132 - Salisbury Plain and West Wiltshire Downs : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

Salisbury Plain is a sparsely settled, predominantly agricultural area with a strong sense of remoteness and openness. The dominant element in the landscape – apart from the expansive sky – is the gently rolling chalk downland, forming part of the sweep of Cretaceous Chalk running from the Dorset coast and across the Chilterns to north of the Wash.

The Plain is designated as both a Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under European legislation, notably for the populations of stone curlew and hen harrier, and for the chalk grassland habitat, one of the largest remaining areas of calcareous grassland in north-western Europe. Much of the natural environment is also protected through its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its populations of rare bumblebee species, and many rare birds, plants and invertebrates. Around one third of this NCA is also designated as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB lies to the south and west, and the North Wessex Downs AONB to the north and east.

The fields here, many dating from the final era of enclosure in the period of the Napoleonic Wars, are seemingly endless. With hedgerows rare, they often lack clearly visible boundaries. Steep escarpments with unimproved calcareous grassland cover are found along the northern and western edges, providing a sharp transition to the Vale of Pewsey, underlain by the Upper Greensand. There is a more gradual transition to the Berkshire and Marlborough Downs and Hampshire Downs to the north and east, and the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase to the south and west. The sheltered chalk river valleys, such as the Bourne and Wylye, incise the Chalk and are often wooded with older, smaller fields, and form part of the (Hampshire) River Avon system, which is designated as an SAC for its aquatic biological diversity.

There is little settlement, with villages generally located along springlines, some small towns, and pockets of modern military-dominated development in the east. Only Salisbury, with its historic core, stands as an urban area of any size. Military activity and infrastructure, so rarely evident elsewhere in England, are very prominent here.

The National Character Area (NCA) contributes substantially to the national production of arable cereals, notably wheat and barley. The remaining open grassland, which adds so much to the sense of place around the many and internationally important prehistoric sites, is vulnerable to demands for further changes in arable use. There is a strong local vernacular architecture combined with a rare sense of space and emptiness. Large numbers of visitors to the area may challenge this sense of history and tranquillity.

Most of the NCA lies within the county of Wiltshire. The NCA contains significant historical and cultural assets, including a wealth of buried and above-ground archaeological remains of international importance, and many historic houses and estates, such as Wilton House. There is a strong sense of historical continuity underpinned by the prehistoric landscape features identified in the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site at Stonehenge in the southern part of the Plain, along with many other prehistoric monuments.

Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)

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

SEO 1

Protect, manage and enhance the landscape of large areas of calcareous chalk grassland, and develop network connectivity, supporting internationally important and designated semi-natural habitats and species assemblages – from birds to bumblebees – and thus support biodiversity.

SEO 2

Protect, manage and enhance the (Hampshire) River Avon system, working in partnership notably with the regional farming community to improve the habitat for flora and fauna and improving biodiversity, developing the scope for climate regulation and for regulation of water flow and water quality.

SEO 3

Protect, conserve and sustainably manage the NCA’s rich historic and archaeological resource, notably the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site and its surrounding landscape, and its natural and cultural heritage, for its value in sense of place and history and tranquillity, for open air recreation, and for the benefits it brings to the local and regional economy.

SEO 4

Protect and enhance the NCA’s agriculture interest, working with the local farming community to prepare for the impact of and adapt to both evolving funding mechanisms and climate change, to secure future food provision, while working in harmony with the nationally recognised and distinctive character of the landscape, its natural beauty and scenic quality and, so far as possible, extending the scope for access to nature and other recreation, for public benefit, understanding and enjoyment.