LCA5D Dun River Valley Floor

Landscape Strategy and Guidelines

The Dun River Valley Floor is important for a number of unimproved grassland habitats and its wooded small scale landscape pattern. The overall strategy is therefore to conserve extant historic landscape features and enhance the small scale wooded and grassland character of Dun River Valley Floor.

Land Management

Landscape Distinctiveness

Maintain characteristic braided channels, drainage ditches, mill streams and pools

Maintain the contrast of a pastoral valley with the open arable valley sides

Agriculture

Encourage management of traditional water meadows and reintroduce management of farmland as seasonally wet pastures where appropriate

Resist change from pasture to arable

Discourage merging of remaining smaller fields

Hedgerows

Encourage traditional methods of hedge management

Woodland and Trees

Management of the pollards and lines of poplar, which characterise some sections of the valley floor

Conserve valley floor wet woodland and promote good woodland management

Encourage where appropriate new areas of woodland planting to mitigate the visual impact of the existing railway line

Biodiversity

Encourage agricultural management that will protect and enhance remnant unimproved grasslands

Protect the water from further damage from pollution, soil erosion and construction projects

Seek opportunities for wetland creation and ditch reinstatement

Historic Landscapes

Maintenance of historic features including water meadows systems, mills, weirs and leats

Protect the landscape setting of the medieval moated site at the western end of the valley floor

Land Use and Development

Built Developments

Limit development in order to conserve the existing settlement form and settlement-free character of the valley floor

Infrastructure

Avoid suburbanisation arising from introduction of inappropriate highway measures

Recreation, Tourism and Access

Seek opportunities for additional access to the river for the public

Volume 1: LCA5D Landscape Character Types and Areas