North Devon and Torridge - Landscape Character Assessment Update
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides an overview of the Landscape Character Assessment update and its policy context.
Overview of the Landscape Character Assessment
1.2 This Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) for North Devon and Torridge Districts has been prepared by LUC for the two local authorities. It is an update of the original Joint Landscape Character Assessment for North Devon and Torridge District which was adopted by both Councils in 2011.
1.3 This new LCA provides an up-to-date and robust evidence base on landscape, assessing the character of the districts' diverse landscapes, evaluating current and potential future drivers for change, and setting out guidance for landscape conservation, planning and enhancement.
1.4 This LCA will support planning and management decisions within the two districts, including the nationally designated landscape of the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
1.5 This report can be used to consider landscape character when planning any type of change, such as:
to inform work on policy development as part of Development Plans;
to inform development management; guiding development and land management that is sympathetic to local character and sense of place;
to promote an understanding of how landscapes are changing and how they can be strengthened to become resilient to future pressures (including climate change);
to inform decisions on land management, nature recovery and biodiversity net gain.
1.6 The assessment covers all of the land within the AONB, but excludes parts of North Devon District falling within Exmoor National Park. However, the assessment takes account of the special qualities that underpin the national designations of both the AONB and National Park, along with the setting of Dartmoor National Park to the south.
1.7 The location of the two districts in the context of the AONB, National Parks, nationally defined Heritage Coasts and the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is shown in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1: Location of districts and Protected Landscapes
Legal and policy context
The European Landscape Convention
1.8 The European Landscape Convention (ELC) came into force in the UK in March 2007. It establishes the need to recognise landscape in law; to develop landscape policies dedicated to the protection, management and planning of landscapes; and to establish procedures for the participation of the general public and other stakeholders in the creation and implementation of landscape policies.
1.9 The ELC definition of 'landscape' recognises that all landscapes matter, be they ordinary, degraded or outstanding:
1.10 "Landscape means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors"
1.11 The Convention puts emphasis on the whole landscape and all its values and is forward looking in its approach, recognising the dynamic and changing character of landscape. Specific measures promoted by the Convention, of direct relevance to this study include:
the identification and assessment of landscape; and
improved consideration of landscape in existing and future sectoral and spatial policy and regulation.
1.12 The ELC remains in place following the UK's departure from the EU in 2020.
25 Year Environment Plan
1.13 The 25 Year Environment Plan was published in 2018 and set out the UK Government's aims to deliver cleaner air and water, protect threatened species and improve biodiversity. The policies within the plan aim to protect and restore the environment and have wide reaching implications for agriculture, forestry and land use, including a drive for sustainable land use, creating new habitats for wildlife and planting more trees to arrest the decline in native species and improve biodiversity.
England Tree Strategy
1.14 The England Tree Strategy [See reference ] (feeding into the England Trees Action Plan) sets out policy priorities to deliver the government's target to plant 30,000 ha of woodland per year across the UK by 2025, to expand tree cover, support woodland management and increase public engagement with trees and woodlands as well as combat climate change and recover biodiversity. An analysis of consultation responses published in May 2021, highlighted that local authorities play an important role in delivering many aspects of new woodland creation.
Environment Act 2021
1.15 The Environment Act 2021 set clear statutory targets for the recovery of the natural world in four priority areas: air quality, biodiversity, water and waste, and includes an important new target to reverse the decline in species abundance by the end of 2030. It will require local authorities to develop Local Nature Recovery Strategies which will help deliver nature recovery within a national framework. It will also facilitate funding for trees and woodland across England. This will include both public and privately funded tree planting initiatives in order to meet the government's overall target to treble current woodland creation rates.
Agriculture Act 2020
1.16 The Agriculture Act 2020 introduces the concept of 'payment for public goods', meaning that agricultural subsidies should be directed towards public goods (such as environmental improvements) that are not rewarded through the market.
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
1.17 The revised NPPF, published in July 2021, states in paragraph 174 that:
1.18 'Planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by:
...protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, sites of biodiversity or geological value and soils (in a manner commensurate with their statutory status or identified quality)'
...recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside and the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services - including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and of trees and woodland ...'
1.19 The NPPF is supported by Planning Practice Guidance which recognises the role that Landscape Character Assessment plays in helping to understand the character and local distinctiveness of the landscape. This assessment for North Devon and Torridge provides evidence to help protect valued landscapes and recognise the intrinsic value and beauty of the countryside.
