Section 1: Physical and human influences
Section 2: Visual character of the landscape
Section 3: Landscape evolution and change
Section 4: Landscape strategies and key recommendations
Section 5: Landscape guidelines
Section 1: Physical and human influences
Introduction
| The Idle Lowlands form the southern part of an extensive low-lying region which extends northwards from Nottinghamshire to the Humber Estuary. Much of this region consists of sparsely inhabited levels and former carrlands, which are now intensively cultivated for arable production. Most of the settlements in the region are located on “islands” of higher ground, mainly on the Isle of Axholme and on the lower-lying sandlands between Retford and Doncaster. Within Nottinghamshire the Idle Lowlands are closely associated with the basin of the River Idle and its tributary, the Ryton. These basins, which extend to approximately 160 square kilometres, are roughly triangular in shape, with their southern apex at Retford. They are bordered by the Sherwood region to the south west, and by the Mid-Nottinghamshire Farmlands to the east. A small part of the basin of the River Torne also extends into the County to the west of Harworth. |
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Despite the draining of the levels and the impact of coal mining in the Doncaster area, the Idle Lowlands still retain a distinctive character which is reflected in the range and pattern of different landscapes that occur within the region. In order fully to appreciate the nature of these landscapes, it is necessary to understand the factors that have contributed to their formation. The underlying geology, for example, has a strong influence on the character of the landscape, not only in the way in which it affects landform, soils and vegetation, but also in the human activities dependent upon it. The appearance of the land is in turn shaped by the results of man’s activities, changing natural vegetation patterns to suit human needs and introducing man-made elements into the landscape.
The shape of the land
To understand the physical influences that have shaped the character of the Idle Lowlands, it is necessary to look at the wider regional picture. The greater part of the region, which drains to the Humber Estuary, is floored by a variable thickness of fluvio-glacial and lacustrine drift, overlain in places by more recent deposits of alluvium and peat. These deposits originated some 18,000 years ago during the last Ice Age, when ice sheets blocked the Humber to the north. When the ice sheets retreated, rivers and streams were left flowing in an unstable, braided manner across the now dry lake floor. Since the whole area was only a little above sea level, these slow moving rivers and streams deposited successive banks of silt, sand and gravel. As sea levels began to rise at the end of the Ice Age (7,000 years ago), alluvium was deposited over the lowest-lying areas and peat began to develop where drainage was impeded. This was essentially the beginning of the marsh and fen landscape, which persisted in modified form until recent times.
The most extensive tracts of flat, low-lying land, or levels, occur in the area to the north of Gringley on the Hill. This area, which extends northwards well beyond the county boundary, is associated with a broad, vaguely defined plain, formerly occupied by the River Idle. Levels also occur elsewhere in the region, but for the most part they occur on a smaller scale, often in basins contained by higher ground. Despite the fact that they have nearly all been comprehensively drained, the levels of the Idle Lowlands continue to be one of the most distinguishing features of the region.
Where the underlying drift is not covered by alluvium and peat it tends to form areas of land that are raised above the surrounding levels. This drift consists mainly of fluvio-glacial sands and gravels, and in the Doncaster area it forms a series of low rounded hills and terraces. Many of these sandlands are raised by no more than a few metres, but where they are surrounded by lower-lying levels this is often enough to create the impression of being on a low hill. This effect is particularly apparent at Misson, where the village is situated on an “island” of higher ground surrounded by former wetland.
Around the edge of the region, where the drift starts to thin out, the underlying Permo-Triassic bedrock is revealed as a series of higher ridges, often fringed by lower-lying sandlands. These ridges, which for the most part rise to over 30 metres in height, are orientated in a general north-south direction, reflecting the overall structural alignment of the region. There are three distinct bands of Permo-Triassic strata. The oldest is the Magnesian Limestone, which forms a gently rising escarpment along the western fringe of the region. The limestone dips eastwards and is overlain by a less well-defined belt of Triassic sandstone. This is an extension of the Sherwood Sandstone formation which takes its name from the region to the south. The sandstone is heavily dissected into a series of discrete hills and ridges, separated by low-lying alluvial basins. Two of these, at Whitewater Common and the valley of the River Torne, separate the sandstone hills from the adjoining limestone escarpment. Where it is not covered in drift, the sandstone is characterised by numerous dry valleys which reflect the freedraining nature of the underlying bedrock. Some of the higher hills, which rise to 40 metres or more, have a capping of glacial drift. The wooded Barrow Hills, for example, form a particularly prominent local feature. Elsewhere the covering of fluvio-glacial drift creates a more rounded and rolling topography which merges gradually into the adjoining lower-lying terraces.
To the south of the Barrow Hills, another enclosed alluvial basin separates the Sherwood Sandstone from the next ridge of high ground to the east of Retford. The latter is formed by a belt of Mercia Mudstone, which defines the eastern edge of the region. The mudstone forms a prominent escarpment, which again dips gently eastwards, this time into the Trent Valley. The escarpment is truncated along its northern edge, and between Everton and Misterton there is a pronounced scarp which overlooks the flat carrlands to the north.
An outlier of Mercia Mudstone occurs just beyond the county boundary to form another area of high ground between Haxey and Epworth. This area is joined to Debd Hill above Misterton by a slightly raised ridge of blown sand, which separates the Idle levels from the washlands of the River Trent.
Soils, vegetation and land use
The pattern of soils in the Idle Lowlands shows a very close relationship to the underlying geology. Free-draining sandy rocks, in places affected by groundwater, have developed on the fluvio-glacial sandlands, while heavier gleyed soils and peat have formed in the intervening alluvial levels.
The sandlands, despite their inherently low fertility, are well suited for arable and horticultural cropping. The light sandy soils are easily worked and with adequate manuring, or dressing of artificial fertiliser, are capable of growing a wide range of crops The fact that the Idle sandlands have historically supported a traditional agricultural economy is reflected in the pattern of small rural settlements in the area. These are nearly all located on dry sites next to lower-lying terraces, which in the past were affected by seasonal waterlogging. The watertable has been extensively lowered in these areas by arterial drainage, however, and the terraces are now cropped in much the same way as the surrounding dry sandlands.
Where the fluvio-glacial drift thins to reveal the underlying Sherwood Sandstone, the soils tend to be thinner and more impoverished. Such soils, which are particularly common in the Sherwood region to the south, occur on the Barrow Hills and on the low plateau to the north and west of Bawtry. Both these areas have always been of marginal agricultural value and consequently the land has only been brought into cultivation in relatively recent times.
A significant area of the sandstone has never been agriculturally improved and is currently used for commercial forestry. Historically, however, the soils would have supported a dry heathland habitat, perhaps with scattered remnants of seminatural oak woodland. Heathland develops naturally on nutrient poor acidic soils, known as podsols. These are formed when minerals and organic matter are leached out of soil surface horizons by rainfall. Podsolised subsoils can still be found in places under remnants of semi-natural woodland and elsewhere on land cleared for agriculture in recent decades. No large areas of heathland have survived, but their former extent is reflected by the widespread occurrence of bracken and other remnant heathy vegetation.
A very different range of soils has developed on the alluvial levels, and historically these supported a quite different pattern of land use from the adjoining sandlands. On the lowest-lying sites along the River Idle, and on the former carrlands to the east of Misson, peaty soils have developed over the underlying alluvial and fluvio-glacial drift. Although most of this flat land is now drained by pumps into the embanked River Idle, these soils would have been severely waterlogged in their natural state. It is only since the advent of arterial drainage that these areas have been brought into intensive agricultural use. The dark humus topsoils are inherently fertile and easily worked and a wide range of root and horticultural crops, with cereals, is now grown on the Idle carrlands. Where drainage has only been partially effective, as along the Idle between Newington and Scrooby, much of the land is still managed as permanent pasture.
Slowly permeable clayey soils are found along the valley of the River Ryton at Whitewater Common and on the levels adjoining the River Idle to the east of Lound. Such soils are well suited to grassland and the traditional pattern of land use has, until recently, been for permanent pasture. Arable cropping is now more common, but despite the effects of drainage these low-lying areas are still affected by seasonal flooding. Permanent pasture is still the dominant land use along much of the Ryton Valley between Scrooby and Blyth.
Landscape history
Descriptions of the Idle Lowlands are mostly based upon the Roman landscapes of marsh and fen, and the modern history of agricultural improvement following drainage. Such accounts pay scant attention to the variety in even the medieval landscapes, let alone the long and complex history of earlier millennia. The region does, however, have a long and interesting history of human occupation, some of which can still be read in the present day landscape, although the changed environment increasingly demands a knowledgeable eye, while much is still buried awaiting further study.
The prehistoric landscapes of the Idle Lowlands mainly lie buried beneath and within the alluvium and peat that cover much of the region. The early hunter-gathering communities lived in a landscape of rivers and woodland at first characterised by oak, elm and hazel, which after 5000 BC became dominated by alder, oak, lime and hazel. Evidence of their presence comes from stone tools found in the upcast of drainage ditches, in gravel quarries and on the surfaces of modern ploughed fields where, as at Misterton, the dried-out peat has eroded to expose the sand and gravel ridges which afforded suitable places for seasonally occupied encampments.
The disappearance of elm after 3000 BC is a nationally recognised phenomenon which is often attributed to the effect on woodland composition of the first farmers, in clearing woodland for tillage and by grazing. Neolithic stone axeheads, perhaps symbolic of such clearance, have come from Everton, Scaftworth, Misson and Misterton, along with occasional stone tools of the same date elsewhere. By about 2300 BC, however, a phase of reduced drainage was under way with peat growing in a filled-in river channel at Misterton. Much of the evidence for Neolithic activity therefore must lie beneath prehistoric and later alluvium and peat deposits. The same must be true for the Bronze Age also, for while there is evidence of a major clearance of woodland in the pollen record around 1600 BC, and lime declines around 1000 BC, the artefactual evidence consists of some stone tools and, from Sutton and Misson, bronze axeheads. Many more metal tools, however, have been found in the wider region of the Humberhead Marshes, beyond the county boundary. As tree pollen diminishes, so that of cultivated plants and grass rises, indicating mixed farming with both arable and grazing. This was not necessarily a story of continual expansion though; at Scaftworth it appears that woodland regenerated in the later Bronze Age.
If the history of the landscape of the Idle Lowlands during earlier prehistory must, necessarily, be somewhat general, that of the region during late prehistory and the Roman period is more sharply focused. Archaeological sites and the palaeo-environmental record both show a landscape which was substantially cleared of woodland. Settlements revealed in cropmarks (the product of a differential crop growth over buried pits and ditches recorded on aerial photographs) are found wherever the sands and gravels rise above the valley floors and along the margins of the region. Often positioned towards the edges of these higher sandy areas, the settlements are surrounded by long rectangular field systems, like those of the Sherwood region to the west. These fields in places run into the valley floor, where they have been shown on occasion to be buried under and within alluvium and peat. Equally there are strong hints that fields may have stopped well short of the river bank, suggesting a zone of waterside meadows or common grazing. Indeed, it appears likely that the sites of settlement were chosen to be central to both the arable on the exposed better-drained sands and the pastures on the lower wetter ground. Insect remains, preserved in the waterlogged fill of a Roman timber-lined well at Wild Goose Cottage, Lound, indicate an established grassland environment in the Idle Valley, which was virtually devoid of trees. That timber was available at probably no great distance, however, is shown by the timber lining of this well, which was of oak which had grown rapidly in open conditions. The similarity of this timber to that of the more modern Sherwood Forest may suggest the Sherwood region as a point of origin, together with the likelihood that it represents an area of woodland regeneration. A block of woodland was also present in the early Roman period at Scaftworth. Here, two phases of Roman road, probably that from Lincoln to Doncaster which ran across the Idle Lowlands from Drakeholes to Bawtry, were carried over wet ground on timber causeways partly keyed into the stumps of the trees which had been felled in and around its path. In addition to oak, timber and wood of poplar, willow and alder were present.
