LCA 6: Upper Heyford Plateau

Location and key characteristics

The Upper Heyford Plateau forms a band of gently sloping high ground to the east of the Cherwell Valley, running north from Kirtlington to the Northamptonshire boundary.

Open, exposed limestone plateau lying below the Ironstone Hills.
Gently rolling hills ascend from the southeast towards the plateau in the northwest.
Widespread intensive arable farmland with smaller grazing fields in proximity to settlements.
Rural character away from residential and commercial development at Heyford Park.

LCA 6 - View the map full screen in a new tab

Arable farmland foregrounds views toward Heyford Park

Parkland character at Aynho Registered Park and Garden

Open farmland allows long views west to vale edge slopes

Oxford Canal near former Kirlington Quarry (Local Nature Reserve)

Description

Natural (landform, water, semi-natural land cover)

The Upper Heyford Plateau lies on a band of White Limestone in the north, a limestone which contains a high proportion of mica interbedded with grey marl, transitioning to Cornbrash in the south. It rises to the northwest in gentle undulations from 120m AOD to 140m AOD and falls sharply away to Cherwell Valley in the west into the Ockley Brook valley in the north.
Minor streams drain west and south into the Thames river system via the Rivers Cherwell and Ray. Ockley Brook defines the northern boundary of the character area and is a tributary to the River Cherwell. Streams sourced around Fritwell and Ardley drain into Padbury Brook which flows east towards the Great Ouse.
There are a range of locally important habitats throughout the character area though they are mostly small and isolated sites within this relatively large landscape. There is little semi-natural vegetation though Priority Habitat ‘Deciduous Woodland’ features in small, dispersed blocks such as Ardley Wood and Old Shaws, and land between disused runways within the former RAF Upper Heyford now supports Priority Habitat ‘lowland calcareous grassland’. There are also species-rich hedgerows in some parts of the character area and limestone grassland at Ardley quarry.

Cultural/social (land use, settlement, infrastructure, historic character)

Characterised by large, regularly-shaped arable fields and medium-sized mixed plantations with small fields of semi-improved grassland surrounding villages. A characteristic, planned, late parliamentary enclosure landscape. Farmhouses are generally located in the open countryside as a result of parliamentary enclosure.
Field boundaries are dominated by hawthorn and blackthorn hedges with scattered hedgerow trees, although the latter are almost totally absent to the south of Heyford Park. Hedges are generally low in height, except around Fritwell and Ardley where they are taller and more species-rich.
Subtle, gently undulated topography in the north of the character area gives variation amongst the widespread arable agriculture. This large-scale landscape is associated with the well-drained loams of the open plateau.
The south of the character area is dominated by elevated, flat arable farmland with a weak hedgerow structure. Roads are often lined by wide berms and clipped hedgerows.
The level, open plateau in the middle of the character area was originally utilised as a military airbase which was decommissioned in the mid-1990s. The site, now named Heyford Park, has since been subject to significant and ongoing residential and commercial development.
Aside from Heyford Park the character area contains only three relatively small villages – Souldern, Fritwell and Fewcott – together with the hamlet of Caulcott and the northern part of Kirtlington. Land around these settlements is divided into a patchwork of smaller fields with well-defined hedgerows, copses and mixed farming.
Settlements all contain clusters of listed buildings, and Conservation Area designations cover much of Souldern, Fritwell and Fewcott. The former RAF Upper Heyford site is also covered by a Conservation Area designation, with many of its key historic features being retained including Hardened Aircraft Shelters and runways.
The use of local limestone for building materials gives a very distinctive, historic character to the village settlements, with pale Oolitic limestone and stone tiles on the roofs featuring in most of the buildings. The vernacular character is particularly prominent in villages such as Fritwell and Souldern.
The slopes above Ockley Brook to the north of Souldern form part of Aynho Park, an 18^th century parkland which extends from Aynho into the character area. The gently sloping farmland features stone walls, woodland blocks, in-field trees as well as newer, post-and-wire fencing.
No major routes pass through the LCA other than the M40, but a network of minor, largely straight roads criss-crosses the plateau, often running along the ridge summits.
The character area features a good network of PRoWs which provide access to the countryside including two ancient routeways; the Port Way and Aves Ditch. The Port Way is followed by the minor road from Kirtlington to Upper Heyford, continuing northwards as a footpath towards Souldern;
Aves Ditch is most obvious as a ditch and bank between Middleton Stoney and Caulcott and had a dual function as a Roman boundary dyke and as an embanked road – it has formed estate and parish boundaries since Saxon times.

Perceptual (views, tranquillity, associations)

A distinctive elevated and exposed character with open, broad skies. Gentle rises in the arable landscape can afford views for several kilometres, particularly where there are no woodlands or tall hedgerows to intervene.
From the western edge of the character area there are good views across the Cherwell Valley, similarly there are views north from the slope crest above the valley of Ockley Brook.
There are pockets of tranquillity and strong rural character away from major transport infrastructure and development – the large-scale residential development at Heyford air base, a highly visible plateau, is a significant detractor from tranquillity, as is the M40.
Small woodland copses combine with more-intact, species rich hedgerows closer to historic settlements to create small pockets of enclosure in an otherwise open landscape.

