18 Sway Pasture and Residential Settlements

Location of Landscape Character Area 18, Sway Pasture and Residential Settlements (LCA 18)

Location of LCA in the National Park

Grey area is land outside of the New Forest National Park

N Not to scale

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

Component landscape types within LCA 18

1. Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings
2. Ancient Forest Farmlands
3. Historic Parkland

Not to scale

Area in shadow- outside National Park

© Crown Copyright and Database Right 2014. Ordnance Survey 1000114703.

Some parts of the LCA’s southern boundary lie outside the New Forest National Park.

LCA 18 National Park boundary

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

A. LANDSCAPE DESCRIPTION

Key landscape characteristics

• Farmed plateaus and steep sided wooded valleys, drained by Danes Stream and the Avon Water.
• Densely settled, small scale landscape with an urban fringe character and strong sense of enclosure.
• Forest smallholdings and dwellings with irregular ancient field pattern of small pastures and hedgerows are an important area for grazing and recreational horse keeping.
• Ancient semi-natural woodlands and roadside oaks give a feeling of being ‘in the forest’.
• Roadside cottages are a traditional feature, with other housing in a variety of styles and materials adding to the eclectic mix.
• Paddocks divided by wooden timber fencing.
• Winding sunken leafy lanes twist along valleys; straight lanes cross the plateaux.

Component landscape types

The main landscape types found within this LCA, in the New Forest National Park, are:

1. Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings
2. Ancient Forest Farmlands
3. Historic Parkland

Key positive landscape attributes

• Ancient field patterns, with small wavy parliamentary fields surrounded by a dense hedgerow network.
• Semi-natural valley woodlands of high biological diversity linked to thick hedgerows and frequent oaks.
• A network of winding leafy lanes.
• Scattered farmsteads and roadside cottages of red brick, slate, thatch and cob.
• Traditional forest smallholdings and dwellings linked to back-up pastures and paddocks.
• Sway Tower (Peterson’s Folly) is a prominent landmark feature, visible from across the landscape and beyond.
• Open hill tops allowing long-distance views over the surrounding area, including the Open Forest to the north framed by conifer plantations on the skyline.

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

Relevant designations relating to positive landscape attributes

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

B. LANDSCAPE EVALUATION

Current condition

Landscape structure: This is a landscape with historic origins and of New Forest character, defined by small rectilinear paddocks and fields often used for grazing. The landscape’s copses and thick hedgerows with frequent oaks contribute to a feeling of being ‘in the Forest’. This structure has, however, been significantly disrupted by a spread of development outside settlement edges and along roads, as well as unsympathetic industrial workings and buildings (particularly in the Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings landscape type). This has impacted on the dispersed settlement pattern that characterises this landscape. The small area of Historic Parkland at Bashley Park has been encroached by a caravan park and golf course, affecting its character and setting within the landscape. The Brockenhurst-Christchurch railway also dissects the area, effectively splitting it in half. A loss of hedgerow field boundaries and the spread of other land uses have also had significant impacts on the ancient structure and small scale of this landscape.

Landscape elements: The key elements of this landscape that combine to reflect its historic origins are its ancient fields enclosed by hedgerows with hedgerow and roadside oaks linking with semi-natural woodlands. Traditional smallholdings backed by pastures used for grazing commoners’ stock make up this mosaic. The impacts of agricultural intensification and spread of non-traditional land uses have led to a significant loss of historic lines of hedgerow, fragmenting their value as wildlife corridors through their links with areas of woodland (in both the Ancient Forest Farmlands and Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings types). The condition of the landscape’s red brick local vernacular has been weakened in parts by the construction of modern dwellings of varying styles and using non-traditional materials, particularly in the Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings landscape type. The tree lined roads do, however, retain a sense of being in a tranquil, Forest landscape removed from the nearby urban areas spreading outwards from Christchurch.

