106 - Severn and Avon Vales : 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

Distinct field boundary patterns with small pasture fields reflecting less favourable soils and open commons, arising from the medieval stock droving industry predominating in the west, while in the east, regular patterns of small to medium, straight-sided, narrow fields, which retain the pattern of medieval strip farming, bounded by hawthorn and mixed species hedges predominate.

Justification for selection:

• The regular field patterns associated with parliamentary enclosure of medieval strip farming are well preserved in the east of the area.
• Over commons such as Castlemorton, and Hollybed Commons preserve a distinctive and historic open landscape feature arising from medieval holding commons. These are popular visitor destinations for informal recreation and some are important as priority grassland habitats.
• Hedges in the Forest of Feckenham are a national stronghold for brown hairstreak butterflies, a priority species.
• Recent Victorian hedges in floodplains, especially where they have grown up, make a significant barrier to the restoration of breeding wader populations.

Floodplain and estuary landscape of the rivers Severn and Avon with extensive pasture and ditch and rhine bounded fields, plus historic embanked flood meadow management and flood defence features. Towns and cities defined by riverside locations.

Justification for selection:

• Important areas of grazing marsh, managed embanked flood meadows, “ham” meadows, pastures and fen. Locally important for breeding waders and botanically rich grasslands, for example, Upham Meadow SSSI at Twyning; Upton Ham SSSI, Upton-on-Severn and Ashleworth Ham SSSI. The lowland meadow resource is nationally important. In recent years further areas of floodplain wetlands have been restored along the Avon, Severn and Chelt.
• Tree lined ditches and rhines with many veteran willow pollards.
• River terrace gravels, fossil bearing and containing vertebrate remains from the Quaternary glaciations. The terraces are also important for determining the relative ages of the Quaternary glaciations in England.
• River terraces contain key archaeological sites, providing a significant record of Neolithic occupation and subsequent settlement history, particularly on terraces of the rivers Avon, Carrant, Isbourne and the Severn south of Worcester.
• Over 750 ha SPA designated wetland; the Severn Estuary SPA and Walmore Common SPA. Tthese are also Ramsar sites. The estuary saltmarshes and upper saltmarshes are of international importance for wintering wildfowl, including Bewick’s swan and shelduck.
• Key populations of the very restricted plant species such as ribbon-leaved water-plantain and the restricted true fox-sedge, coral-necklace and pennyroyal.
• Attractive riverside Cities (Gloucester and Worcester) and towns (Tewkesbury, Evesham, Stratford, Upton on Severn), containing many listed buildings and nationally important monuments, for example, Gloucester and Worcester Cathedrals, Tewkesbury Abbey) are defined by their riverside locations and are a key feature in the floodplain landscape.

Surviving character of the formerly extensive chases and royal forests centred on Malvern, Feckenham and Ombersley containing, unimproved meadows, ancient woodlands and ancient hedgerows.

Justification for selection:

• A nationally important concentration of unimproved (neutral grassland) meadows, containing a rich diversity of grassland species such as meadow saffron, green winged orchid and wild daffodil. Some of these meadows contain extant ridge and furrow features.
• One of only two remaining recorded sites for the fungus Berkeley’s earthstar.
• Ancient species-rich hedgerows, contributing to distinctive landscape character and harbouring the priority butterfly, brown hairstreak.

Distinctive Cotswold outliers rising up from the surrounding landscape and a distinctive Cotswold scarp on the eastern boundary of the area. More detail on the Cotswold landscape is available in NCA 107.

Justification for selection:

• Bredon Hill – parts of which are in the Bredon Hill SAC and contain calcareous grassland with a distinctive flora including early gentian, stemless thistle and rock rose; wood pasture with many veteran trees hosting an important deadwood invertebrate fauna, which includes the nationally rare and protected violet click beetle.
• Geological features such as an important exposure of Jurassic rocks of the Lias Group at Robin Wood Hill Quarry SSSI.
• The topography presented by the Cotswold outliers is of geological interest, contributing to understanding of how rocks of differing weathering resistance shape the landscape.
• Bredon Hill SAC and Dixton Wood SAC are designated for their population of the endangered priority species, violet click beetle.
• Distinctive high status buildings built with Cotswold stone.

