6 - Solway Basin : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

The Solway Basin is a low-lying National Character Area (NCA) of gently undulating low hills that grade into the coastal plain and estuarine landscape of the Solway Firth. To the east and south and across the lowlands of the Dumfries coast to the north, the lowland landscape is framed by the uplands of the Lake District, the North Pennines and southern Scotland. The area has a long history as border country, originally divided by the Roman frontier of Hadrian’s Wall, which has World Heritage Site designation, and through succeeding centuries it has been a part of the disputed lands of the English-Scottish border. The area is dominated by pastoral agriculture in rectilinear fields bounded by hedges but with increasing arable farming on the low hills. The coastal zone is characterised by a more open, wind-swept, dynamic and tidal landscape of salt marshes, beaches, sand dunes and intertidal flats along the margins of the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea.

As well as being part of the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), almost the entire NCA coastline and many of the lowland wetlands are nationally and internationally important for their habitats and the species they support, as well as for their geomorphology and record of past environmental conditions. Along the coast, the Solway Firth is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for its salt marshes, sand dunes and intertidal habitats, and as a Special Protection Area and Ramsar site for its populations of breeding birds and wintering waders and wildfowl, including barnacle geese and whooper swans, whose daily movements between roosts and feeding areas are also an iconic feature of the landscape. Inland from the coast, many of the series of lowland raised bogs make up the South Solway Mosses SAC which includes the most intact and extensive series of sites in England, with their unique communities of peat-forming mosses, dwarf shrubs, cotton grasses and large heath butterflies. This is added to in the eastern part of the NCA by Bolton Fell Moss SAC and Walton Moss SAC and the River Eden SAC, which extends far beyond this NCA, with its populations of salmon, otter and lamprey and its beds of water crowfoot.

Settlements are scattered across the NCA area, with a number along the coast, but the largest is Carlisle. Developed at a strategic crossing of the River Eden, it has been a settlement site since at least Roman times and has been an important defensive site through the centuries of border disputes with Scotland as well as a focus for both north-south and east-west travel and trade. This cathedral city has grown up around a fortified medieval core built of red sandstone but has expanded over peaceful times and is well known for its Georgian architecture.

Dominated by pastoral agriculture, the rural landscape is also important for recreation supported by the AONB coastline, the Hadrian’s Wall Path (a National Trail), the new England Coastal Path and the attractions of the open tranquil landscapes which are asset-rich in both historic and natural heritage. In recent years the landscape and the views across the surrounding uplands and the northern Irish Sea have been modified by wind turbines, including both large and small-scale developments.

In the future, climate change and its associated impacts on sea levels and weather patterns are likely to have an even greater effect on this low-lying area at the head of the Irish Sea; adaption to these challenges will be a driver for future management.

Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)

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

SEO 1

Conserve and enhance the designated coastal landscapes and the diverse range of habitats of the Solway coast, managing the internationally important coastal and estuary systems, including the intertidal flats, salt marshes and sand dunes, for the species they support, their geomorphology, recreation and tranquillity value and the flood risk protection they provide, in order to aid adaptation to the effects of climate change and enhance their importance in the local economy.

SEO 2

Manage and restore the freshwater wetland landscape of the Solway Basin, including internationally important raised bogs and rivers with their associated fens, lakes, riparian woodlands and channels, for the important habitats they provide, their contribution to landscape character, the environmental record and historical assets they hold, and to manage flood risk and maintain water quality.

SEO 3

Work with landowners and land managers to protect, enhance and strengthen the network of farmland features; create and expand farmland habitats to enhance biodiversity and improve soil and water quality; strengthen the resilience of habitats to climate change; enhance landscape character; and support a diverse rural economy.

SEO 4

Conserve and promote the historic landscape and settlement character, including the many heritage assets linked to the area’s history as a disputed boundary zone, such as the World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall, promote education and understanding through interpretation, enhance recreation opportunities and ensure that the design of new development enhances the character of the area.