Landscape change

Key issues and trends

• Hedgerow loss and replacement by fencing is diluting the area’s distinctive field patterns and leading to a decline in the historic and biodiversity value of its boundary features (in both the Ancient Forest Farmlands and Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings types).
• Loss of oaks and sections of hedgerows altering the structure of the landscape and breaking up the visual/ecological network linking to the area’s woodlands (in both the Ancient Forest Farmlands and Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings landscape types).
• Changing pests and diseases leading to decline or death of certain tree species.
• Changes in land use impacting on the traditional functions of the landscape (including its important role for grazing) and weakening its character (in both the Ancient Forest Farmlands and Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings landscape types).
• The location of a caravan parks and a golf course at Bashley Park, affecting its traditional setting within the landscape (in the Historic Parkland landscape type).
• Intrusion of the mainline railway and modern development spreading along roads – reducing the intimate relationship between settlements, buildings and their rural landscape setting (particularly in the Heath Associated Smallholdings and Dwellings landscape type).
• Unsympathetic modern development out of keeping with local vernacular styles, scales and using inappropriate building materials.

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

C. LANDSCAPE QUALITY OBJECTIVES (LQOS) / STRATEGY

Vision

A traditional forest-edge landscape with a strong historic sense of place, retaining its visual and working links with the nearby Open Forest. A mosaic of ancient fields and well-managed semi-natural woodlands is connected by a dense, well-managed network of hedgerows with frequent oaks, giving the area a strong New Forest character. Smallholdings are surrounded by pastures and paddocks used for grazing. Scattered red brick farmsteads and roadside cottages are linked by winding leafy lanes with open hill tops allowing long views across the surrounding area. Sway Tower remains an important landmark feature which is visible across the landscape and beyond.

Overall Landscape Strategy

The priority in this landscape character area is to protect the positive landscape attributes valued within it. This will require active protection.

This should be accompanied by a strategy to manage the landscape to improve those attributes that are in poorer condition to improve overall quality.

Future landscape management guidelines

Field patterns and boundary features

1. Protect the mosaic of small scale fields, enclosed by well managed hedgerows. Management to retain and enhance the strong hedgerow network that reflects the origins of the landscape with a healthy stock of hedgerow oaks.
2. Manage and enhance links between the hedgerow network and the area’s woodlands to create a complete ecological network.

Agricultural land use

3. Protect the landscape’s traditional pastoral character, particularly that associated with areas of historic and traditional field patterns.
4. Protect and manage the important stock of pasture for the grazing of commonable animals.

Forestry and woodlands

5. Protect and manage the area’s semi-natural woodlands to maintain and enhance their age structure and species range.

Development and settlement edge

6. Protect the traditional, tranquil character of the area’s rural road network including minimising inappropriate road signage, street lighting and ensuring engineering works are sympathetic to their rural character. Protect and replace roadside trees as important landscape features.
7. Protect the landscape’s settlement pattern of forest smallholdings, scattered farmsteads and roadside dwellings. Ensure any new development is integrated into its landscape setting (including the use of woodland and hedgerows) and utilises traditional building styles/materials wherever possible.
8. Consider the use of tree planting or vegetation succession to filter views of the mainline railway line passing through the landscape.
9. Protect the character and setting of Sway Tower Conservation Area - refer to the Conservation Area Appraisal for details on historic landscape setting, layout and plan form of the historic settlement, and architectural styles, materials and detailing of buildings within the settlement. Ensure the tower remains an important landmark feature on the skyline.
10. Protect views from the ridgeline to the Open Forest lying adjacent to the north to reinforce links to the wider National Park (LCA 20 Southern Heaths and Forest).

Historic landscapes and features

11. Protect the character and setting of Bashley Park, including maintaining its separation from the adjacent caravan park.

Management guidelines number (as per following table LCA 16)

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

Summary table LCA 18 showing landscape issues and guidelines by Landscape Type

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LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS

Grazing land and paddocks, Tiptoe Tree-lined lane near Sway

PHOTOGRAPHS OF LCA 18: SWAY PASTURE AND RESIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT