38 - Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

The Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield is an area that has seen great change over the past few centuries. Deposits of coal and iron, along with the water supply, brought large scale industry to the area. The impact on the landscape and settlement pattern is clear. So too is the influence on the visual and ecological landscape.

It is a generally low-lying area, with hills and escarpments above wide valleys. The landscape embraces major industrial towns and cities as well as villages and countryside. Over half of the NCA (64 per cent) is green belt, maintaining distinction between settlements. Green belt areas are often under pressure for development and changes in land use.

Very little of the NCA is designated for geology or nature conservation. However, the landscape is dotted with many pockets of habitat where species find refuge. This is often on land that was once worked for minerals or occupied by major industry. Where these land uses once dominated, there are now options to create new landscapes. Links to past use will continue to provide a strong sense of place for local people.

A large number of people live in the NCA. This means that there will be chances to engage people with the nature and history around them. Creating new access and open spaces can offer a better quality of life. At the same time, this will help people and wildlife adapt to climate change.

The NCA is nationally important for industrial history, and its impact on the landscape. Historical features should be retained and restored. Once secure, these features can be used to educate and engage people with the landscape.

Rivers and waterways are important features in the landscape. They often link rural and urban areas, and provide green corridors and tranquil settings for people and wildlife. The source of the water is outside the NCA, as is the case for many ecosystem services. The large population means that the area is a key user of ecosystem services (such as water) that are provided by other NCAs. A key challenge will be to improve links between this NCA and others. This will aid understanding of how ecosystem services are delivered, and how they can be improved.

Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)

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

SEO 1
Restore and enhance existing areas and create new landscapes through the inclusion of woodland and networks of green infrastructure to raise the overall quality of design and location of new developments. Regeneration and restoration of industrial sites should seek to create green infrastructure that links fragments of the natural environment, leading to a functioning network for wildlife and access and recreational amenities for people.

SEO 2
Protect and manage the archaeological and historical environment to safeguard a strong sense of cultural identity and heritage, particularly mining heritage, and use the area’s distinctive sense of place to inspire interpretation and new development. Engage local communities with their past by enhancing the early, industrial and mining landscapes through restoration of key features of sites and improving access and interpretation.

SEO 3
Conserve, enhance and expand areas and corridors of semi-natural habitat such as grasslands and woodlands to create a functioning ecological network that links the fragmented patches of habitats through urban and sustainably farmed environments, thus assisting species and habitat adaptation to climate change, reducing soil erosion and diffuse pollution.

SEO 4
Manage, enhance and extend wetland habitats associated with the rivers Aire, Calder, Dearne, Don, Rother and Erewash and their tributaries to increase the landscape’s ability to naturally and sustainably manage flooding, improve water quality and increase the resilience of these habitats, the riverine landscape and associated species to climate change.