The Idle Lowlands, then, was a landscape of settlements, fields and pastures with occasional small woods during the Roman period. It also appears to have been prosperous, for some of the settlements seen in the cropmarks are large and complex. They are similar to those of the Trent Valley, rather than the small settlements of the interior of the neighbouring Sherwood region. Like the settlements of the Trent Valley, they produce a greater range and wealth of objects in contrast to the relative poverty of sites on the Sherwood Sandstone. However, even before the end of the period, circumstances had begun to change. The virtually complete clearance of woodland within the region, and further afield, exposed land to erosion. Consequently, more alluvium was deposited in the Idle Valley. The late Roman period saw a marked increase in this alluviation, possibly because of exhaustion and damage to the vulnerable soils of the adjacent Sherwood region or perhaps due to the introduction of the heavy plough which more effectively broke up the ground. Combined with rising groundwater due to climatic fluctuations and changing sea levels, the lower land became wetter and more liable to overbank flooding. The margins of cultivation were pushed back, therefore, and field boundaries and probably farmsteads were buried in alluvium. Large areas of peat began to develop. In some areas woodland regenerated; the Roman road at Scaftworth was buried in alluvium and alder dominated woodland grew up.
Undoubtedly, this environmentally triggered change in land use and landscape was reinforced and maintained by the social and economic changes at the end of the Roman period. What actually happened remains unclear, but within a general context of falling population and a withering and transformation of Roman administrative structures, it appears that settlement and agriculture may have been pulled back from the more difficult marginal land to focus on more fertile areas. The poorer soils were not abandoned, however, but used at a lesser intensity of grazing, woodland and game. The situation, then, was one in which land use was reorganised and adapted to new conditions over a number of generations. Within the Idle Lowlands it would appear likely that settlement contracted on to the higher ground along the edges of the region and on “islands” above the wetter ground on the floor of the basin.
However, apart from occasional objects we have no tangible traces of early Post-Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement in the region. Place names we do have, and some of these, such as Finningley, meaning “the clearing of the fen dwellers” and Mattersey, where the suffix ey means island, reflect the wet, marshy and wooded conditions which then characterised the landscape. Current models of Early and Middle Saxon settlement patterns are of dispersed farms and some larger settlements, not dissimilar to those of late prehistory and the Roman period. By the late 9th century and more particularly the 10th century, under the pressures of a rising population and the growing power of local landowners, people began to group together around the farm of the local lord or at other geographically favoured sites to form nucleated villages. In the Idle Lowlands this process will have been strongly influenced by the availability of dry sites. This must be one reason why, despite the large size of some parishes, there does not appear to be much new settlement within the region. True, it is within a wider area where Scandinavian place names are frequent, suggesting space for incomers in the late 9th and 10th centuries, and some of the communities involved with the Idle Valley do bear such names, especially along the west where the region abuts Sherwood. Most of these latter communities, however, included lands outside of the Idle Valley where conditions for arable were better, and were sited on the valley edge for convenience of access to the cultivated fields on one side and to the grazing and wetland resources of the Idle Lowlands on the other. Within the region itself only Lound, a “clearing”, which may imply contrasting woodland nearby, or Mattersey Thorpe, where thorpe implies a satellite settlement, are suggestive of late new communities.
Contrary to expectation, perhaps, and in contrast to the usual commentaries of historians, the Idle Lowlands were not an area of markedly low population in 1086. Communities here were not generally smaller than many others recorded in Domesday Book in Nottinghamshire. Certainly, if the statistics are reduced to numbers of people per square mile the figures appear low. But on a direct comparison of community against community on the basis of both population and areas under the plough, the region appears to fall comfortably within the average. This is not merely a product of the more extensive arable land available around the edge of the region. Even some of those whose lands lay wholly within the Idle Lowlands could boast respectable extents of arable; Mattersey, for example, had some 780 acres under plough, and Misson some 540 acres. Population and extents of arable were interdependent and were related to the area of dry ground available. Despite the extent of the wetlands there is no hint of specialisation in the economy of the region. Meadow is recorded in a number of communities, on a level of frequency equalled only by the Trent Valley, and fisheries appear at Misson and at Gringley on the Hill, where 1000 eels a year were caught. Fishing in By Carrdyke is also mentioned. Beyond these activities, unexceptional in a riverine context, there is nothing which relates to the considerable area of wetland. At first sight it might be thought possible that it was included under the wood pasture recorded in most Idle Lowlands communities, especially when calculations based on the dimensions of this in Finningley give a notional 5760 acres. However, comparison of the extents given across the region range from 1190 acres at Sutton through to ten acres at Everton and Misson. It seems more likely therefore that these entries do represent woodland rather than moor, and that the resources of the latter were not recorded, just as grassland pasture and livestock across the County as a whole were not included in Domesday Book. Equally, these entries do indicate that there were areas of woodland within the Idle Lowlands in 1086 and that these were significant landscape elements in some places.
The landscape of 1086 set the basic pattern for the Idle Lowlands for the remainder of the Middle Ages and beyond. Within this, there were fluctuations in the nature and intensity of land use under the influence of social, economic and climatic change. The continued rise in general population until the late 13th century will have meant villages increasing in size, with arable fields being reorganised and, where possible, extended. Woodlands will have been diminished. After the mid 13th century, climatic deterioration and rising sea levels raised groundwater levels again and increased flooding, expanding the area of marsh and forcing changes in land use. The stress that this will have induced in communities was relieved by the decline in population in the late 14th and 15th centuries, impelled by the Black Death in 1349 and subsequent outbreaks of plague, from which the region probably suffered equally with the rest of Nottinghamshire. Just as important was the swing away from arable production to animal husbandry which was dominant in the agricultural economy from the 15th century. Wetter land therefore could be readily converted to pasture and a level of prosperity thereby maintained. While a number of villages in the wider region of the Humberhead Levels declined and died during the later Middle Ages and after, those within the Idle Lowlands were able to respond to the changing circumstances and survive.
Major landscape change came with the draining of the levels, progressively undertaken from the 17th century. This is not to say that the importance of drainage was not understood in the Middle Ages and earlier but, lacking technology and unable to take a regional approach, ditching at these dates was only of minor local significance. Even so, the economic value of the wetlands to the communities of the Idle Lowlands should not be underestimated. They offered a variety of resources which were as well exploited and managed as the woodland, heaths, pastures or tillage elsewhere. These resources will have spanned the whole range appropriate to the types of wetland present; fishing, wildfowling, wood and fuel are but a few. Little of this appears in the documentary records except occasional mentions, such as of 4 acres of turbary (peat cutting for fuel) in Lound in 1345 or the 40 acres of the same on an estate with lands in Misterton and Clarborough in 1564. By far the most important use of the wetter land was for meadow and pasture. The qualities of these varied with the ground conditions, which were recognised in description and presumably, therefore, in usage and valuation. This must be the significance of the categorisation given in 1527 of the lands of an estate in Everton as 100 acres of (arable) land, 100 of meadow, 200 of pasture, 100 of heath, 200 of “more”, and 200 of marsh. Each of these represents areas of different habitats and ecology, exploited and managed in differing ways. Meadow appears in the documents of most Idle Lowlands communities usually in relatively small quantities, although it appears to have been significant in Scaftworth and Everton in the 13th and 16th centuries. Much of the other pastures, heaths, moors and marshes was pastured in common between communities and their members. Illustrative of this is a dispute of 1290 in Misson which concerned common pasture in 2,000 acres of wood, pasture and moor. In the same year, when the freeholders of Misterton took their lords of the manor to court for having enclosed 20 acres of moor belonging to the common pasture, it was found that the lords were no more than commoners in the moor alongside the freeholders. The moors and marshes of the region, then, were not untamed wilderness but an environment which was used and maintained to best advantage within an integrated farming regime.
Small wonder, then, that the first large-scale drainage scheme, undertaken by Vermuyden between 1626 and 1628, provoked long-lasting protest and violence from the communities of the Idle Lowlands and the wider region. At Misterton enclosure of 1,000 acres of common and the flooding of other areas of carrland denied these lands to 200 families. Their complaint about this in 1634 pointed out that they employed 46 ploughs and kept 1000 cattle besides sheep and pigs, but without access to the North Carr and Thack Carr they were bereft of all means of livelihood. Leaving aside the abrogation of commoners’ rights to an alien group of investors in Vermuyden’s project, it is clear that the loss of common pasture in the wetlands threatened the traditional economic structures of the region.
Vermuyden’s work was limited in success, and the completion of the drainage of the Idle Lowlands was eventually brought about piecemeal through the improvement of existing ditches and the digging of new ones in enclosing parishes. Apart from limited small-scale enclosure adjacent to villages and in some open fields, this was a region of late enclosure, carried out under Parliamentary Acts in the later 18th and early 19th centuries. This produced a landscape of large, regularly laidout, rectangular fields defined by hedges, with roads of standardised widths following straight lines. In the carrs and wetlands, fields or blocks of fields are defined by ditches, often laid out on a grid, with a lack of relief and a sense of openness accentuated by a lack of hedges, which is relieved by the occasional bankside trees and small plantations. Enclosure and drainage allowed the creation of new farms outside of the villages. In the 1760s Jonathan Acklom of Wiseton Hall led the way on his estate, which included lands in Wiseton, Mattersey, Everton, Misson and Scrooby, by pursuing a plan of building farmhouses and extensive outbuildings in brick in central positions within new units of land. In an unconscious echo of the past, slightly elevated locations were selected for these farmsteads to keep them above flood levels. Intended to be both practical and ornamental, these farms included new trees and plantations. Others followed suit on their estates, adding isolated farm buildings and small plantations to the overall landscape and developing the movement towards building in brick and tile. By the end of the 18th century it was normal to build anew in these materials, and mud and stud timber structures were fast disappearing, rebuilt or refaced, as the “traditional” character of the region’s buildings became established.
The late 18th century also saw an addition to the countryside in the form of the Chesterfield Canal. The Idle had long been a commercial river from West Stockwith to Bawtry, which had developed into a significant inland port during the Middle Ages. By the 1760s, however, the demands of the market and the inconvenience of transporting goods into and out of the hinterland of Bawtry led to the design of a canal to link Chesterfield with the Trent at West Stockwith. Begun in 1771, the Chesterfield Canal runs around the eastern margin of the region, making a discreet contribution to the landscape and reinforcing, through bridges, locks and associated knots of buildings, its red brick character.
Drainage was not effectively completed until the later 19th century, aided by efficient pumping, ditch management and changes in sea level. Agriculturally, however, the region remained one of essentially mixed farming, with a heavy emphasis on animal husbandry: sheep and arable on the drier sandlands and cattle on the wetter levels. This situation persisted until the Second World War when the emphasis swung to arable production, which has since been maintained under Government and European farming policies. Despite these changes, the essentially rural character of the region has been maintained down to the present day.
