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