LCA 3: Lower Cherwell Floodplain

Location and key characteristics

The Lower Cherwell Floodplain LCA encompasses the landscape around the lower end of the River Cherwell, where the narrower valley to the north opens out into a broader vale which merges with the Thames Valley on the northern edge of Oxford. The Character Area also encompasses the vale edge slopes and ridge to the west, bordering West Oxfordshire District, and the vale edge south of Bletchingdon.

A fairly level and low-lying vale, with wide floodplain areas characterised by heavy clay soils and substantial local gravel deposits. Steeper valley sides are present in the north-east and south-west.
Large, flat fields are generally under arable cultivation, surrounded by hedgerows and occasional trees.
There are limited semi-natural habitats, but some floodplain grazing marsh and lowland meadows lie alongside the River Cherwell.
Settlement is focused at Kidlington and Yarnton, with smaller road and riverside settlements scattered across the landscape and often covered by Conservation Areas.
The Oxford Canal, with associated bridges and locks, is an important feature running north-south through the landscape.
Rural character in the areas of higher ground to the north and west of the lower vale contrasts with lower-lying land closer to Oxford and Kidlington, where large-scale development and the convergence of infrastructure (road, rail, pylons and overhead cables) has a significant urbanising influence.

LCA 3 - View the map full screen in a new tab

Farmstead on the low-lying floodplain of the River Cherwell:

Views toward Yarnton from higher ground in the west:

Large, flat fields under arable cultivation:

Oxford Canal near Thrupp:

Description

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

A vale landscape associated with the River Cherwell, River Thames and smaller tributaries. The Cherwell feeds into the Thames, which forms the district boundary in the south. There are large areas of floodplain.
The vale is level or gently rolling, around 60 to 65 metres AOD, with heavy clay soils. Oxford Clay underlies most of the area, with the surface geology comprising alluvial deposits in the core floodplain areas, associated with the watercourses. Terrace gravels underlie the higher ground in the vale.
Mudstones form the higher slopes in the south-west, west of Yarnton and in the north-east, which results in much more steeply sloping valley sides, rising to 100 metres AOD.
Cornbrash limestone dominates between Kidlington and Woodstock. Cornbrash limestone is highly fossiliferous, as shown by the Shipton-on-Cherwell & Whitehall Farm Quarries geological SSSI.
Semi-natural habitats are concentrated along the River Cherwell, which meanders southeast following a fault line associated with outcropping Cornbrash limestone. Wetland habitats include priority habitat lowland meadows and floodplain grazing marsh. Two areas of rich grassland are found at Rushy Meadows and Pixey and Yarnton Meads. They are important sites which have survived in an area where meadow and fen habitats have suffered decline following urban development.
Woodland is rare within this landscape, and mainly found on the higher ground in the north-east, such as at Begbroke Wood. Thrupp Community Woodland is an exception on the floodplain, north of Kidlington.