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Section 2: Visual character of the landscape
Introduction
The Idle Lowlands are a varied low-lying region characterised by carrs, levels and rolling sandland. The pattern of landscape within the region is closely related to the inherent capability of the land, particularly with regard to the natural constraints of drainage and soil fertility. As a consequence, differences in landscape character tend to be reflected more by variations in land use and settlement than by marked topographic changes. Although these differences have been blurred by agricultural intensification, individual landscapes can still be recognised in the pattern of woodlands, fields and settlement across the region. Most areas of former heath and wetland, for example, remain sparsely inhabited and many are still largely inaccessible by road. This is in marked contrast to the settled agricultural character of the adjoining sandlands. Even here, however, the poorest areas of former heath can still be distinguished by the late enclosure pattern, plantations and large isolated farmsteads.
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The Idle Lowlands can be subdivided into five distinct landscape types. These have been classified generically which means that, theoretically, the landscape types could occur at any location within the country where there are similar physical resources and historical patterns of land use. In reality the landscape types possess a distinctively local character, because they share the broad characteristics of the regional character area, or represent a particular aspect of that character. |
Carrlands
An expansive, low-lying and sparsely populated landscape, characterised by large arable fields, bounded by a grid-like pattern of drains and ditches
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Characteristic features
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Landscape description
The relic Carrlands of the Idle basin are perhaps one of the most distinctive landscapes found in Nottinghamshire. This sparsely populated, former wetland landscape is particularly well developed in the lower-lying parts of the parishes of Misson, Everton, Gringley and Misterton. Within this area the flatness of the landform and virtual absence of vertical features creates a largescale, expansive landscape where there is a strong impression of sky and space. Distant views are typically framed by rising ground or, in places, woodland edges. The flat terrain emphasises the significance of these tree cover elements, despite the fact that the area is sparsely wooded. The scale of the landscape is reinforced by the geometric pattern of large arable fields. These fields are nearly everywhere defined by a grid-like layout of drains and ditches. Roads and tracks, many of which run for several miles in straight lines, also follow the same pattern, as do the scattered areas of woodland and scrub. Together these elements create a well-ordered, visually unified landscape.
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The Nottinghamshire Carrlands form part of a much larger area of levels and former wetlands which extend northwards to the Humber Estuary. This whole area is extremely low-lying, in places even below sea level, but since the 17th century the region has been subject to successive drainage schemes. The fertile peat soils are now intensively utilised for the production of cereals and field vegetables. As a result the natural environment is carefully controlled to maximise agricultural production, leaving little room for wildlife in the present-day landscape. |
Remnant patches of semi-natural woodland and scrub do, however, still survive in one or two low-lying hollows which have proved impossible to drain. The former wetland character of the landscape is also reflected in local place names (e.g. Gringley Carr), the absence of settlements and the layout of parish boundaries.
Human habitation on the Carrlands is largely restricted to isolated farmsteads. Most of these are characterised by traditional brick built farmhouses, surrounded by large industrial style barns. These groups of buildings form natural focal points in the large-scale, open landscape, which has few other features of interest. The absence of larger settlements reflects the land use history of the Carrlands and, together with the inaccessibility of much of the area, this has created a remote landscape with a strong sense of place. There are few roads, but those that do occur are typically narrow and often elevated with an uneven surface, due to shrinkage of the underlying peat. Small brick arched, or concrete slab bridges are a recurring feature throughout this landscape, where roads and tracks cross over the many drains and ditches.
Valley carrs and levels
A flat, low-lying and secluded landscape, characterised by a simple pattern of fields bounded by ditches and remnant thorn hedges
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Characteristic features
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Landscape description
The Valley Carrs and Levels are a simple, but distinctive landscape which is closely associated with broad, low-lying valleys. This traditional pastoral landscape is characterised by a poorly defined pattern of medium or large-sized fields bounded by ditches and remnant thorn hedges. In places patches of scrubby woodland and small geometric plantations, known locally as holts, form prominent landscape features. The flat terrain has the effect of emphasising the significance of these features, often creating a sequence of linked wooded spaces. This enclosed character is well-developed at Styrrup Carr and on the alluvial levels of Hodsock. Elsewhere, the Valley Carrs and Levels typically appear more open in character, especially where there are few hedges. In these areas there is often a sense of spaciousness, where the eye is naturally drawn to surrounding hills, or rising ground.
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In some respects this landscape is a small-scale, more enclosed version of the Carrlands proper, which lie to the north of the Everton-Gringley watershed. The character of the Valley Carrs and Levels, however, has evolved gradually over a long period of time and generally lacks the more recent, very ordered landscape pattern found in the Carrlands. The Valley Carrs and Levels also remain largely uninhabited and thus retain much of their traditional character, despite the more recent changes in land use. |
The Valley Carrs and Levels landscape is particularly well-developed in the area between Doncaster and Retford, where it occurs as a series of discrete, but linked, low-lying areas associated with river valleys and other poorly drained hollows. Typical riverside scenes, however, are only found along the River Ryton and in parts of the Idle Valley. Elsewhere, this landscape is developed on deposits of alluvium, peat and lacustrine clay at Whitewater Common, in the valley of the River Torne and along the county boundary at Misson, respectively.
One of the key features which distinguishes the Valley Carrs and Levels from the adjoining sandlands is the inaccessible and largely uninhabited character of the landscape. Roads occur only at natural river crossing points, while individual farmsteads are almost all situated on surrounding higher land. Access to farmland within the Valley Carrs and Levels is usually along wide hedged trackways. This settlement pattern reflects the nature of the peaty and alluvial soils associated with this landscape. Historically these soils were seasonally waterlogged and the land utilised for summer pasture. Arable cropping is now the dominant land use, but more traditional pastoral scenes with grazing animals can still be found at Styrrup Carr, in the Ryton Valley and adjoining the River Idle at Scrooby.
Village sandlands
A gently rolling agricultural landscape characterised by an ordered pattern of fields, roads and small rural villages
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Characteristic features
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Landscape description
The Village Sandlands are a settled agricultural landscape characterised by arable farms and small rural villages. This gently rolling landscape is particularly well-developed between Retford and Bawtry, on an area of low sandstone hills fringed by lower-lying sand and gravel terraces. Within this area the Valley Carrs and Levels divide the Village Sandlands into a number of geographically discrete units. The largest of these is centered on the village of Ranskill with smaller areas around Everton and at Styrrup. A detached area of Village Sandlands also occurs on a low hill of fluvio-glacial drift in the parish of Misson. This hill forms an “island” of higher ground which is completely surrounded by low-lying levels. Although it is only elevated by a few metres the flatness and extent of the adjoining levels tends to emphasise the significance of landform in this area.
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Unlike the lower-lying levels, which historically were affected by seasonal flooding, the higher ground within the Village Sandlands provided naturally dry sites for settlements. Almost all the villages that occur in the region are thus to be found within this landscape, typically on rising ground around the edge of the former wetland areas. The associated free-draining sandy soils provide easily worked arable farmland, which is intensively utilised for growing a wide range of crops, including cereals and field vegetables. |
These factors may partly explain the relatively high settlement density within this landscape, reflected in the many small parishes in the area. Settlement is strongly nucleated with only scattered farmsteads and occasional farm cottages to be found outside the village in most parishes. Most of the older buildings have a distinctive vernacular character, resulting from the combination of red brick and bright orange pantile roofs.
Villages are for the most part closely spaced and linked by a network of mainly straight roads and trackways. This regular layout, which is reinforced by the generally wellmanaged and ordered pattern of medium to large-sized fields, reflects the relatively late enclosure of farmland in the Village Sandlands. This pattern is also manifest in the traditional brick and pantile farmhouses. Most of these are constructed in a similar vernacular style, having been built around the same time that the surrounding farmland was enclosed. This complementary arrangement of field, farmsteads and villages creates a relatively unified, human-scale landscape, which provides a welcome contrast to the remote, sparsely settled character of the nearby Carrlands and Forest Sandlands.
Tree cover, where it is a feature in the Village Sandlands, is characterised by small geometric plantations and groups of mature trees around farmsteads. The latter are a distinctive and often visually prominent feature, particularly in the Ranskill area. For the most part, however, this is an open landscape where the regular pattern of hedged fields is the dominant and unifying visual element. This pattern, which is mostly defined by neatly trimmed thorn hedges, is in many places emphasised by the gently undulating topography.
Terrace sandlands
An enclosed, low-lying and sparsely populated landscape, characterised by filtered views to wooded skylines
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Characteristic features
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Landscape description
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The Terrace Sandlands are a sparsely settled rural landscape, closely associated with low-lying sand and gravel terraces fringing the Village Sandlands. They are found mainly within the enclosed basin of the River Idle to the north of Retford, but a well-developed terrace also occurs to the east of Bawtry in the parishes of Scaftworth and Everton. This area extends in a narrow strip along the mudstone escarpment below Gringley on the Hill. |
The low-lying character of this landscape is emphasised by the almost flat topography and the fact that the terraces are typically bordered by higher ground on one or more sides. For the most part the terraces lack the more open character of the surrounding carrs and levels. In terms of land cover they more closely resemble the Village Sandlands in that the ordered pattern of medium to large-sized hedged fields tends to be a dominant landscape element. This pattern controls the scale of the landscape and is reinforced by the long hedged trackways that occur on the terraces. These provide access both to the adjoining levels and to the remote farmsteads which are a feature of this landscape. Most of the farmsteads comprise traditional brick and pantile buildings.
Many of the fields which occur on the terraces are bounded by ditches and drains, reflecting the fact that the underlying sandy soils are prone to seasonal waterlogging. Arterial drainage, however, allows the Terrace Sandlands to be utilised for intensive arable cropping. In places, particularly on the broad terrace to the east of Ranskill, where the ground surface has been lowered by gravel extraction, areas of permanent pasture can still be found. Many of these areas have a rough unkempt character with patches of rush and other tall herb vegetation. Flooded gravel pits, typically surrounded by secondary woodland and patches of scrub, are also a feature in this area. Together these features create a strong sense of place, reminiscent of the former wetland character of this landscape.
The Terrace Sandlands are not a heavily wooded landscape, but tree cover is nevertheless an important visual component due to the flatness of the topography. Scattered hedgerow trees, mainly oak and ash, together with willows along stream lines and ditches, give filtered views through the landscape. This creates a sense of enclosure which contrasts strongly with the more open character of adjoining landscapes. The impression of enclosure is reinforced by the scrubby woodland which has developed around many of the old sand and gravel workings, and by the presence of larger field-sized plantations. Together these woodland components have the effect of enclosing longer distance vistas, with the result that most views from within the Terrace Sandlands are framed by wooded skylines.
Forest sandlands
A well-wooded, in places industrialised landscape, characterised by a large-scale pattern of arable fields framed by pine plantations and estate woodlands
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Characteristic features
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Landscape description
The Forest Sandlands are a well-wooded, remnant heathland landscape, which is very much associated with areas of impoverished free-draining soils, derived from soft sandstone and unconsolidated sandy drift. Although particularly well-developed in the Sherwood region, this landscape also occurs in the Idle Lowlands on the Barrow Hills, and on the low glacial plateau that lies to the north and west of Bawtry. Only a small part of the latter area, which is strongly influenced by coal mining in the vicinity of Harworth, lies in Nottinghamshire. The remainder, extending northwards to Rossington and Finningley in South Yorkshire, includes Bawtry Forest, an expanse of conifer plantations planted on the last remnants of unenclosed heath. Although large tracts of open heathland are no longer a feature of the Forest Sandlands, this landscape retains a distinctly “heathy” character, due to the widespread occurrence of bracken, gorse and broom. The presence of pine plantations, and scrubby oak/birch woodland, also reflects the free-draining nature of the underlying soils.