A rich historic landscape, including medieval ridged cultivation and fish ponds, Roman settlement, iron-age hill forts and many moated sites. Historic parklands, wood pasture and orchards are features of the area.

Justification for selection:

• 263 Scheduled Monuments, primarily associated with medieval village earthworks, and 9,799 listed buildings are within the NCA. 1.15 per cent of the area is covered by Registered Parks and Gardens.
• Iron-age hillforts are an important feature on hilltops, for example, Mid-Summer Hill and Bredon Hill where there are extant Roman estate boundaries.
• Many areas of ridge and furrow, centred around nucleated villages and below the Cotswold scarp, including at Weston Subedge, one of England’s best surviving patterns of former open fields of a medieval township. Some of the ridge and furrow sites are also important for their botanical interest, for example, Fosters Green Meadows NNR.
• Earthwork remains of medieval settlements and associated field systems, for example, Billesley Trussell, Ullington and Honeybourne parish.
• A large number of moated sites.
• Substantial estates within designed parkland, such as Charlecote Park and Croome Landscape Park. Both are important visitor destinations. Also, many parks derived from medieval deer parks, including Berkeley Castle, Spetchley Park and Elmley Castle (Bredon Hill). Many of these parks, contain numerous ancient trees and accordingly they are a valuable landscape and biodiversity resource, supporting a range of deadwood invertebrates such as the violet click beetle and the red-horned cardinal click beetle, lichen communities and hole nesting birds and bats.
• At Pipershill Common, there is an area of ancient wood pasture containing some of the oldest trees in Worcestershire and is a significant site for fungi.
• Traditional orchards across the area, particularly concentrated in the Vale of Evesham and around Gloucester and Westbury on Severn, are a surviving feature from the area’s heyday as a fruit growing centre, dating from the late 17th century. The annual display of blossom, the “blow”, is an enigmatic hallmark of this area, which attracts many visitors. The orchards are a priority habitat, for example, Mutlows SSSI and Melrose Farm Orchards SSSI, and host important lichen communities and invertebrate populations, such as a strong population of noble chafer beetle, a priority species which is virtually confined to old orchards.
• Battlefields, historic cities, towns, villages and field patterns, together with numerous scheduled ancient monuments contribute significantly to the sense of place in the NCA.

Woodlands concentrated in small areas within the NCA.

Justification for selection:

• Although woodland is an infrequent feature across the NCA, there are important pockets in the north-west to the east of Worcester and west of Pershore, where a series of ancient semi-natural woodlands occur, containing important fauna and flora such as green hound’s-tongue, herb-paris, early purple orchid and greater butterfly orchid, for example, Grafton Wood SSSI and Tiddesley Wood SSSI in Worcestershire. Shrawley Wood SSSI in the north of the area is one of the most important small-leaved lime woodlands in England.
• Many woodlands retain medieval boundary features, such as Grafton Wood east of Worcester.

A distinctly contrasting settlement pattern in the west and east of the NCA, with dispersed villages in the west and strongly nucleated settlement in the east.

Justification for selection:

• Distinctive timber-framed villages in the south of the NCA.
• Many distinctive buildings, with Cotswold stone used in numerous high status buildings and some larger farms, plus deep- red brick in many other buildings, shaping the character of many settlements.
• There are a very high number of listed buildings in this NCA (9,799).

Wetlands and river terraces in the southernmost tip of the NCA.

Justification for selection:

• Gordano Valley NNR at the southernmost tip, wet meadow, reed bed and carr communities have developed over significant peat deposits and clay.

Inland saltmarsh and a series of pools dispersed across the NCA.