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

Medium-sized fields are dominated by arable farming, often for cereals. Fields are bounded by hedgerows, often of hawthorn and elm, or ash and crack willow. Close to settlements fields are often in marginal uses such as smallholdings or horse grazing.
The Oxfordshire Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) shows a mixed historic field pattern. The most common field pattern is 19^th century reorganised enclosures, with smaller areas of 20^th century prairie / reorganised enclosure.
The landscape has been altered by past and ongoing gravel extraction, with former gravel pits now sizeable lakes to the north of the Thames (such as Oxey Mead) and on-going extraction in several locations, most notably Shipton Quarry alongside the River Cherwell.
Settlement is concentrated at Kidlington and Yarnton in the south of the Character Area. The historic core of Yarnton is centred around Yarnton Manor to the south of the main village, which is now a Registered Park and Garden. Kidlington has expanded considerably in the 20^th century in both residential and commercial development, although it retains its historic core (covered by a Conservation Area) in the north-east, centred on the Grade I listed Church of St Mary.
Smaller historic villages lie adjacent to the River Cherwell, such as Hampton Poyle and Thrupp. These villages are covered by Conservation Areas and contain a number of listed buildings. Earthworks relating to Hampton Gay Deserted Medieval Village are clearly visible outside the settlement, and designated as a Scheduled Monument. Begbroke village lies to the west of Kidlington, alongside Rowell Brook, with the older part of the village, designated a Conservation Area, separated from the more modern part of the village by the A44.
Houses were traditionally built from limestone in most of the area. Red bricks are sometimes used for detailing and there are examples of red brick buildings with limestone detailing. Roofs were traditionally thatched. Most have been replaced with plain dark toned slates and tiles, and in some parts, plain red clay tiles. Farmsteads are generally isolated features at the end of long tracks, with hedgerows ensuring their seclusion.
The area is crossed by transport links including the mainline rail link between Birmingham, Oxford and the south coast, and between Oxford and Hereford. Oxford Parkway Station and Park and Ride are located in the gap between Oxford and Kidlington. Major roads are dominant landscape features, with the A40, A44, A4260 and A34 trunk roads converging at Pear Tree Hill. The influence of the road corridors extends over a large area because of the level, exposed nature of the landform.
The Oxford Canal, which opened in 1790, is a key feature of this landscape. It follows the River Cherwell as it emerges from the narrower valley to the north, but at Thrupp it turns south to follow Rowell Brook and Kingsbridge Brook down to the north-western edge of Oxford. The whole of the canal is designated as a Conservation Area, and the many bridges and locks are listed buildings which add to the historic landscape character.
Oxford Airport lies north-west of Kidlington. It was set up in the 1930s as an aerodrome, before being used by the RAF during the Second World War. It is a major centre for pilot training, and the larger hangars are visible across the flat landscape.
PRoWs provide good access across the landscape. They generally run north-south, with fewer east-west connections. The Oxford Canal Walk provides access along the canal towpath, and Shakespeare’s Way connects Begbroke to Woodstock (in West Oxfordshire) and Oxford City. There are small areas of Open Access Land at Yarnton, Pixey Meads and Stratfield Brake.

Perceptual (views, tranquillity, associations)

The influence on the southern part of the Character Area of the nearby Oxford urban area and of development around Kidlington is substantial, with further developed planned to help meet Oxford’s housing need and to provide sites for technology-related employment. Owing to the level landform around the town, the visual influence of the urban edge of Kidlington extends over considerable distances and has an urbanising effect on otherwise rural areas.
Pylons and overhead cables radiate outwards from a large electricity substation southeast of Yarnton, dominating the local skyline. A solar farm is also apparent southeast of Yarnton. Around Kidlington much of the farmland is crossed with visually dominant electricity pylons.
Landscape tranquillity is limited by the busy transport network of railway lines and main roads. Substantial parcels of land are taken up by embankments and roundabouts, and roads tend to be raised on embankment above the floodplain which increases their visual impact. There is greater tranquillity west of Yarnton and to the north-east, where higher ground on the edges of the vale is more detached from urbanising influences.
Beyond the urban areas, low-lying arable fields are in some locations separated by lines of willows and outgrown hawthorn hedges, which restrict long views, and shelterbelts and hedgerow trees knit together to form wooded horizons. However, in many places the hedges and tree cover are thin and don’t give much visual structure to the landscape. Longer distance views are available from the elevated vale edge slopes in the north and west.

County landscape typology

In the Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (see the map at the top of the page) the River Cherwell and River Thames and their immediate surrounds are classified as River Meadowlands. Beyond this there are some broader areas of floodplain termed Alluvial Lowlands, rising slightly to areas of Clay Vale, Vale Farmland, Lowland Village Farmland and Rolling Farmland.
Higher ground between the River Cherwell and Woodstock is classified as Estate Farmlands, whilst the more wooded vale edges west of Yarnton and south of Bletchingdon are termed Wooded Estatelands.