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Tree cover is a dominant visual element in the Forest Sandlands, defining both the scale and pattern of the landscape. This impression is emphasised by the often poorly defined pattern of large fields, which causes the eye to be drawn to more distant wooded skylines. Large conifer plantations, mainly of Corsican and Scots pine, are especially prominent, particularly where these occur on hilltops such as on the Barrow Hills. |
Many of these plantations retain remnants of heathy vegetation. Smaller estate woodlands and clumps of trees are also a distinctive feature of the Forest Sandlands. These are mostly associated with large country houses such as Serlby Hall, set in formal landscaped grounds. These tree cover elements enclose and frame the intervening areas of open farmland, creating a series of linked wooded spaces throughout this landscape.
The open spaces between the blocks of woodlands are characterised by a regimented pattern of large arable fields bounded by low-cut thorn hedges. This late enclosure pattern is reinforced by the layout of straight roads and the arrangement of isolated farmsteads and estate cottages. Most of these farmsteads are built in the same vernacular style and they are commonly referred to by the name “Grange”. This reflects their common origin, having been built when the surrounding heathland was enclosed for agricultural use. The pre-enclosure land use pattern is still evident in the present-day landscape, and is reflected in the sparsely settled and largely inaccessible character of the remaining areas of open countryside.
In places the agricultural landscape has been subsumed by more recent urban and industrial development associated with the coal industry. This development is fairly well contained within discrete mining settlements, which in this area include Harworth and New Rossington. Nonetheless, the presence of large urban settlements, separated by only a few miles of open countryside, does impart a busy “urban fringe” character to this landscape. This is reflected not just by the presence of mine sites, pit heaps and suburban-style residential development, but also by the associated industrial estates, the network of active and disused railways, and by the increased volume of road traffic. All of these influences are superimposed on a late enclosure pattern of fields and woodlands, which are themselves overlain on a much older pattern of land use and settlement.
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Section 3: Landscape evolution and change
Introduction
It is clear from the preceding sections that evolving patterns of land use have played a major part in shaping the landscape over many centuries. Although change can be sudden and dramatic, as in the case of wetland drainage, it is more often incremental, and it is this gradual evolution of the landscape that is an essential part of a healthy, living countryside. When considering proposals for landscape conservation, therefore, the aim should not be to return to a particular point in time but rather, by analysing the forces for change, to strike a balance between unavoidable change and ensuring that regional diversity and local distinctiveness are maintained, and where necessary enhanced.
This section examines the main forces that have brought about change within the Idle Lowlands over recent decades and assesses whether these forces are having a positive or a negative impact on the character and quality of the landscape. This is done with particular regard to agriculture, trees and woodlands, urban and industrial development and mineral extraction. It is also the purpose of this section to consider the trends and pressures that may influence landscape change in the future.
The trend towards arable intensification has been facilitated by more efficient drainage of the carrs and levels. Together with the effects of water abstraction from the underlying aquifer, this has reduced ground water levels throughout the region to such an extent that former wetlands are becoming deeply desiccated. This has been particularly severe in the Idle Valley upstream of Misson, where extensive areas of former meadowland and pasture have been ploughed up and brought into arable cultivation since 1945. These changes have had a major impact on the character and quality of the landscape. Large areas of permanent pasture and grazing animals, in many cases supporting a rich diversity of wildlife, have disappeared to be replaced by ploughed fields and intensively managed crops.
Arable intensification has also been instrumental in altering the fabric of the landscape through the removal of hedges and the creation of large fields to facilitate the use of modern farm machinery. In places, most notably in the Valley Carrs and Levels, this has fragmented the overall unity of the landscape, leaving isolated features such as remnant gappy hedgerows and dead or dying trees set within an open arable farmland. Such features not only appear out of scale with their surroundings, but often impart an impression of dereliction and decline.
Agriculture
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Prior to the Second World War, the Idle lowlands were primarily a mixed farming region, with a heavy emphasis on animal husbandry. Market gardening was a feature on the fertile peat soils around Misson, Gringley on the Hill and Misterton, and in the vicinity of Retford. During the War, the emphasis swung towards arable production and this situation has been reinforced ever since under Government and European farming policies. |
Alongside the demise of mixed farming, horticulture has also declined in the region and arable cultivation is now the dominant land use (68% of the total land area) throughout the Idle Lowlands. The principal crops grown are cereals, potatoes and sugar beet, with oil seed rape grown as a break crop on the sandlands.
Although further agricultural expansion is now less likely, declining incomes and continued uncertainty in the short term may result in further intensification of production on existing farmland. This could lead to continued agricultural improvement of older grasslands and further loss of hedgerows. In the longer term, new incentives may encourage more environmentally sensitive farming, with perhaps a return to more traditional mixed farming regimes. In the last decade, for example, a number of factors have resulted in a reversal of some of the more damaging aspects of agricultural policy. Of particular significance has been the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has led to a series of measures designed to reduce the level of agricultural surpluses. The most recent reforms have introduced a new regime which requires farmers compulsorily to set aside 15% of their arable land on a rotational basis. This is already beginning to have an effect on the appearance of the countryside, although at present the temporary nature of the scheme means that opportunities for landscape enhancement are limited. The introduction of a new non-rotational set-aside option, however, does allow some scope for the land to be managed in more environmentally beneficial ways.
Along with the recognition that there is no longer a need for ever-increasing food production, there has also been growing acceptance of the need to reverse the damaging effects of agricultural intensification on the environment. At the same time, the need to maintain the farmer’s income has been recognised, and as a result a number of schemes have been established to provide financial incentives for environmentally sensitive farming. Of particular relevance to Nottinghamshire are two schemes now run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. One is the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which offers payments for managing land in a traditional way, or for re-creating certain habitats. It is targeted at specific landscape types, including waterside, chalk and limestone grassland, lowland heath, uplands, historic landscapes and old orchards. Another is the Hedgerow Incentive Scheme, which provides financial incentives for beneficial hedgerow management.
Trees and woodland
Historically, woodland cover within the Idle Lowlands has been fairly sparse. Today 3.56% of the region (County: 7.27%) is covered by woodland with slightly over half of this broad-leaved. Between the 1930s and 1980s the region experienced an overall decrease in woodland cover which contrasts with the increases experienced at a county and national level. Over half of this woodland loss was to agriculture and rough grazing. The character and pattern of woodland cover varies throughout the region with the majority tending to be located on the sandlands, which support most of the commercial forestry. Elsewhere woodlands are generally small plantations, with holts characteristic of the river valleys, and patches of remnant semi-natural woodland and scrub a feature of the Carrlands. Hedgerow trees are also an important component of the region’s tree cover in some areas, despite losses caused by Dutch elm disease during the period 1960-1980.
Urban and industrial development
| The Idle Lowlands is primarily an agricultural region and this is reflected in the settlement pattern of mainly small rural villages. With increasing numbers of people wanting to live in a high quality environment within commuting distance of their urban workplace, there is considerable pressure for new housing in these villages. In many places this development is poorly designed and appears “tacked onto” existing settlements Although this is due partly to the fact that the style does not reflect local traditions, it is also because of the siting and layout of the development and its relationship to existing buildings and village open space. |
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Cumulatively, new development has had a suburbanising effect in many of the villages in the Idle Lowlands. This is reflected not only in the design and layout of modern dwellings, but also in successive infilling of internal village space and unimaginative ornamental planting. Village character is also changing as a result of conversion of redundant farm buildings, the “gentrification” of existing dwellings and the imposition of suburban tastes on the rural environment.
The main urban areas in the Idle Lowlands are the historic market town of East Retford and the mining settlement of Harworth/Bircotes. In terms of future housing requirements the emphasis of both the Structure Plan and the Local Plan for Bassetlaw is to concentrate development in these areas, particularly at Retford. The Local Plan has also made provision for a substantial number of new dwellings within villages. These will be subject to strict planning controls in order to protect and conserve the character of the village environment.
Structure Plan policy also seeks to confine economic activity in and adjacent to the larger urban areas within the region. Here employment needs are most urgent, a skilled pool of labour is available and there is a good infrastructure. The service sector is of particular importance in Retford, while the colliery and industrial estates are a major source of employment at Harworth and Bircotes. Consequently, a considerable amount of land has been allocated for economic development in both localities. A wide range of financial assistance is available for economic development, including RECHAR and EMROP support. However, within the Idle Lowlands Government Assisted status only applies to the Misterton area.
Transportation
A number of major roads have an impact on the region, the most prominent being the A1 which is highly visible across the more open landscapes. The impact of the road is likely to increase as there are proposals to upgrade to motorway standard. The other major routes are the A614 and A638. In terms of rail transport, the East Coast Main Line runs through the middle of this region. No commercial waterways are found within the Idle Lowlands, although the Chesterfield Canal, which is currently used for recreational purposes only, runs along the eastern edge.
Mineral extraction
Mineral extraction has had a considerable impact on the Idle Lowlands, with the principal resources exploited being sand and gravel within the Idle Valley and coal in the sandlands. The impact of extraction operations varies from site to site, although the most common concerns tend to be noise and dust pollution from extraction and transportation, and visual intrusion upon the landscape.
Sand and gravel extraction in the region accounts for one third of Nottinghamshire’s total production, i.e. approximately 1 million tonnes per annum. However, this level of output is not sustainable because of the depletion of resources. Individual quarries commonly exceed 150 hectares in size and yields range from 20 - 40,000 tonnes per hectare. Currently there are seven active quarries within the region including three at Misson, two at Lound and one each at Scrooby and Bellmoor. These cover an area of approximately 6.6km 2 . The majority of sand and gravel extracted is from alluvial deposits with the exception of Scrooby where it is of glacial origin.
Low-level reclamation which does not involve the importation of fill has been achieved at a number of sites. In Nottinghamshire, restoration of sand and gravel workings to water has been the most notable method, with an estimated 800 hectares reclaimed to this use by 1988. However, reclamation to water has raised a number of issues, particularly with the impact on landscape character, after-use and long-term management. Where workings have not breached the water table, reclamation has been possible by respreading the overburden and soil across the quarry floor. The most notable example of this can be found at Misson, where nearly 250 hectares had been reclaimed by 1988.
Reclamation involving fill has been undertaken at a number of sites. The Sutton and Lound sites within the Idle Valley are the largest PFA schemes in the County, with the ash being pumped by pipeline from Cottam power station. However, the uncertain future of the power industry within the Trent Valley may affect the overall long-term supplies of PFA for such reclamation schemes.
To maintain agricultural production and to avoid the proliferation of further water areas, Nottinghamshire’s 1984 Sand and Gravel Local Plan, now incorporated into the Minerals Local Plan, encouraged restoration to agriculture. As a result of this and developments in PFA infilling schemes, restoration to agriculture rose to 60% by the late 1980s. More recently, European and Government agricultural policy has focused upon reducing overall levels of production. Consequently, there is now a reduced emphasis on reclamation to agriculture, although in areas which have experienced a loss of high quality agricultural land as a result of extraction, there is still a strong presumption towards agricultural restoration. On the sandlands, where the majority of agricultural land is of poorer quality, reclamation to native woodlands and heathland is generally preferred.
The future of sand and gravel extraction within the Idle Lowlands is uncertain due to declining resources. The Minerals Local Plan suggests that the drop in output in this region will have to be compensated for by increased production in the Trent Valley.
