The Countryside

The guiding principle in the countryside is that development should both benefit economic activity and maintain or and enhance the environment. The District Council values the diverse and attractive areas of West Wiltshire as an important asset. The countryside, and water environment, will be protected and enhanced for the sake of their beauty, diversity of landscape, the wealth of natural resources and for nature conservation, agricultural and recreational reasons. The “Character Of England” maps produced by the Countryside Agency and English Nature broadly define the distinctive character areas of the District and its built environment. The District Council also recognises that the countryside is the workplace of many people and the rural economy should be encouraged to expand and diversify to ensure and facilitate the management of the countryside in an appropriate way to maintain the much valued pastoral landscape of West Wiltshire. Development required for the efficient provision and operation of public utilities will be permitted in the countryside, provided that there is no alternative location that is more environmentally acceptable. Acceptable mitigation measures will be required where appropriate with development in the countryside to minimise its impact on the landscape. Developers will be expected to undertake Environmental Impact Assessments where the development falls within the Environmental Asessment Regulations Schedule 1 or within Schedule 2 where it is likely to have a significant effect on the environment.

Landscape

Two parts of the District are recognised as being of national landscape importance and have been designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) by the Countryside Agency. These designated areas, the Cotswolds AONB and the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB, are indicated on the Proposals Map.

The Cotswolds AONB covers the River Avon valley, west of Bradford on Avon around Limpley Stoke and Monkton Farleigh. The landscape includes the gently undulating oolitic limestone plateau of the Cotswolds, with its deeply incised, heavily wooded valleys.

The part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB within the District covers the Wylye Valley, the Deverills, Longleat and the West Wiltshire Downs. Its landscape varies from rolling chalk downland and dry valleys, to heavily wooded areas and attractive river valleys

In addition to the nationally important AONBs a number of other parts of the District are recognised as being of County-Wide landscape importance. These areas have been defined as Special Landscape Areas (SLAs), as shown on the Proposals Map. The SLAs include Salisbury Plain, the greensand ridge around Corsley Heath and Chapmanslade, Spye Parkland, Vaggs Hill and the southern fringes of the Cotswolds.

The countryside as a landscape is important in its own right by virtue of its attractive physical characteristics such as in the AONBs and SLAs, but it can also complement the built environment. The historic towns of Bradford on Avon and Warminster are surrounded by locally important landscape features that warrant protection to preserve the landscape setting of these towns.

It is not intended to preclude development from the whole of the landscape setting areas, but to prevent inappropriate development, such as large scale developments or buildings, which would have a detrimental effect on the views into and out of the settlements of Bradford-On-Avon and Warminster.

The District Council recognises the importance of nature conservation interests in the development control process. It will seek to protect and conserve the sensitive sites of nature conservation importance within the District, in particular those sites identified as being of international, national or county importance, in accordance with Planning Policy Guidance Note 9 Nature Conservation.

West Wiltshire has a rich biodiversity and a wide range of wildlife habitats with many rare and nationally important flora, fauna, geological and physiographical features that should be protected from harmful development. A number of areas within the District, including flower-rich neutral meadows, ancient semi-natural woodlands, river corridors and wetlands and substantial areas of chalk grassland, are recognised as being of national conservation and/or scientific importance and have been designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) by English Nature.

Development proposals in or near AHEVs, RIGs,  or  SNCIs will not be permitted if considered harmful to the ecological interest of these scarce and vulnerable habitats or if it would result in the serious loss of flora and fauna, unless there is no suitable alternative or if other material factors are sufficient to override the special nature conservation interest. Where development is permitted, proposals will be subject to conditions or planning agreements that prevent damaging impacts on wildlife, habitats or important physical features.

Several broad zones of high wildlife and nature conservation importance have been identified in West Wiltshire, known as Areas Of High Ecological Value (AHEVs), and are shown on the Proposals Map. These cover the extensive vulnerable habitats of the Cotswolds, Spye Park, Salisbury Plain West, the Deverills, the Salisbury River Avon system and Grovely/Great Ridge. Special regard will be paid to the maintenance of these areas of high ecological value through the strict control of development.

In addition to the designated sites, there are other natural features of the landscape which are of value to wildlife. The linear and continuous structure of such features serve as links which allow for the movement of wild flora and fauna and so help to maintain the overall abundance and diversity of the district’s biodiversity. All but one of the features listed in the policy are the subject of habitat action plans in the Wiltshire BAP which identifies site management actions and targets to promote biodiversity.

The protection of designated sites is one of the main ways of protecting rare plants and animals. However, in addition to this some species, such as bats, badgers, barn owls, great crested newts, water voles, native crayfish, and otters are protected in law wherever they live. The Wildlife And Countryside Act (1981) makes it an offence to kill, injure, take, or intentionally damage, destroy or obstruct any protected species and their places of shelter.

