|
Landscape character is what makes an area unique. It is defined
as "a distinct, recognisable and consistent pattern of elements in
the landscape that makes one landscape different from another,
rather than better or worse."
An assessment of the landscape of the AONB was made in 1992 and
identified eight distinct landscape types:
- The Moorland Plateau is
high, open and exposed, and is dominated by extensive tracts of
dwarf-shrub vegetation such as heather. It contains the AONB's
grouse moors and is internationally important for nature
conservation.
- The Grassland Plateau is
also high and exposed and consists mainly of agriculturally
improved grassland and wet pastures enclosed by dry stone
walls.
- The Upper Valley landscape
includes the valley head basins extending into adjacent moorland.
This contains several of the AONB's reservoirs notably Scar and
Angram.
- The Middle Valley occurs
between the upland and associated moorlands upstream, and the
broader, flatter Lower Valley further downstream. The Middle
Valley, as at Pateley Bridge for example, is a more wooded
landscape with many ancient broadleaved woodlands sitting alongside
watercourses and on the valley sides.
- In the Lower Valley (such as
around Birstwith) damp grasslands, studded with individual trees,
frequently occur and drystone wall field boundaries are often
replaced by hedges.
- The Vale and Upland Fringe marks distinct zones of
transition between the arable area of the Vale of York and the
harsher, bleaker moorlands to the west.
- Wharfedale (northern
side) is a predominantly pastoral landscape ranging from grasslands
and woodlands bordering the river, to 'in bye' nearer to the moor
edges.
In 2003 Harrogate Borough Council undertook a more detailed
assessment and this work identified 40 distinct landscape character
areas in the AONB. This assessment is designed
to provide guidance for local planning authorities and other
organisations to ensure that landscape character is respected as
the countryside changes in response to new challenges.
Decisions about how to manage change must relate to the existing
character of a place so that future landscapes can be planned for
in a way that does not disrupt the attachment people have to their
environment.
|
|