In terms of coal, Nottinghamshire is located within the Yorkshire and East Midlands Coalfield. The coal measures dip gently eastwards so that the sandlands form part of the concealed coalfield, where coal is extracted from depths of between 400-900 metres. Within the Idle Lowlands there is one active coal pit at Harworth. This pit is highly profitable, with production rising by 250% from 0.5 to 1.3 million tonnes during the 1980s. The coal tip dominates a wide area, with a proposed final height of 50 metres above the surrounding ground level. One third of the coal tip has been reclaimed, predominantly to agriculture with some woodland. Future tipping proposals have included further raising the contours of the existing tip and the creation of a new tip east of Blyth Road. Both of these options would have a considerable local impact.
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Section 4: Landscape strategies and key recommendations
Introduction
When applied to the landscape, the notion of “character” is not a concept that merely concerns itself with aspects of scenic quality. The character of the landscape derives from a complex interaction of a wide range of physiological and historical phenomena. These include geology, topography, soils, ecology, archaeology, architecture, and local customs and culture, as well as the pattern of land use, settlement and fields. It is the varied interaction between these factors which produces the local and regional variations in character for which the English landscape is famous. The diversity of that character is a central part of our landscape heritage and vital to people’s appreciation and enjoyment of the countryside.
The landscape that we see today is a product of its historical evolution, reflecting the underlying physical resource and the changing nature of human exploitation of the land. The landscape will, of course, continue to change and evolve, reflecting the changing priorities and demands that society places on it. Over recent decades, however, these priorities and demands have often degraded rather than improved the fabric of the landscape. There is now a general consensus that positive action is needed to reverse this trend, and that this should place a high value on conserving and enhancing the inherent character and diversity of our landscapes.
A series of Landscape Strategies and Key Recommendations is set out in this section for each of the landscape types within the region. These should be read in conjunction with the Landscape Guidelines that appear in section 5. Collectively, these will provide the framework for conserving and strengthening the distinctive character and features of the Idle Lowlands. They will help to ensure that landscape character is reflected in the many decisions and actions that affect its continuing evolution. The intention is not to fossilise change, but to provide a context that will enable policy making, planning and landscape management decisions to be made which respect and sustain the diversity and character of our countryside.
Landscape strategies |
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| These recognise the forces acting upon the landscape and set the broad vision for its future management. The Strategies provide the framework for conserving and enhancing the character and distinctiveness of the landscape. The Landscape Strategies are given in the form of a short summary title, followed by a reasoned justification of why it has been chosen. The strategy options defined for each landscape type generally relate to one, or more than one, of the following four courses of action: |
| A: Conservation, where the traditional landscape character and “sense of place” are strong, or where many landscape features are notable for their landscape, ecological or historical value. The Landscape Strategy will encourage the good management of the key features which characterise the landscape and recommend the avoidance of out -of-character development. |
| B: Enhancement, where landscape character is still reasonably strong, but the overall structure and individual features are in decline. The Landscape Strategy will relate to areas where landscape character is perceived to be under threat, and where positive action is required to strengthen the overall character and structure of the landscape. |
| C: Restoration, where landscape character or individual features have suffered significant decline or damage, but the underlying character and patterns within the landscape are still evident. The Landscape Strategy will seek to replace characteristic features and rebuild the character of the landscape. |
| D: Creation, where little of the original landscape character or landscape features remain. The Landscape Strategy will set a vision for a new landscape. This will either relate to the characteristics of a former landscape through a process of reconstruction, or aim to create a new and different landscape. |
Key recommendations |
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The Landscape Strategies are supported by a series of Key Recommendations. These develop and focus the overall strategy further by identifying the main actions and priorities for each landscape type. The Key Recommendations are presented as a series of aims, each followed by a justification describing the recommended course of action. The Landscape Strategies and Key Recommendations are summarised at the beginning of the description of each landscape type. Please note that a common Landscape Strategy and set of Key Recommendations are given for the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands. This is because they are sufficiently similar to share the same general approach to management. |
Carrlands
Landscape strategy
Conserve and restore the simple unity and remote wetland character of the landscape
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Key recommendations
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Landscape strategy
- Conserve and restore the simple unity and remote wetland character of the landscape
The Carrlands are a simple, ordered landscape where the natural environment is carefully controlled to maximise agricultural production. The inherent wetland character of this landscape and its rich diversity of wildlife have, to all intents and purposes, been destroyed by drainage. Virtually the whole area is now intensively cultivated, leaving little space for wild plants or animals. The only semi-natural features that have survived are a few dried-out remnants of peatland, now mostly invaded by secondary birch woodland and scrub. Consequently, the overall condition of the environment in the Carrlands is very poor, and this is reflected in the vacant, rather monotonous appearance of the landscape. On the other hand, the Carrlands do have a distinctive identity which is very different from the surrounding more traditional, agricultural landscapes. This strong sense of place is partly due to the remote, sparsely populated character of the landscape, which even today is still very much a feature of this area. Together with the general lack of vertical elements this creates a simple unity which is perhaps one of the most enduring characteristics of this former wetland landscape.
From the above analysis it is clear that, although there is potential for enhancing the Carrlands landscape, the emphasis needs to be on environmental restoration, rather than the creation of new landscape features. The overall approach to management should thus involve a combination of conservation and restoration - to conserve the simple unity and remote undeveloped character of the landscape, while at the same time looking for opportunities to restore the ecological diversity of the natural environment.
The key to conserving the distinctive character of the Carrlands lies in maintaining the simple unity of the landscape. At present this unity is reflected in the simple pattern of large arable fields and drains. This pattern is emphasised by the absence of hedges and trees, creating a strong impression of spaciousness. Piecemeal changes in land use, or the introduction of vertical features such as buildings or trees, could potentially have a significant impact on the unity of this pattern. The effect of new woodland planting, for example, would be particularly significant in this flat landscape. It is important, therefore, that all planning and land management proposals are considered in relation to their potential impact on the overall unity of the landscape.
Key recommendations
- Enhance the diversity of aquatic and bankside vegetation along drainage channels
At present there is little space for wild plants or animals in this intensively managed and ordered landscape. There is much potential, however, for developing the grid-like pattern of drainage channels, which extend throughout the Carrlands, into a network of wildlife corridors. At present most drainage channels have a purely functional use, and opportunities should be sought for enhancing the diversity of aquatic and bankside vegetation along these linear features. The creation of a buffer against direct chemical run-off would in itself do much to improve ecological diversity and, where possible, the creation of wide field margins should also be considered as a management option. Such measures would not only enhance ecological diversity but would help strengthen the overall wetland character of the landscape.
- Identify opportunities for re-creating wet grassland and fenland habitats on suitable sites
The existing pattern of land use on the Carrlands has not only caused environmental degradation, but is also unsustainable, due to wastage of the fertile peat soils on which the agricultural economy of the area is based. Continued shrinkage of the peat is also causing the surface of the land to drop, creating the need for ever more expensive flood control measures. Measures should thus be identified for developing a more sustainable approach to land management. This might involve re-creating areas of wet pasture, or even fenland, on the lowest-lying sites. Such sites could be linked to one another through the creation of wildlife corridors along drainage channels, as described above. They should also be as large as possible to match the scale of the surrounding landscape.
- Planning policies should seek to prtect the remote, undeveloped character of the landscape
One of the key factors which continues to contribute to the special identity of the Carrlands is the remote undeveloped character of the landscape. Settlements are typically situated on surrounding higher ground, while there are few roads or paths through the Carrlands themselves, making the area relatively inaccessible. The only access is along a series of minor roads and tracks, the purpose of which is primarily to serve the large isolated farmsteads which dot the landscape. Apart from these farmsteads there are few other buildings to be found on the Carrlands. Planning policies should seek to protect this remote, undeveloped character by restricting new built development, or changes in land use, that would disrupt the simple unity of the landscape.
Valley carrs and levels
Landscape strategy
Restore the overall unity and traditional pastoral character of the landscape
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Key recommendations
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Landscape strategy
- Restore the overall unity and traditional pastoral character of the landscape
The Valley Carrs and Levels are a secluded, low-lying landscape where the poorly-draining nature of the land has strongly influenced the pattern of land use and settlement. This is reflected in its largely uninhabited character and the fact that, until recently, the risk of flooding meant that the land was used almost exclusively for haymaking and seasonal grazing. This strong relationship between landform, soils, land use and settlement has created a simple but distinctive landscape pattern, which traditionally would have contrasted strongly with the surrounding settled agricultural landscapes. Arterial drainage and agricultural intensification, however, have resulted in the complete transformation of the traditional land use pattern, and in many areas the pastoral scenes of the past, complete with grazing animals, breeding birds and a diversity of other wildlife, have largely been replaced by uniform fields of cereals. Apart from the severe impact on ecological diversity, the change to arable cropping has also disrupted the overall unity of the landscape, resulting in a blurring of the distinction between this landscape and its surroundings. The lie of the land, the absence of human habitation, and the inaccessibility of many areas continue to reflect the underlying character; however, there is a sense that the present land use is somehow “out of place” in this landscape. This impression is reinforced by the rather vacant appearance of the arable farmland, which results from the general absence of people, farm animals and other living things.
From the above analysis it is clear that, although the Valley Carrs and Levels have an inherently distinctive identity, this distinction is blurred by the poor condition of the landscape, in particular the fragmented pattern of land use. Consequently, there is considerable potential for landscape enhancement although, like the Carrlands, the emphasis needs to be on environmental restoration, rather than the creation of new landscape features. The general approach to management should thus primarily be one of restoration - to restore, and where necessary enhance, the overall unity and traditional pastoral character of the landscape.
Key recommendations
- Promote measures for converting arable farmland to permanent pasture
The key to restoring the character of this landscape is to find a mechanism for taking land out of arable production and returning it to permanent pasture. Given the pattern of settlement it is unlikely that such a measure will affect whole farms. Nevertheless, some form of financial incentive will almost certainly be needed to encourage landowners to consider changing back to a mixed farming regime. Such a scheme may involve ESA type payments to farmers, in return for managing that part of their holding that occurs within the Valley Carrs and Levels, in a more traditional environmentally sensitive way. In order successfully to restore the overall unity of this landscape, however, it will be necessary to achieve a coordinated approach to management within particular areas.
- Identify opportunities for recreating wet grassland habitats
Although the priority would be to restore the overall pastoral character of the landscape, opportunities should also be sought for re-creating wet grassland habitats. Since this would almost inevitably involve raising water levels, wetland creation may only be feasible in certain areas. One of the best opportunities may be on land that has been worked for sand and gravel extraction. Restoration of these workings should aim to create low-lying meadows, rather than areas of open water, especially where the extraction site adjoins a watercourse. Lakes are not a feature of this landscape and ecological restoration should focus on the creation of wet meadow and marsh, rather than aquatic habitats.
- Enhance visual unity through appropriate small-scale woodland planting
A secondary effect of agricultural intensification has been the widespread removal of field boundaries in certain areas. While hedgerows are generally not a dominant visual element, they nonetheless contribute to the overall structure and pattern of the landscape. Patches of scrubby woodland and small broad-leaved plantations, or holts, are also features of the Valley Carrs and Levels. Where field pattern has become fragmented there is scope for enhancing the landscape with new woodland planting of this type, rather than replanting hedgerows.
- Planning policies should seek to protect the undeveloped character of the landscape
One of the special features of the Valley Carrs and Levels, which has been largely unaffected by recent change, is the secluded and undeveloped character of the landscape. Farmsteads are typically situated on surrounding higher ground, while roads tend to go around, rather than through, the more extensive low-lying areas. Planning policies should seek to protect this undeveloped character by restricting new built development, or changes in land use that disrupt the simple unity of the landscape. All such development is likely to be visually intrusive in this open landscape and should be located elsewhere if at all possible.
Village sandlands and terrace sandlands
Land scape strategy
Conserve and enhance the overall structure and traditional rural character of the landscape
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Key recommendations
Landscape strategy
The Village Sandlands, together with the lower-lying Terrace Sandlands, comprise the traditional agricultural landscapes within the Idle Lowlands. Although their physical character is different, these two landscapes are sufficiently similar, in terms of land use and settlement, to share the same general approach to management. The dominant and unifying element in both landscapes is the ordered pattern of hedged fields and roads. This pattern is reinforced by the layout of farms and rural settlements. There has been some erosion of settlement character by inappropriate “suburban style” development, but generally the rural character of the landscape is reasonably intact. The greatest single pressure for change has been the general trend towards arable intensification and the decline of more traditional mixed farming enterprises. |
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Although the impact of these changes has been gradual, cumulatively there has been a significant decline in the overall condition of the landscape. The majority of hedgerows, for example, no longer have a stock control function and many of these are gappy, or dying out at the base. As a result the structure of the landscape has become fragmented in some areas. This is particularly apparent in the Village Sandlands, due to the more open rolling character of the landscape.
It is clear from the above analysis that, although these two landscapes still retain their traditional agricultural character, their general condition is poor and declining. Consequently, although there is some scope for landscape enhancement, particularly with regard to improving ecological diversity, the priority should be better management of existing landscape features. The overall management strategy for both the Village Sandlands and the Terrace Sandlands should thus involve a combination of conservation and enhancement - to conserve the overall structure and traditional rural character of the landscape, while at the same time looking for opportunities to enhance ecological diversity and local distinctiveness.
Key recommendations
- Conserve and strengthen the traditional pattern of hedged fields and trackways
The key to achieving the overall strategy for the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands is to conserve and, where necessary, restore the essential fabric of the landscape. Priority should thus be given to maintaining and strengthening the traditional pattern of hedged fields. Most hedges are closely trimmed and many are gappy, or dying out at the base. There is a need, therefore, for more appropriate management, in particular to move away from hedges being excessively tidy and low cut. Replacement planting is also necessary in some areas to restore the structure of the landscape. The aim should be to focus initially on strengthening and replanting primary hedgelines, that is those that can be traced for a distance of two or more fields. These include roadside hedgerows and those that mark farm and parish boundaries. At present there is no functional reason for maintaining many of the hedges in the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands and, in the longer term, measures may also be needed to promote a more traditional and sustainable pattern of mixed farming in this area.
- Conserve the integrity and distinctive vernacular character of rural villages
One of the distinguishing features of the Village Sandlands is the recurring pattern of small rural villages and brick built farmsteads. Most of these villages retain their traditional rural character and comprise many older buildings with a distinctive vernacular style of red brick and pantile roofed construction. In some cases, however, more recent infill development has weakened the overall character and integrity of individual settlements. This is particularly noticeable at Ranskill, where the scale of the newer suburban-style development has overwhelmed the older village core. Village conservation should be a priority in the Village Sandlands and local planning policies should seek to balance the scale and layout of new development with measures to conserve the integrity and distinctive character of rural settlements. It is also important that new development is located, as far as possible, within existing villages in order to conserve the historic nucleated settlement pattern.
- Promote small-scale tree and woodland planting as a means of enhancing the structure and unity of the landscape
Tree and woodland planting can often be used to good effect to enhance the structure and unity of farm landscapes, especially in those areas where the traditional pattern of hedged fields is in decline. Although the existing level of tree cover is relatively low in the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands, hedgerow trees and smaller plantations do occur in both landscapes. There is much scope for promoting tree and woodland planting, provided this is designed to complement and strengthen the existing landscape pattern. Hedgerow tree planting, and the creation of field corner spinneys and clumps of trees around farmsteads, would be particularly appropriate. There may be scope for some larger-scale planting, but this should be carefully sited and designed to avoid blocking off views through the landscape, especially in the Terrace Sandlands. The aim should be to diversify and strengthen the existing landscape pattern rather than trying to create something completely new.
- Identify opportunites for enhancing ecological diversity
Although the priority should be to conserve and strengthen the overall structure of the landscape, opportunities should also be sought for enhancing ecological diversity. Much of the land in the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands is intensively managed, leaving little space for wildlife. Hedgerows, however, can often provide a valuable habitat for plants and animals, and better management of these features, in particular allowing hedges to grow thicker and taller, should also benefit wildlife. Where possible, management should favour trimming at three to five yearly intervals to improve wildlife interest. With farmers increasingly being urged to reduce production and look after the environment, the creation of expanded field margins alongside selected hedgerows could considerably enhance the value of these features as wildlife habitats. To gain maximum benefit, grassland, or wildlife fallow margins should be developed alongside existing features of interest, such as primary hedgelines, watercourses or woodland edges.
Forest sandlands
Landscape strategy
Restore and enhance the overall unity and distinctive heathy, well-wooded character of the landscape
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Key recommendations
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Landscape strategy
- Restore and enhance the overall unity and distinctive heathy, well-wooded character of the landscape
The development of the Forest Sandlands has been characterised by periods of relatively sudden change rather than gradual evolution, and this is reflected in the present-day character and quality of the landscape. Consequently, despite the fact that most of the land is now intensively cultivated, the underlying former heathland character is still very much apparent. This is not only reflected in the widespread occurrence of remnant heathy vegetation, but also by the sparsely settled and largely inaccessible nature of the landscape. This underlying pattern, however, is in complete contrast to the scale and character of the new mining settlements which have grown up in a relatively short space of time to serve the coal industry. These settlements have the appearance of being superimposed on the existing landscape pattern, while the associated urban development and busy roads are often visually intrusive in their own right. The overriding impression, therefore, is of a series of different layers overlain uncomfortably on top of one another. As a result of these different and often conflicting influences, the Forest Sandlands tend to have little sense of visual or functional unity, an impression that is reinforced by the generally poor condition of the landscape.
From the above analysis it can be seen that there is considerable potential for landscape enhancement, both in terms of restoring specific features, in particular semi-natural habitats, and for creating new landscape features. The overall approach to management in the Forest Sandlands should thus involve a combination of restoration and enhancement - to restore those features which contribute to the distinctive heathy character of the landscape, while at the same time enhancing the overall unity of the landscape through large-scale woodland planting, particularly within and around existing built development. There are also opportunities for conserving areas of estateland, for example at Serlby Park.
Key recommendations
- Identify opportunities for conserving and restoring areas of heathland and semi-natural oak woodland
Sessile oak woodland and heathland are characteristic of the dry sandy soils found in the Forest Sandlands, but only fragments of these habitats remain, mostly in the form of secondary birch woodland and scrub. Although regeneration of these remnant woodlands should be a priority, opportunities should also be identified for creating new areas of semi-natural oak woodland. This would not only provide valuable new habitats for plants and animals, but it would also help to diversify the appearance of the woodland resource in the Forest Sandlands. The best areas to target would be arable farmland adjacent to existing semi-natural habitats. Opportunities should also be sought for restoring, or re-creating heathland habitats on suitable sites. Most of the larger conifer plantations were planted on areas of former heath and many still retain patches of remnant heathy vegetation. There should be scope to create heathland corridors within these plantations without unduly restricting the viability of forestry operations. Furthermore, with careful planning, the restoration of heathland habitats could also provide valued areas of public open space next to urban settlements.
- Initiate schemes for conserving and restoring the integrity of historic estatelands
A subsidiary, but nonetheless distinctive feature of the Forest Sandlands is the historic estatelands which are associated with this landscape. These are characterised by mixed plantations, clumps of trees, and large country houses set in ornamental grounds. Few of these estates remain as cohesive units, however, and in places the historic pattern of trees and woodlands is beginning to break down. In order to maintain the visual integrity of these historic estatelands, each will need to be subject to a long-term renewal management plan involving a phased programme of tree felling and replacement planting. Wherever possible, individual planting schemes should be prepared as part of an overall landscape masterplan. The aim should be to try and conserve both the historical and visual integrity of the landscape.
- Promote large-scale woodland planting to contain and soften urban development
A dominant and unifying theme throughout the Forest Sandlands is the large-scale pattern of woodlands and open spaces. Where this simple pattern has become fragmented, the landscape tends to lack structure and visual integrity. Around mining settlements, this impression is often reinforced by the juxtaposition of different land uses, including urban development, mine workings, spoil heaps, public open space, and arable farmland. The most practical way to enhance the visual amenity of these areas is to create a new woodland structure that will contain and soften the urban fringe environment. New planting that reflects the scale of the urban edge, and which links strongly into the wider landscape pattern, is likely to work best. The potential for large-scale woodland planting is therefore significant, although aesthetic and amenity considerations will need to guide the exact proportion of planted and open land in any given area.
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Section 5: Landscape guidelines
Introduction
The Landscape Guidelines that follow act as the mechanism for implementing the aims of the Landscape Strategies and Key Recommendations by indicating how specific aspects of landscape character can be conserved, enhanced or restored. The Guidelines are design-based and relate to the management of all the individual features and components of the landscape, highlighting possible courses of action and mechanisms for implementation. The Guidelines provide the framework to place wider landscape considerations at the heart of the conception and design process for individual projects. They also recommend appropriate courses of action for integrating nature conservation measures into the process of change.
The Landscape Guidelines are presented in the form of a summary statement, followed by a justification for that course of action. The Guidelines are grouped under a number of topic headings, rather than by landscape type, as this better reflects the specific management issues and range of potential users of this manual. To aid clarity each topic area has been assigned a stylised symbol as follows.
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Rural villages |
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Parkland and ornamental grounds |
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Farmsteads and rural dwellings |
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Historic features |
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Urban development |
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Farmland |
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Woodland |
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Recreational land |
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Hedgerow trees |
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Highways and rural lanes |
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Hedgerows |
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Utilities and industrial sites |
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Meadowland and pasture |
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Development mitigation |
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Heathland |
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Mineral extraction |
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Rivers and stream lines |
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Conserve the nucleated pattern of rural settlements by avoiding new development in open countryside |
The nucleated settlement pattern of red brick villages is an important component of the rural character of the Idle Lowlands. The pattern of settlement has largely been determined by the physical environment, with almost all the villages situated on rising ground around the edge of the lower-lying carrs and levels. There is little built development within the latter areas, which as a consequence have a sparsely settled and undeveloped character. To maintain this historic pattern, built development in “open” countryside should be avoided, particularly within the Carrlands and the Valley Carrs and Levels. Any new development should instead be located within existing settlements.
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Protect and enhance the internal open space and irregular outline of village settlements |
Rural villages typically have a low settlement density and a high proportion of land which is not built up. This may include the village green, glebe land, gardens, allotments, small paddocks associated with village farms and other open spaces. Such features are an important part of the village scene and should be conserved. They also contribute to settlement diversity and by providing breaks in the built environment they help to tie the village into the surrounding countryside. Excessive infill development can overwhelm this pattern and result in a hard built edge against open farmland. The design of new development should therefore incorporate sufficient open space to break up hard edges and allow appropriate landscaping to link the new settlement edge into the surrounding farmland.
