA especially where it can help improve local landscape and contribute to biodiversity.
• Manage agricultural areas to protect and maintain watercourses, historic ground features, hedges, hedgerow trees and other habitats. Plan to restore boundary hedgerows.
• Manage development so that evidence of different periods of history, including early industrial sites, are retained and conserved.
• Maintain and manage a strong network of public rights of way to link people to the natural environment, encouraging sustainable transport and more access to the environment particularly in areas where there are poor health indices.
• Aim to increase green infrastructure provision in the area that will contribute to biodiversity and provide opportunities for enjoyment of the natural environment, particularly where this can be delivered close to where people live.
• Plan to create and link wetland habitats in river valleys, to strengthen landscape character and enhance biodiversity, and to improve connectivity for species.
• Manage and plan the restoration of unimproved grassland and species-rich grasslands that are more commonly found in the south of the NCA.