The District Council recognises and values the importance of woodlands, in particular mixed and ancient semi-natural woodland, as a wildlife habitat and nature conservation resource, as features in the landscape and as a recreation resource. They will be protected from development where possible. Although recognising that new woodland planting is outside the scope of the planning system, the District Council will generally encourage the provision of new community woodland, in appropriate locations, in the interests of nature conservation, landscape enhancement and recreation. New woodland planting should have regard to the “Character Of England” maps produced by the Countryside Agency and English Nature, which broadly define the distinctive character areas of the District. Unimproved chalk grassland and flower rich neutral meadow habitats are not considered suitable locations for new woodland.

As well as their important drainage functions, the rivers and watercourses are important for water quality, nature conservation, fisheries and recreation and contribute to the character of an area and landscape. River corridors and wetlands can form links that are crucial for wildlife and their habitats.

The District Council has one designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR) at Smallbrook Meadows, Warminster, as shown on the Proposals Map, managed in conjunction with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (WWT). The Trust has established nature reserves at Conigre Mead, Melksham, Green Lane Wood, Trowbridge, and Still Meadows, Winsley. The Woodland Trust (WT) also has a nature reserve at the Site Of Special Scientific Interest at Clanger Wood, near Yarnbrook. The District Council will encourage further nature reserve designations and positive habitat management schemes where opportunities arise.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is a major landowner within the District and its activities have a significant impact on the local environment, in particular, Salisbury Plain. The District Council recognises that following the end of the Cold War and the publication of the Strategic Defence Review in 1998, there may be significant changes in the MoD’s operational requirements in the District and that sites may need to be expanded or declared surplus to requirements during the Plan period. The 1995 Rural White Paper and 1997 Guidelines on the Disposal of Surplus MoD Property encourage close co-operation between local  planning authorities, Government Offices and the MoD to ensure that these changes take full account of the development plan framework and the needs and aspirations of the local community. Making the best use of surplus previously developed MoD land within the towns will reduce the need to develop greenfield sites but sites located in the open countryside or immediately adjacent to towns should not accommodate new uses which should be located within existing urban areas. Housing or employment proposals and any development involving substantial construction on open land or which generates major traffic movements will not be permitted on sites located within the open countryside or immediately adjacent to the towns during the Plan period. For larger redundant sites, planning briefs will be prepared jointly by the District Council, Wiltshire County Council and the MoD.

Archaeology

Archaeological remains are a finite and irreplaceable resource providing information about the past.  West Wiltshire has a rich and varied archaeological heritage including sites and monuments from many differing historical periods, such as the Prehistoric, Celtic, Romano-British, Saxon and Medieval periods. The District has a number of Scheduled Ancient Monuments recognised for their national importance. In addition the County Archaeological Service has identified a large number of sites of comparable importance, which are listed in the County Sites And Monuments Record. The nature of archaeology will also mean that some sites of national importance may as yet remain undiscovered, and these too will be worthy of physical protection. With all archaeological remains of national importance there is a presumption in favour of their physical preservation if they and their settings are affected by proposed development. Consequently, all known monuments of national importance, both the Scheduled Ancient Monuments and the non-scheduled monuments identified by the County Archaeological Service, are worthy of preservation in situ. All Scheduled Ancient Monuments and urban and rural areas of known archaeological interest are identified on the Proposals Map. Non-scheduled monuments and areas of higher archaeological potential are identified within Appendix Ab.  Developers are advised to seek the advice of the County Archaeological Service when proposed development would impact on any of these sites.

Where development proposals affect a site of known archaeological interest or evidence suggests the existence of such a site, the District Council will continue to seek specialist advice from the County Archaeological Service. The archaeological importance of some sites is not yet known and on the advice of the County Archaeologist the Council may request an archaeological field evaluation of the site to be submitted with any application for planning permission.

The County Archaeological Service has identified 10 Areas of Higher Archaeological Potential within the rural landscape areas of West Wiltshire and 5 Areas of Archaeological Interest within the historic town centres of West Wiltshire. In these areas, development proposals should be supported by a desk based archaeological assessment usually utilising the County Sites and Monuments Record. Where an archaeological issue is identified, the Council may request an archaeological field evaluation of the site in accordance with Policy C14.

Development plans cannot require developers to finance archaeological works in return for planning permission. Where development threatens sites of archaeological interest the ideal situation is to preserve the site in situ. However, in some cases such preservation is not merited, so the District Council will require the developer to enter into an agreement to excavate and record the site and disseminate the results prior to the commencement of any development.