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Conserve the character of rural villages by retaining farmsteads within settlelments |
Working farms are a vital component of the rural economy and throughout history farmsteads have been an integral feature of the village scene. The presence of farmsteads, often in the heart of the village, is thus a distinguishing characteristic of rural settlement, emphasising the cultural and economic bonds between the village and the land. A recent trend, however, has been to sell off farmhouses and their adjoining buildings when farms come onto the market. In many cases the farm buildings are sold separately and converted into dwellings. This usually leads to changes in the fabric and surroundings of the site, but, more significantly, the bonds between the village and the agricultural economy are weakened and rural character is diminished. Local planning policies should therefore seek to resist proposals for the redevelopment of farmsteads within rural villages.
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The design of all new buildings should reflect the local vernacular character of village settlements |
Most of the older buildings in the region have a distinctive vernacular style, characterised by red brick and pantile roofed buildings. The bricks and tiles were made from local clay and sit naturally within the landscape. The conservation of this distinctive style should be a priority. A range of other building styles is also found in most villages, including more recent infill development that does not harmonise with the local vernacular. Such development can appear out of place, often introducing a suburban influence that sometimes disrupts the overall unity of the built environment. Attention should thus be given to the scale, siting, and design of all new buildings, in particular, the incorporation of traditional features which reflect the local character.
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Conserve and enhance tree cover within and around rural settlements |
Mature trees are an important feature within and around rural settlements, where they provide colour, shelter and a sense of proportion and balance to the built environment. Large, mature trees are particularly valuable as local landmarks and their presence often creates a strong sense of place. Such trees should be preserved and opportunities sought to create new features for future generations. Individual garden trees also play an important role in linking settlement edges into the wider countryside. Property owners should therefore be encouraged to plant appropriate longer-lived trees, rather than quick-growing ornamental species. New planting should also be undertaken to soften the hard edges of more recent development and consolidate the existing level of village tree cover. The intention should not be to hide buildings, but rather to integrate them into the surrounding landscape.
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New agricultural buildings should be sited, designed and landscaped to blend with the surrounding farmed landscape |
The traditional character of farmsteads is being eroded by the construction of modern farm buildings, which often look out of place and visually intrusive. Many new buildings are necessarily large, particularly the roof areas which can be a dominant feature. Siting and design are therefore very important and this should always be considered when planning a new agricultural building. No amount of “landscaping” will conceal a building that is fundamentally badly designed. Big buildings can sit well in an open landscape if they are well sited in relation to other features such as landform and tree cover. Use of shadows, different textures and careful selection of building materials can add interest and break up the mass of a large building. Similarly, the choice of colours should complement those in existing buildings and in the surrounding landscape. Darker, matt colours are generally less obtrusive than light, shiny colours. The surroundings of new buildings are also very important but are often given inadequate consideration. Locally occurring trees such as oak, ash and beech should be used in a positive way to strengthen the overall farm landscape, rather than as an afterthought in an attempt to hide an ugly building.
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Conserve and enhance tree cover around farmsteads and rural dwellings |
Clumps of trees are an important feature around farmsteads and rural dwellings where they provide shelter and give a sense of proportion and balance to the built environment. Mature trees are particularly valuable as local landmarks where their presence often produces a strong sense of place. Trees can soften the hard edges of new buildings and help to link the new development into the wider farmed landscape. Tree planting, using locally occurring species, should be encouraged around farmsteads and rural dwellings. The intention is not to hide the buildings, but rather to integrate them into the landscape. Ornamental species planted as quick growing screens, particularly Leylandii, should be avoided.
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New urban fringe woodlands should be designed to soften, rather than hide, built development |
In the Forest Sandlands, the interface between the urban edge and the surrounding landscape often appears sharp and stark. Tree planting within and around existing development is one of the best ways to soften hard edges. Integration can best be achieved by allowing established trees to run into a built-up area and designing new planting to soften the appearance of the urban environment. New planting that reflects the scale of the built development and which links strongly to the wider landscape pattern is likely to work best. The aim should be to contain and soften the urban edge rather than to try and hide it completely. Tree planting within the built-up area itself is often one of the best means of attaining this effect, although this is not always possible on existing sites. Opportunities should thus be sought in all new development schemes for allocating a proportion (at least 10%) of the site for tree and woodland planting. Resources should also be provided for the on-going management of these features.
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The design of new woodland planting should complement the shape and scale of the surrounding landscape pattern |
Woodland planting can often be used to good effect for enhancing the visual amenity of agricultural, or urban fringe landscapes. It is important, however, that the location and scale of such planting reflects the character and scale of the surrounding landscape pattern. In the Idle Lowlands planting should generally be small-scale and limited in extent, following the advice given in the Key Recommendations for each landscape type. The exception to this is the Forest Sandlands, where there is considerable potential for major new woodland planting, primarily as an enhancement measure to absorb the impact of urban development. There is also scope for new planting in the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands, and in the Valley Carrs and Levels where the main focus should be on establishing field coverts and clumps of trees around farmsteads. Larger woods up to field size may also be appropriate in places, but care needs to be taken not to block off views through these landscapes. Woodland planting of any description is likely to be inappropriate in the Carrlands.
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Promote measures for the sustainable management of small woods and spinneys |
Small woods and spinneys are a minor but distinctive feature of the Village Sandlands, Terrace Sandlands, and the Valley Carrs and Levels. Traditionally these were managed for timber or game, but with the demise of management practices such as coppicing, along with the general reduction in the availability of farm labour, most of these woods are now unmanaged. As landscape features, many are in decline and in urgent need of management. With Government incentives now favouring the diversification of farm enterprises, there is scope for restoring and making better use of this resource for timber, fuelwood, game, wildlife, or recreational pursuits. Many of these woods are suited to long rotation coppicing, as a source of fuelwood for example. Where coppicing is impractical, or where woods are visually prominent, high forest management may be a more suitable option. In either case, owners could benefit from economies of scale by working together to market woodland products, or to promote the use of neighbouring woods as a sporting or recreational resource for local people.
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Identify opportunities for better integrating existing forestry plantations into the wider landscape |
A high proportion of the woodland within the Forest Sandlands is made up of even-aged stands of conifers. Much of this is concentrated in large plantations on the Barrow Hills, at Everton Warren and in Bawtry Forest, just over the county boundary from Harworth. Opportunities should be sought, perhaps at the end of a rotation, to better integrate these woodlands into the wider landscape. This might involve extending, reshaping, or partially clear felling existing plantations, while in the longer term the retention of selected groups of trees would help to create a more diverse age structure. Species composition may also need to be modified to enhance visual and ecological diversity. Particular attention should be given to “softening” the edges of plantations using locally native trees and shrubs, in particular oak and birch.
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All tree and woodland planting should include a peoportion of large, long-lived tree species |
The use of appropriate species in well-designed mixes is important in determining how well new or replacement tree planting will fit into the landscape. Selection of species will need to reflect a wide range of considerations, including the balance to be struck between nature conservation, landscape enhancement and timber production. Pine plantations, for example, are very much a feature of the dry sandy soils found in the Forest Sandlands. Elsewhere, broad-leaved species should predominate, but a proportion of conifers can also be valuable in adding variety in shape, texture and colour. Large, long-lived tree species, in particular oak, should be included in all woodland planting schemes.
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Conserve the essential structure and stock-proof function of field hedgerows |
The regular pattern of hedged fields is a key visual element in both the Village Sandlands and the Terrace Sandlands, forming a medium-scale landscape structure that complements the settled agricultural character of these landscapes. Every effort should be made to retain and strengthen this pattern by managing hedgerows in a way which maintains both their stockproof function and their landscape value. This would include allowing hedges to grow thicker and taller, and planting up individual gappy hedges. Existing incentives for replanting and traditional hedgelaying should thus be more actively promoted. Where fields need to be enlarged’ priority should be given to retaining primary hedgelines that form the essential structure of the landscape. These are the field boundaries that can be traced for a distance of two or more fields. They include roadside hedgerows, the hedges that define farm and parish boundaries, and the curvilinear hedges which in places mark the edge of river floodplains.
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New or replacement hedgerow planting should be designed to complement the existing pattern of fields |
New hedgerow planting should be undertaken in those parts of the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands where the existing pattern of fields has become fragmented or is in decline. Priority should be given to reinstating primary hedgelines along roadsides, public footpaths and farm or parish boundaries. Where possible a minimum of three years’ maintenance should be provided for, in order to ensure the success of the new planting. In all cases, new or replacement planting should complement the existing pattern of hedged fields. Hedges should be planted predominantly with hawthorn, with perhaps up to 20% of other locally occurring native species. Hedgerow trees should also be included where possible.
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Maintain and enhance the value of hedgerows as wildlife corridors |
Field hedgerows provide a valuable refuge for wildlife in the countryside. Most hedges in the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands are closely trimmed, however, and many are gappy or dying out at the base. There is a need, therefore, for more appropriate management, in particular to move away from hedges being excessively tidy and low cut. All hedgerows would benefit from being allowed to grow thicker and taller, and where possible management should favour trimming at three to five yearly intervals to improve wildlife interest. Consideration should also be given to traditional hedgelaying, or coppicing, where hedges have grown spindly, or become gappy at the base. Existing incentives for hedgerow management and the replanting of individual gappy hedges should be more actively promoted. The creation of expanded field margins along primary hedgelines would also enhance farmland biodiversity. Options might include wildlife fallow margins to encourage wildflowers, and grassland margins to manage as meadow or rough pasture.
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Enhance farmland tree cover through regeneration and replanting of hedgerow trees |
The late enclosure pattern of hedged fields is a dominant visual element in both the Village Sandlands and the Terrace Sandlands. This pattern is often reinforced by the presence of hedgerow trees, and, where they are present in sufficient numbers, these have the effect of filtering views through the landscape. The simplest and cheapest way to maintain and enhance hedgerow tree cover is to allow strongly growing saplings to develop in the hedge. Once selected these should be clearly marked and left to grow naturally. Ash is likely to be the most common sapling but other species should also be allowed to develop. Where there are no suitable saplings, or where the hedge is gappy, tree planting should be considered as an alternative to natural regeneration. Regular spacing should be avoided, and young trees protected from grazing livestock. Suitable species for planting include oak, ash and crab apple, with willow on damper sites.
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Enhance the diversity of aquatic and bankside vegetation along field drains and other watercourses |
Marginal and aquatic vegetation along field drains and other watercourses can contribute significantly to the visual character of the landscape. There is an extensive network of these drains in the lower-lying parts of the region, but at present most have a purely functional role, leaving little space for wild plants or animals. Likewise, arterial drainage has modified the natural watercourses in the Idle Lowlands to such an extent that most are now confined to uniform, steep-sided channels. Opportunities should thus be sought for enhancing ecological diversity by creating a network of wildlife corridors along selected watercourses. This might include reprofiling to create a more natural bank profile, or cutting a notch into the base of the bank to allow for colonisation by emergent plants. The creation of a buffer against direct chemical run-off would in itself do much to improve ecological diversity and, in the Carrlands in particular, the creation of wide field margins along main drains should also be considered as a management option.
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Enhance the visual continuity of river and stream corridors by establishing waterside trees and scrub |
Waterside trees and scrub, notably alder, ash and willow, make a significant contribution to the riparian character of river and stream corridors. These features help to define the meandering course of the river channel, as well as adding interest to landscapes that often lack other three-dimensional elements. They also provide cover and nesting sites for birds and other animals. Arterial drainage schemes have removed much of the natural tree cover along the major rivers in the region, and there has been virtually no opportunity for natural re-colonisation along the steep-sided, and in places embanked, watercourses that have been produced by river engineering works. The River Idle would thus benefit considerably from riverside tree and shrub planting but, where possible, this should be undertaken as part of a package of measures to enhance the riverside environment. Planting should generally aim to keep one bankside clear to maintain a variety of wildlife habitats and to allow access for river maintenance.