Local Plans
1.20 The first joint North Devon and Torridge Local Plan (2011-2031) was adopted on the 29th October 2018.
1.21 One of the strategic aims of the plan is to make Northern Devon 'A World Class Environment - where important assets are valued and enhanced for future generations', which includes the following objectives:
(a) the undeveloped coastline, estuarine and important countryside assets of northern Devon are protected and enhanced;
(b) important wildlife habitats, protected landscapes, and our distinctive heritage are conserved and enhanced and the decline of biodiversity is reversed;
(c) land is used efficiently and effectively - optimise how ecosystem services provide and result in productive living landscapes and townscapes that adapt to our changing needs.
1.22 Other policies in the Plan relevant to landscape include:
Policy DM08A: Landscape and Seascape Character which states that: 'Development should be of an appropriate scale, mass and design that recognises and respects landscape character of both designated and undesignated landscapes and seascapes; it should avoid adverse landscape and seascape impacts and seek to enhance the landscape and seascape assets wherever possible. Development must take into account and respect the sensitivity and capacity of the landscape/seascape asset, considering cumulative impact and the objective to maintain dark skies and tranquillity in areas that are relatively undisturbed, using guidance from the Joint Landscape and Seascape Character Assessments for North Devon and Torridge.'
- Policy ST14: Enhancing Environmental Assets which states that: 'The quality of northern Devon's natural environment will be protected and enhanced by ensuring that development contributes to:
...(e) conserving the setting and special character and qualities of the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty whilst fostering the social and economic wellbeing of the area;
(f) ensuring development conserves and enhances northern Devon's local distinctiveness including its tranquillity, and the setting and special qualities of Exmoor National Park including its dark night skies;
(g) protecting and enhancing local landscape and seascape character, taking into account the key characteristics, the historical dimension of the landscape and their sensitivity to change;
(h) recognising the importance of the undeveloped coastal, estuarine and marine environments through supporting designations, plans and policies that aim to protect and enhance northern Devon's coastline...'
1.23 This new Landscape Character Assessment will provide up-to-date evidence to inform the above policies in the Local Plan.
North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
1.24 The North Devon Coast AONB covers 171 square kilometres (66 square miles) of mainly coastal landscape from the border with Exmoor National Park at Combe Martin, through the mouth of the Taw-Torridge Estuary and beyond to the Cornish border at Marsland Mouth. It was designated in 1959 through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act (1949) on merit of its outstanding coastal scenery and rich cultural, agricultural and maritime heritage. There are also two Heritage Coasts within the AONB; Hartland Heritage Coast and North Devon Heritage Coast. Hartland Heritage Coast is characterised by rugged cliffs, while North Devon Heritage Coast includes long, sandy beaches in addition to cliff faces and rocky foreshores.
1.25 The Statutory Management Plan for the AONB (2019-2024) includes objectives and policies for planning development in the protected landscape. The Management Plan includes an objective under its 'Landscape and Seascape' theme to use this Landscape Character Assessment as a tool to assist in planning decisions (Policy A5).
North Devon Biosphere Reserve
1.26 In addition to protected landscapes, it is also important to note that a large proportion of the two districts falls within the North Devon Biosphere Reserve - a UNESCO designation afforded to only seven sites in the UK (also shown in Figure 2.11). This designation was created to protect the biological and cultural diversity of a region while promoting and demonstrating sustainable economic development. In the case of North Devon, the wider reserve covers the wider catchment of the Taw and Torridge Rivers, stretching from Dartmoor and Exmoor to the coast and beyond to Lundy (around 3,300 km2). The core area of the Reserve is focused on Braunton Burrows and the Taw/Torridge Estuary; areas of international importance for biodiversity. Whilst this designation is not recognised in planning policy terms in the same way as National Parks and AONBs, it forms a key element of the spatial strategy for the area in the Joint Local Plan (see paragraph 1.19).
Structure of this report
1.27 This report is structured as follows:
Chapter 2 describes the physical and cultural evolution of the landscape.
Chapter 3 describes the Landscape Character Assessment method.
Appendix A contains the data list used to inform the LCA update.
Appendix B contains a table outlining the changes made to the Landscape Character Type (LCT) and Devon Character Area (DCA) classification as part of this review.
Appendix C contains a list of the stakeholder workshop attendees.
North Devon and Torridge Landscape Character Update (PDF, 8 MB)
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