County landscape typology

In the Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (see the map at the top of the page) the majority of the character area is classified as Farmland Plateau, with the area south of Caulcott and a smaller area around Fewcott classified at Wooded Estatelands. A ribbon of steeper land above the Cherwell Valley and sloping down to its tributary on the Northamptonshire border, Ockley Brook, is defined as Farmland Slopes and Valley Sides.

Valued qualities

The openness of the plateau land, which falls steeply away to the west into the Cherwell Valley and north into the valley of Ockley Brook, allows expansive views which contribute to rural character.
There are strong rural qualities and historic vernacular character associated with villages which together provide a sense of time-depth in an otherwise intensive, arable landscape which borders areas of modern development.
Locations away from transport infrastructure (particularly the M40) and from Heyford Park are valued for their tranquillity and strong rural character which is supported by the expansive farmland, open skies and lack of development.
The ‘flying field’ part of the former RAF base at Upper Heyford is valued for its importance as a ‘Cold War landscape type’. Though the site is being repurposed as part of the ongoing residential and commercial development, the flying field section has been retained as a monument and a landscape that is a significant part of local history.

Forces for change

Redevelopment of the former RAF base at Upper Heyford into Heyford Park, which will become the 4^th largest settlement in Cherwell (after Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington) has significantly altered the landscape. As a result, the core, developed area of Heyford Park is excluded from the defined Landscape Character Area.
There has been a historic decline in maintenance of hedgerows, with many of the hedgerow field boundaries being replaced with post-and-wire fencing. This detracts from traditional, rural character.
The landscape is susceptible to the impacts of climate change, including higher average temperatures and drier summers, wetter winters, more frequent winter storms and flooding leading to:
- Drought conditions leading to crop failures, and reduced productivity changing the character of the farmed landscape.
- Changes in cropping and land use as a response to climate change impacting the character of the farmland.
- Loss of woodland /trees due to wind-throw and of dieback in drought prone locations.
- Spread of non-native and invasive species such as giant hogweed.
Net zero targets are likely result in pressure for larger scale solar development and potentially for wind turbines on farmland plateau locations.

Landscape strategy and guidelines

Preserve the tranquillity and strong rural character of locations remote from transport infrastructure and urban edges.

Avoid development that would intrude on locations currently remote from urbanising influences, either through its size, scale or character, or its impact on levels of activity (such as traffic generation).
Maintain the open rural character of the landscape, which forms gaps between settlements and affords long distance views outwards across the Cherwell valley.
Maintain the valued recreational use of the landscape and consider opportunities to introduce additional public rights of way connectivity to enhance appreciation of views and landscape character.

Retain the traditional character of the area’s villages.

Maintain the distinctive sparse settlement pattern and minimise the impact of any new development on local character and on views from other areas. Use careful design, in terms of siting, scale, style, layout and materials to stay in keeping with the historic form of each particular village. Preserve the openness of areas/features which are important to the landscape setting of settlements.
Where trees play a significant role in defining a village edge avoid development that extends the form of the village beyond that boundary.
Use new planting to soften the edges of new development, integrating it where possible with existing vegetation. Consider the biodiversity value of new planting as well as the landscape value.
Open space, which forms an important part of the character of the village, should remain undeveloped, and the creation of new public space, can help maintain the rural character of the villages where there is new development.
Where Conservation Areas or Listed Buildings retain a strong relationship with open land avoid development that would weaken this link. New development should respect the views to, and setting of, important landmark buildings such as churches.

Woodland cover should continue to provide ecological value and small pockets of enclosure within an otherwise open landscape.

Retain and enhance woodland copses and riparian woodland along watercourses.
Encourage the appropriate management of woodland, including to reduce the impacts of pests and diseases and to increase its age structure and structural heterogeneity. Consider the promotion of natural colonisation adjacent to existing woodland, allowing locally native species to develop resilience to the pressures of climate change through natural processes.
Explore opportunities to expand and connect existing woodland and tree cover through natural regeneration or small-scale planting, particularly around settlements. This will strengthen landscape character and bring benefits for biodiversity.
Seek to prevent further loss or decline in the quality of remaining boundary hedgerows and encourage their restoration/reinstatement, whilst maintaining characteristic long-distance views north and south; when establishing new hedges, aim to diversify the range of species and select species and provenances adapted to a wider range of climatic conditions.
Use trees and woodland to integrate development into the landscape.
The Oxfordshire Treescape Project considers that sites with multiple benefits for woodland opportunities are located south of Heyford Park and south of Caulcott.

Ensure careful integration of the Heyford Park development into the existing settlement pattern.

The site is elevated and set within an open, rural landscape; careful integration of the development into its surroundings should consider visual and aural screening not only for views immediately surrounding the site but from elevated positions on the other side of the Cherwell valley, such as around Steeple Aston, Middle Aston and the designated landscape at Rousham Park.
Maintain physical separation between Heyford Park and surrounding villages, in particular those on the side of the Cherwell Valley – the nearest being Upper Heyford – which have a distinctly different landscape setting.