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Conserve and restore the traditional character and diversity of river meadow and other wetland habitats |
Wetland habitats, including river meadows and other remnants of marsh and wet grassland, provide an important wildlife resource within the Idle Lowlands. In recent decades, however, a significant proportion of this resource has been lost as a result of agricultural intensification and mineral extraction, resulting in a decline in the distinctive wetland character of the region. In order to arrest this process it is vital that all remaining areas of river meadow and wet grassland should be protected and managed appropriately. Opportunities should also be sought for restoring wetland habitats, particularly in the Valley Carrs and Levels, by taking land out of arable production, and returning it to permanent pasture. This could be achieved through European or Government schemes that seek to reduce agricultural surpluses and promote environmentally sensitive farming. The long-term aim should be to create species-rich wet grassland habitats with all their associated plant and animal species. In particular, measures should be adopted to encourage breeding waders to nest on suitable sites.
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Enhance local distinctiveness through the creation of heathy vegetation along roadside verges |
The dry sandy soils found in the Forest Sandlands support a remnant heathy vegetation that contrasts strongly with the wetland character of the surrounding Carrlands and Valley Carrs and Levels. Many of the characteristic plant species still survive along roadside verges, imparting a distinctively heathy character to this landscape. Species such as bracken and gorse are especially evident, providing a tangible link with the past as well as creating visual interest and diversity along the roadside environment. Such vegetation should be retained and extended where possible through appropriate management of roadside verges. Opportunities should also be sought, during road improvement schemes for example, for establishing other heathland plants, such as heather, on areas of exposed subsoil. This would provide a more interesting and locally distinctive alternative to amenity tree planting.
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Promote measures for sustaining heathland vegetation within commercial forestry plantations |
Within the Forest Sandlands, true heathland vegetation is now largely restricted to woodland edges and other open areas within forestry plantations. Many of these plantations were established on former heathland sites and there is much potential for habitat restoration without unduly restricting the viability of forestry operations. One option would be to encourage the temporary regeneration of heathland vegetation within felling coups, prior to restocking. Heather, for example, which can survive in the seedbank for up to 50 years under a pine crop, establishes relatively easily in scarified ground. More permanent heathland corridors should also be created along forest rides to facilitate the movement of plants and animals between different felling coups.
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Identify suitable opportunities for field-scale restoration of heathland on arable farmland |
Historical records show that, prior to enclosure, relatively large tracts of unenclosed heath and “waste” extended across parts of the Idle Lowlands. This heathy character is still very apparent in the Forest Sandlands, where the impoverished sandy soils have traditionally not favoured agriculture. With current agricultural policy offering incentives to reduce arable production, particularly in nitrate sensitive areas, there is now a real opportunity for creative conservation at a landscape scale. The restoration of heathland should thus be actively promoted on arable farmland in the Forest Sandlands. The best areas to target would be arable fields adjacent to existing semi-natural habitats, from where there would be a ready source of plants and animals to aid natural recolonisation of the new site. Restoration of coal workings also provides a positive opportunity for large-scale habitat creation. Grazing is likely to be the best long-term option for managing new heathlands and consideration should be given at the outset as to how this can be achieved in practice.
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Prepare and implement landscape masterplans for conserving and restoring the visual integrity of historic parklands |
Ornamental parklands, estate woodlands and clumps of trees are a special feature of the Forest Sandlands, creating localised areas of formal, well-wooded countryside. Apart from their historical significance, these features form an important structural element in this landscape, especially where parkland and woodland components have survived as a single cohesive unit. The break-up of large estates since the last war, however, has led to the fragmentation and decline of some of these historic landscapes, while others are disintegrating more gradually with the passing of time. Measures should be taken to address these issues through the preparation and implementation of landscape masterplans for individual parkland areas. These masterplans should respect the historical and visual integrity of the landscape within each area. This may involve bringing together a number of landowners where the whole area is no longer in single ownership. Priority should be given to the phased renewal of estate woodlands and clumps of trees, and to the restoration of parkland that has been converted to arable cultivation.
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All areas of ridge and furrow should be managed to maintain their historic interest |
Grasslands containing ridge and furrow landscapes are found in a number of fields within the region. The ridge and furrow grasslands are remnants of mediaeval landscapes that were enclosed and set to pasture. Many ridge and furrow grasslands have been lost over recent decades with the ploughing-up and arable conversion of land. This has increased the historic importance and rarity of the remaining features. Where ridge and furrow survives, its very antiquity is an indicator that the grassland sward has never been ploughed and reseeded and it is often floristically diverse. Ridge and furrow grasslands therefore have high historic, landscape and nature conservation interest. All surviving areas should be conserved.
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Farmland should be managed positively to enhnace its landscape and wildlife interest |
A variety of options are now available to farmers within the current set-aside scheme. These range from short-term rotations through to longer-term schemes where the same piece of land can be set aside over several years. Land managed under habitat and forestry schemes can now count as part of the set-aside obligation under the Arable Area Payments Scheme. There is now considerable scope for land to be managed positively in order to enhance landscape and wildlife interest. Both wildlife and landscape features can be restored or created at the field scale, or as conservation headlands, wildlife margins and grass margins. Such areas are of greatest value where they provide linkages between existing features such as woodlands, hedgerows, streams and wetlands. The longer-term options allow the restoration and creation of a range of features such as wildflower meadows and damp lowland grasslands. Woodland establishment schemes are now eligible to be counted as set-aside, offering significant opportunities to enhance landscape character.
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Conserve rural character by retaining existing features in all development schemes |
The suburbanising influences associated with new development are an increasing pressure on the rural character of the countryside. These influences are having a subtle but cumulative impact, especially on all matters of design. Examples include: the external modernisation of buildings; the erection of corporate roadside signs; the replacement of roadside hedges with quick-growing ornamental screens; the increased use of security fencing; and even standardised landscaping schemes. Much more discretion is needed when applying design standards in rural landscapes. In particular, original features such as walls, traditional gates and pillars, roadside hedges and mature trees should be retained if at all possible. Where this is not possible, consideration should be given to moving or replacing such features.
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The design of recreational and sporting facilities, such as golf courses, should reflect the character of the local landscape |
The Idle Lowlands has a strong rural character, although urban influences are experienced in a number of areas. The introduction of large numbers of ornamental or coniferous trees, the removal of hedgerow or stream-line trees, or the erection of modern buildings using introduced materials would detract from this rural character, especially in the more remote areas. To minimise intrusion the design of recreational, leisure and sporting facilities should be done sensitively to retain and enhance the traditional character, features of interest and local sense of place. Any developments should make a positive contribution to the quality of the landscape, with a comprehensive assessment of the potential impact of any recreational or sporting development on the landscape character of the area.
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Conserve rural character by limiting standardised treatments during highway improvement schemes |
The construction of new roads and the widening or realignment of existing roads can have a major impact on the character of the rural environment. Improvements to meet modern highway standards, for example, invariably result in the removal of existing roadside features and the introduction of new suburban influences into the rural environment. Traffic calming measures should therefore always be considered as an alternative option in rural areas. Where improvements are necessary, standardised treatments such as concrete kerbing, galvanised crash barriers, new or replacement street lighting, and the erection of modern road signs should be used only where absolutely necessary. Such features are not only visually intrusive but they generally look out of place in the countryside. As an alternative, consideration should be given to the use of more traditional materials such as stone setts for kerbing and wooden telegraph poles for street lighting, or reverting to locally distinctive road signs. Every effort should also be made to restrict work to one side of the road and to replace roadside features such as hedges, banks and trees.
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Landscaping around utilities and other rural development should be better integrated into the wider countryside |
Landscaping around utilities and other development in the countryside usually involves screen planting in geometric blocks, or on raised bunds, to hide new development. Whilst these mitigation measures are better than nothing at all, the effect is often lost because the contrast between the landscaped area and the surrounding farmland is just as obvious. In rural areas the success of landscaping around sites, such as sewage works and other utilities, will depend to a large extent on how well they have been integrated into the wider landscape. Particular attention should be given to the treatment of the site perimeter to ensure that it is tied strongly into the adjoining field pattern. Similarly, tree planting within the site should be linked with new or existing trees beyond the perimeter of the site. Better siting and design of new buildings should also be considered in addition to landscaping works. It is better to soften a well-designed building with a few trees than try to hide an ugly building with screen planting.
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Proposals for the agricultural restoratin of sand and gravel workings should seek to reinstate the structure and characteristic features of Idle Lowlands landscapes |
It is important that future restoration proposals flow from an understanding of the inherent character of Idle Lowlands. Proposals need to be firmly linked to an understanding of the structure and character of the appropriate landscape type, depending whether the site is located within the Valley Carrs and Levels, or the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands. Within the Valley Carrs and Levels the main focus should be to restore pastoral character and recreate wet grassland habitats. Other characteristic features would include willow holts, wet woodlands, small broad-leaved woodlands and riparian trees. On the Village Sandlands and Terrace Sandlands the priority should be to restore the traditional pattern of hedged fields and enhance tree cover through hedgerow tree and small-scale woodland planting. In addition to improving the standard of future restoration, opportunities for enhancing the character of previously restored areas should be investigated. In this way restoration schemes can be landscape-led and linked to an appreciation of the traditional character of the area, enabling restored sites to blend more easily with the wider landscape.
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The reclamation of sand and gravel sites to wetland habitats should take precedence over open water options |
Wetland habitats such as wet meadows, reed beds and marshland have historically been associated with the Valley Carrs and Levels. These ecologically rich habitats are now uncommon outside old sand and gravel workings due to river channel management and agricultural improvement. Sand and gravel operations will continue to have a major impact. If reclamation to agriculture is not feasible then the establishment of wetland habitats should be favoured over open water. Standing areas of open water are not a characteristic feature of the Idle Lowlands region. Where competition arises from recreational interests, the development of combined after-use proposals should be explored, which include the establishment of wetland and open water habitats. On workings that directly adjoin water courses, the possibilities for creating low-lying meadows should be investigated, with ecological restoration focusing on restoring areas of wet meadow and marsh rather than aquatic habitat. Opportunities should also be sought to diversify the visual and ecological character of existing open water areas by increasing the number and variety of wetland landscapes.
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Species list
Idle Lowlands
Dominant Species 
Other Species Present 
The following list includes native tree and shrub species that are commonly found within the Idle Lowlands and are suitable for inclusion in planting schemes. These are important for determining the area’s regional character. A range of other native species may also be appropriate to particular locations or sites. In these cases professional advice should be sought. A list of organisations able to provide such advice has been included in the section 'Further Information'.
TREES |
Woodlands |
Hedges |
Hedgerow Trees |
Wet Areas/Streamsides |
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Alder (Common) |
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Ash |
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Beech |
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Birch (Silver) |
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Crab Apple |
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Elm (English) |
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Elm (wych) |
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Oak (Common) |
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Oak (Sessile) |
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Pine (Scots) |
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Willow (Crack) |
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Willow (White) |
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SHRUBS |
Woodlands |
Hedges |
Hedgerow Trees |
Wet Areas/Streamsides |
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Blackthorn |
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Buckthorn (Purging) |
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Broom |
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Dogwood (Common) |
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Gorse |
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Hawthorn |
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Hazel |
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Holly |
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Privet (Wild) |
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Rosa SPP. |
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Spindle |
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Willow (Goat) |
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Willow (Grey) |
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