Justification for selection:

• Exceptionally rare surviving examples of inland saltmarsh occur at Upton Warren Pools SSSI near Droitwich and at Old River Severn, Upper Lode SSSI, Gloucestershire.
• Several standing water bodies are found in the NCA. Many are of wildlife importance and have been designated as SSSIs or Special Wildlife Sites. Most were formed as a result of past industrial activity, for example, sand, clay or gravel extraction (Grimley Brick Pits, Worcestershire, Frampton Pools, Gloucestershire) or brine pumping (Oakley Pool, Upton Warren Pools, Worcestershire) or originated as ornamental lakes (Westwood Great Pool, Pirton Pool, Worcestershire). Some are of botanical importance, supporting a number of nationally scarce plants and one site is the only location in Britain for ribbon-leaved water-plantain, a species listed on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Extensive public rights of way network and areas of access land.

Justification for selection:

• Over 5,000 km of public rights of way, including 11km of the Cotswold Way and 1 km of Offa’s Dyke National Trails.
• Over 1,500 ha of access land, mainly on the Malvern Hills and common land beneath the Malvern Hills, for example, Castlemorton and Hollybed Commons, providing valued open access for many visitors.

Landscape opportunities

• Protect and appropriately manage the landscape, geodiversity and biodiversity associated with the river floodplains and estuarine environments, maintaining management regimes that will conserve; saltmarsh and freshwater wetlands, flood meadows, ‘hams’, pastures, fen and tree lined ditches needed to conserve internationally important wildfowl populations; the wide variety of species and habitats valued for their flora and fauna; important geodiversity and historic environment features on river terraces; and landscape character.
• Protect and manage the historic and distinctive landscape of the former chases and royal forests around Malvern, Feckenham and Ombersley, maintaining traditional orchards, unimproved grasslands, ancient woodlands and ancient hedgerows valued for their wide variety of rare and scarce species, plus historic environment interest.
• Protect historic environment features across the NCA, including earthwork remains of medieval settlements and field systems so that the nationally important record of medieval township field systems is conserved. Also protect valued historic environment assets including hill forts, moated sites and parklands that contribute to historic and landscape character.
• Protect veteran trees, unimproved calcareous grassland, wood pasture and geological features throughout the NCA, particularly on Cotswold Outlier hills so that nationally important invertebrate populations such as violet click beetle, a valued landscape feature, and valued flora and geodiversity resources are maintained.
• Manage the distinct field boundary patterns across the NCA to maintain the historic record of parliamentary enclosure in the east and the more open patterns with open common land in the west, safeguarding important populations of brown hairstreak butterfly and the valued recreational and biodiversity resource of the open commons.
• Manage peat soils in the Gordano Valley and Walmore Common so that biodiversity value associated with wet meadow, reed bed and carr communities and carbon sequestration potential is fully realised.
• Manage standing water bodies and inland saltmarsh distributed across the NCA, to maintain significant flora, wetland bird populations and historic landscape features.
• Manage traditional orchards to ensure a continuity of deadwood and rot holes and increase the variability of age structure of orchard trees, improve the condition of the underlying grassland to enhance the lowland meadow resource. Restore or maintain traditional orchard buildings such as cider houses, which contribute to the history and cultural associations of orchards across this area.
• Plan to extend, through restoration and creation, areas of unimproved grassland, wetland and traditional orchard, so that extensive and connected habitat networks are created in the former royal chase and forest areas and along river floodplains.
• Plan for the creation of a robust habitat network, connecting the ancient woodlands in the north west of the NCA with the nationally important ancient woodland resource centred on the Wyre Forest in the Severn Sandstone Plateau NCA. Do this by restoring existing ancient woodlands and restoring plus creating new blocks of semi-natural habitat, including new woodland, in intervening spaces between ancient woodlands.
• Plan for a continuous resource of mature and veteran trees at wood pasture and parkland sites, particularly on Bredon Hill, so that nationally important invertebrate populations, lichen communities and fungi can be conserved and a valued historic landscape feature can be retained. Provide habitat linkage between the two SAC on Bredon Hill and Dixton Woods (Oxenton Hill).
• Plan to extend areas of flood meadows/grazing marsh to create an extensive ecological network of unimproved grassland and wetland habitat, plus flood storage zones. Do this with due care for the integrity of embankments genuinely associated with historic flood meadow management, characteristic of the river floodplain.