Valued qualities

There are pockets of tranquillity and strong rural character in the north-east and west on the higher ground away from major transport infrastructure and development.
The rural setting the landscape provides to the small traditional canal and riverside villages of Shipton-on-Cherwell, Hampton Gay, Thrupp, Hampton Poyle and Begbroke (all of which have Conservation Area designations), helping to retain a sense of time-depth which is being reduced by modern development around the larger towns.
The Oxford Canal is a historic transport route, creating a strong sense of place. It also performs a boundary role in relation to the western side of Kidlington. Shipton Weir Lock is an unusual structure located to link the canal to the River Cherwell.
The ecological importance of floodplain and wet grassland meadows for flora and birds adds to landscape character. Rushy Meadows is designated as a SSSI for its unimproved alluvial grasslands which also support breeding snipe and over-wintering water-rail. Pixey and Yarnton Meads SSSI are among the best remaining examples of neutral grassland in lowland England and have been cut annually for hay and then grazed for over a millennium. The Meads are also part of the internationally designated Oxford Meadows SAC.
Historic features including Roman remains (there is a villa site on the northern edge of Kidlington) and Yarnton Manor Registered Park and Garden.
Shipton-on-Cherwell and Whitehall Farm Quarries is designated as a geological SSSI. It displays the section from the White Limestone to the Lower Cornbrash and is of international importance for its Middle Jurassic crocodile fossils.

Forces for change

The Kidlington area, including land between Oxford and Kidlington and also the villages to the west, has been subject to significant development pressures in association with Oxford’s housing need and the hi-tech employment opportunities being generated in association with Oxford University’s skills and research capability. The area is currently criss-crossed by roads, with their associated junctions and services (such as Oxford Parkway Station and Park and Ride) and current Local Plan allocations will significantly reduce the gaps between Kidlington and Oxford, Yarnton and Begbroke.
Although there is an obvious vernacular character in most of the smaller villages, this has been eroded to some extent by modern residential development – for example in Hampton Poyle.
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:
- Changes to seasonal flooding and flash floods, and potential for increasing demand for flood defence activity. This could create more physical habitat degradation and introduce potentially detracting features.
- 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.
- Changes in cropping and land use as a response to climate change impacting the character of the farmland.
- Drought conditions leading to crop failures, and reduced productivity changing the character of the farmed landscape.

Landscape strategy and guidelines

Retain the role of the area’s rivers, smaller watercourses and the Oxford Canal as distinctive landscape features contributing to a sense of place.

Maintain tree and hedgerow cover that contributes to the linear character of the River Cherwell, the canal and other watercourses. The valley floor of the Cherwell is open and characterised by hedgerows and therefore not a suitable location for areas of woodland. However small stands or copses on the valley slopes or brow may be appropriate.
Although the vale has few woodlands at present, a strengthening of tree cover would help to ensure that new development does not detract from the sense of place associated with the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal.
Ensure that all priority habitats, particularly grasslands, are in favourable condition and management. Promote arable reversion to grassland on land adjacent to watercourses.
Maintain the canal and associated historic bridges and locks.
Further vehicular crossings of the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal should be avoided. The latter will play a significant role in maintaining physical separation between Kidlington and the intended developments associated with Yarnton and with Begbroke Science Park.
Avoid development in the floodplain that could damage ecologically important habitats or affect floodwater storage capacity.
Avoid development that increases urbanising influences on floodplain corridors.

Preserve rural separation between settlements, to avoid perceived coalescence of Oxford, Kidlington, Yarnton and Begbroke.

Maintain and create connectivity of habitats, protecting and enhancing watercourse corridors, hedgerows and tree cover.
Consider additional tree and shrub planting to provide further screening along main transport corridors.
Protect and enhance PRoW. Create new public routes and access areas from which settlement gaps can be appreciated, where this can be achieved without having a significant urbanising impact on landscape character.
Limit lightspill from developed areas and routes between them.
Avoid new vehicular links through settlement gaps.
Retain visual links to the wider countryside, particularly from public rights of way.

Preserve the tranquillity and strong rural character of the north-east and western areas of higher land, which are remote from transport infrastructure and urban edges.

Avoid development that would expand vale-floor settlements upslope and/or 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).
Minimise the visual impact of intrusive land uses at the fringes of towns, villages and farms with the judicious planting of tree and shrub species characteristic of the area. This will help to screen development and integrate it more successfully with its surrounding countryside.
The Oxfordshire Treescape Project considers that sites with multiple benefits for woodland opportunities are located in the east of the Character Area, particularly north-east of Kidlington, and between the A-roads in the south of the area.

Retain the traditional character of the area’s smaller villages.

New development should not expand villages beyond constraints imposed by landform and ground water characteristics.
Trees and hedgerows which integrate villages into their landscape settings should be retained. New trees and hedgerows should be planted in association with new development to maintain this character.
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.