80 - The Broads : Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity

Summary

The Broads National Character Area (NCA) is situated on the eastern edge of East Anglia and is located predominantly in the county of Norfolk together with a small part of north Suffolk, between the peripheral urban areas of Norwich in the west and Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft in the east. Some 94 per cent of the NCA is open country and the remaining 6 per cent is urban. Its boundary follows the edge of the level, open marshland and valleys drained by the three principal rivers, the Yare, Bure and Waveney, and their tributaries, the Thurne, Ant, Wensum and Chet, giving the NCA its very distinctive shape. The rivers flow east into the sheltered estuary of Breydon Water, which lies at the confluence to the Broads river system.

The whole area has become known for the shallow lakes, referred to as ‘broads’ that are contained within the river valleys. These broads are the effect of medieval excavations of peat that became flooded as sea levels rose. Since the 1950s the network of navigable rivers and areas of open water has assured that the Broads is a popular tourism and recreation destination, principally for boating holidays, attracting over 7 million visitors annually (About the Broads, Broads Authority, 2013).

The agricultural landscape is based on a long history of drainage to allow livestock grazing interspersed with arable cropping, mainly for cereals, which is supported by the moderately fertile river valley and flood plain soils. Woodland is limited, particularly across the coastal and flood plain marshes, although alder carr wet woodland is typical of the wetter areas surrounding the broads and on the flood plain of the middle and upper reaches of the valleys.

The low-lying marshes are traditionally unsettled, instilling a rather isolated character, while the pattern of settlement on the higher ground is clustered and linked by a minor road network that runs along the valley sides. A loose local vernacular of flint, pebble and brick, with pantiles and occasionally reed thatch, adds cohesion to settlements.

The ecologically rich wetland habitats form one of the finest and largest marshland complexes in the United Kingdom. Iconic species include the secretive bittern (rarely seen but frequently heard booming during the breeding season), the marsh harrier, and swallowtail butterfly and fen orchid. The coastline is also important for habitats such as dune heath and species including the natterjack toad, golden plover, little tern, and common and grey seals.

The importance of the Broads for biodiversity and nature conservation is borne out by the many sites within it afforded conservation status. Internationally designated sites cover 12 per cent of the NCA and include the Broadland and Breydon Water Ramsar site, three Special Protection Areas (SPA) and two Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). There are ten National Nature Reserves and numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that together cover 12 per cent of the land area. There are also 103 local conservation sites covering 3 per cent of the NCA.

In the north-east the NCA meets the wild and open expanse of the North Sea along the 14 km stretch of coast between Happisburgh and Wintertonon-Sea. Approximately two-thirds of this coastline – 3 per cent of the NCA – lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), designated in 1968 to recognise the national importance of the Norfolk coast landscape. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 recognised the area’s special qualities and constituted the Broads and some of the surrounding land – 52 per cent of the NCA – as equivalent in status to a national park. It is the only wetland national park area in the United Kingdom.

Today managing the Broads and its use is based on sustainable, integrated management of conservation, recreation and navigation interests. Challenges exist because, despite the extent of the navigable network in the Broads, very little use is made of the water as a means of public transport, with access mostly by car. In some areas, infill development is altering traditional settlement patterns and the quality and distinctiveness of the built environment. In recent years improvements have been made – through conservation efforts supported by agri-environment practices, and new initiatives in sewage treatment and the boating industry – resulting in 38 per cent of SSSI being in a favourable condition. However, many wildlife sites are currently in a poor condition, although 35 per cent are recovering. The increase in non-native species, seasonal variability in river flows, depleted groundwater resources, incursion of saltwater from tidal flooding, and diffuse pollution from land management potentially threaten the quality of water in the Broads and the whole nature of the flood plain environment. Climate change and rising sea levels add further challenges as well as opportunities for the landscape and local communities in this diverse and unique NCA.

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 distinctive historic landscape of the Broads, which is of national and international significance for its heritage and biodiversity interest, through securing and expanding the open water, riverine and estuarine habitats which are vulnerable to abstraction, flooding, vegetation succession and altered land management. Manage the provision and quality of water in the whole catchment for human and ecological benefit.

SEO 2

Conserve and manage the nationally significant coastal landscape, including that within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – between Sea Palling and Winterton-on-Sea – by implementing strategies to adapt to coastal change and sea level rise that are consistent with the current north-east Norfolk Shoreline Management Plan. Work with coastal processes as far as possible, while enhancing people’s enjoyment of the area through improving its unique assemblage of coastal habitats and increasing opportunities for sustainably managed access to support recreation and education.

SEO 3

Maintain a sustainable and productive agricultural landscape while expanding and connecting semi-natural habitats to benefit biodiversity, and improve soil and water quality by promoting sustainable farming practices that are able to adapt to changing agricultural economics and the considerable challenge of climate change, and comply with regulations on nitrate vulnerable zones.

SEO 4

Improve opportunities to enhance people’s enjoyment of the area while protecting high levels of tranquillity by conserving intimate Broadland valleys and extensive coast and marshland views, which contribute to sense of place, and conserve and promote the geodiversity, archaeology and historical evidence of past human settlement and landscape change.