37 - Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe : 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

Underlying geology of Coal Measures with harder gritstones in the west.

Justification for selection:

• Geology provides building stone as well as resources of iron and coal, fireclay and roadstone leading to the development of the wool and iron industries.
• Strong visual unity created by the widespread use of local stone for walls, traditional farm buildings, hamlets and settlements, including 19th-century terrace housing for mill workers, and for much of the fine civic architecture, giving rise to a strong sense of place, and connection with heritage.

A transitional landscape with a strong landform of treeless hilltops dropping down from the Pennines in the west, dissected by steep-sided valleys down to valleys with woodland on side slopes.

Justification for selection:

• Deeply incised river valleys show distinct shoulders where they have cut down from earlier broader valleys; narrow valleys open out as they descend to the east.
• The open hills and wooded valley sides create clear visual backdrops to the urban areas and industrial buildings and help to bring a sense of unity to the area, connecting urban with rural and creating a strong sense of place.
• High plateau gives rise to long views out over urban areas, whilst there are often views from within urban areas out to surrounding hills and valleys, so that urban and rural are clearly linked, giving rise to a strong sense of identity and place.

Urban areas dominate with striking city centres and extensive development through the ages

Justification for selection:

• Striking municipal buildings built from wealth generated by local industry.
• Dense urban development, especially in city centres and terraces built to house mill and mine workers.
• Importance of city parks in providing access and recreation opportunities for the factory workers.
• Greenbelt is important for retaining the distinction between settlements and sense of place.
• Infrastructure that feeds and supports urban areas such as railways and motorways cross the landscape.

Clear evidence of historical development over time, in particular 19th and 20th centuries, with early industrial forges and mills, then later large mills, chimneys, factories and associated housing.

Justification for selection:

• The significant cultural heritage from the industrial period with its large stone buildings is a key characteristic of this area.
• Interpretation of cultural heritage contributes to understanding and appreciation of history and our links to it.
• Strong sense of identity is created by close links between settlements and industry – woollen towns to the north, manufacturing to the south – which is reinforced by retaining iconic elements.

Substantial towns, many with fine civic architecture built by wealthy industrialists in town centres, giving strong urban identity.

Justification for selection:

• Over 5,000 listed buildings reflect the widespread occurrence of significant and robust structures, many from the period of industrial development.
• 20 Registered Parks and Gardens also reveal the industrial wealth that was used to build stately homes and designed grounds.
• The importance of the setting of the urban areas is indicated through 68 per cent of the area being designated as greenbelt.

Earlier historic periods revealed through bronze-age and Roman habitation on uplands, and old pack-horse routes linking settlements on either side of the Pennines.

Justification for selection:

• The 47 Scheduled Monuments in this NCA include several early industrial workplaces, as well as carved rocks, wayside crosses, moated houses and Romano-British settlements.

Strong pastoral character to the west, including a strong pattern of drystone walls, with a transition to more arable land to the east where hedges are more common on the lower-lying land.

Justification for selection:

• Predominance of livestock rearing, due to majority of land being Grade 4.
• Some areas between Bradford and Huddersfield are Grade 3, and are cultivated for arable crops and improved grassland.
• Upland heath, lowland meadows, upland calcareous grasslands and purple moor grass and rush pastures are priority habitats predominant in this NCA.
• Mosaics of upland pastures support a wider range of plant and animal species, and the pastoral western part of this NCA can be considered an important support zone for the internationally designated SPAs and SAC of the adjacent Southern Pennines, especially in providing feeding areas for waders and twite. Western parts of this NCA are included in the Integrated Biodiversity Delivery Area.
• On some parts of the upland plateau, the pastures are enclosed into regular rectangular fields, which are highly visible within the wider landscape, such as around Penistone.

Good opportunities for enjoying landscape through high density of footpaths, and two significant long-distance paths.

Justification for selection:

• Relatively high density of 2.25 km of public rights of way per km2, in an area with extensive towns and villages (36 per cent of the area), creates plenty of opportunity for local populations to access the natural environment and its cultural heritage.

Landscape opportunities

• Manage existing sites and plan for expansion sites to improve upland pastures to create mosaics of species-rich pastures and rushy pastures, to increase biodiversity (plants and insects in particular) and provide feeding and breeding opportunities for birds (especially waders, twite).
• Plan to increase areas of woodland, particularly on steep slopes and areas where they can help hold back floodwaters and provide flood attenuation services.
• Encourage increased access to and understanding of the natural environment, using existing networks of paths, creating links where appropriate, and in particular to address the needs of people living in densely populated urban areas.
• Plan to create and link wetland habitats in river valleys along the rivers Calder and Don, to strengthen landscape character and to improve connectivity for species and enhance biodiversity, and strengthen links between towns and surrounding urban areas. Manage existing wetland habitats so that they contribute to landscape character and biodiversity.
• Encourage any new developments to retain the distinctive character of each settlement and to incorporate green infrastructure that will contribute to biodiversity and provide opportunities for enjoyment of the natural environment
• Plan interpretation of the rich cultural heritage, especially of the 18th and 19th centuries, to enable more people to understand and appreciate their cultural heritage or different histories.
• Protect pastoral character of western areas, with their mosaics of pastures under varying intensity of management, rough grasslands, meadows and strong patterns of drystone walls.
• Manage and restore drystone walls in the upland pasture land in the west of the NCA and hedgerows in the lower-lying land to the east of the NCA as the dominant field boundary features.
• Protect evidence of heritage from the industrial era, retaining key and iconic buildings.
• Protect the strong visual unity created by widespread use of local stone from walls and traditional farm buildings to civic architecture and town centres and the individual character of the different towns and clear patterns of settlement.
• Protect archaeology and ground features, such as late iron-age/Romano-British period cropmarks and earthworks of enclosed and unenclosed farmsteads with round houses, rectilinear field systems and strip lynchets.
• Protect historic features such as pack-horse routes and traditional farm buildings.
• Protect visible evidence of underlying geology, both by preventing the obscuring of landform and by keeping key views of landform and features open, including rock exposures in quarries. Liaise with quarry owners and land owners to provide access and interpretation of these features where possible.
• Manage conversion of vernacular buildings to ensure retention of key features and use of traditional materials, to retain visual quality and historic integrity.
• Manage development so that evidence of different periods of history, including the early industrial sites, is retained and conserved, and its significance interpreted.
• Manage existing woodlands to enhance production of biomass, retain historic features of interest and the importance of historic woodlands as features of the landscape.
• Manage arable areas so that they protect and maintain watercourses, historic ground features, hedges, hedgerow trees, riparian trees and other habitats.