1. the Cotswold Water Park

COTSWOLD DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN 2001-2011 (Adopted April 2006)

11. THE UPPER THAMES

1. THE COTSWOLD WATER PARK

11.1.1 Exploitation of sands and gravels in the Upper Thames valley began on an extensive scale in the 1920s. The area, which spreads into Wiltshire, comprises large tracts of terrace and alluvium deposits that are used as aggregates in the construction industry. The winning and processing of minerals is an important source of employment and this is likely to continue for many years.

11.1.2 The Cotswold Water Park was created in the 1960s and now extends to some 10500 hectares (40.5 square miles), comprising 132 man-made lakes totalling 1000 hectares. The Park is internationally significant for its nature conservation interest. It is also of regional significance for water-based sport, recreation and tourism. Not surprisingly, the area attracts many long-stay and day visitors. About 70% of the Cotswold Water Park falls within Cotswold District, with the remaining 30% in Wiltshire.

11.1.3 The designated area of the Water Park extends from the South Cerney, Somerford Keynes and Ashton Keynes area, through Down Ampney, Cricklade and Marston Meysey eastwards to Fairford and Lechlade. A Joint Committee including the relevant county and district councils, was first formed in 1967, in order to promote the development of the recreational opportunities of the derelict gravel pits. Day-to-day practical management of the Water Park is carried out by the Cotswold Water Park Society Limited, a not-for-profit company with charitable status, which was set up in 1997.

11.1.4 Passing through the Water Park are the River Thames, the only navigable river in Cotswold District, the line of the former Thames and Severn Canal, and the Thames Path National Trail. In addition there are many local networks of footpaths, bridlepaths and cycle routes that form important routes for local communities and visitors alike.

11.1.5 Exploitation of gravels in the Water Park has revealed exceptionally diverse fossil fauna of the Jurassic period, some of which were previously unknown in the U.K. These have a high educational value. The archaeological importance of the area is demonstrated through the existence of prehistoric and Roman settlements.

11.1.6 The water table in the Upper Thames valley is high and the water flowing through the sand and gravel deposits is unpolluted. Excavated areas fill naturally with water, creating lakes that have established a high ecological value.

11.1.7 The resultant landscape is unusual in its extent and unique in the District, taking on a wetland appearance, which ranges from derelict waste-strewn pits left untended following mineral extraction, to strikingly beautiful lakes with maturing vegetation around their margins. In its extent, variety and potential, the Cotswold Water Park is comparable to The Norfolk Broads, which has National Park status.

11.1.8 Mineral extraction will continue in the South Cerney section of the Water Park during the Plan period. However, the major concentration of mineral working will be in the eastern section of the Water Park. Mineral working in the area north of Kempsford has now started. Further extensive resources exist to the west, around Down Ampney spreading into Wiltshire. The potential of this central section as a longer-term resource area has particular implications for the highway network, including the upgrading of the Eastern Spine Road linking the A417 and A419. This, together with the improved A419 and the potential restoration of the Canal should provide the link between the eastern and western parts of the Water Park.

11.1.9 The increasing pressures for development in the area have inevitably followed the completion of mineral winning and restoration to lakes. As the mineral operators move out, so the after-users move in. The long timescale of sand and gravel winning over such an extensive area leads to a landscape that is in an almost continual state of evolution.

11.1.10 As a habitat, the Water Park as a whole is of international nature conservation importance. Lowland hay meadows at Clattinger Farm and North Meadow are candidate Special Areas for Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive. The Water Park is also of national importance for wintering birds, breeding birds and aquatic plants. A core area SSSI for aquatic plants and marl waters has been notified by English Nature to protect those interests. In addition, there are several SSSI's covering unimproved meadow habitats, which are a rare and declining resource, including several rare species. Moreover, the Water Park is both regionally and locally important as a habitat for dragonflies and damselflies, mammals, birds, algae and other freshwater flora and fauna.

11.1.11 It is important that the total sum and diversity of wildlife and natural features of the Water Park is at least sustained and, preferably, increased. One major threat to this is development which has the potential to conflict with nature conservation. However, this need not necessarily be the case if development is well planned. The nature conservation importance of the Water Park and related areas as a whole must at least be maintained. To assist in achieving this aim, the Cotswold Water Park Joint Committee published its Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), to cover the period 1997-2007. The BAP, which identifies habitats and species of conservation concern, with action plans to address these concerns, has been adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance. Copies can be obtained from the Council or the Water Park Society.

11.1.12 Over the years, the lakes, mostly owned by the mineral operators, have become used by a variety of private sports clubs for a range of water-based recreational and sporting activities. A few areas have been developed as country parks or public access and picnic areas managed by the Water Park Society on behalf of the Joint Committee. Public footpaths and bridleways in the area have also gradually been improved and developed. Activities tend to take place on the larger lakes so that nearly half the water area has some active use. However, several lakes remain unrestored, unused and with no apparent management or care; their landscape, nature conservation, recreation and tourism potential unrealised.

11.1.13 More recently, the trend in the Water Park has been towards tourism-related developments, particularly for different types of accommodation. Such tourism development can act as an alternative to the traditional ‘honey pots’ of Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold. Caravan parks and groups of holiday lodges set around lakes have been joined by holiday villages of purpose-built second homes and proposals for hotels . The majority of development that has taken place has been in the western section of the Water Park, near the Western Spine Road. The point has been reached where further, chalet development in that area would harm its character, hence further such development there will be resisted.

11.1.14 The Joint Committee has improved Keynes Country Park into the most popular and publicly accessible facility in the area, with children's beaches and play areas. Neigh Bridge is a quieter country park. The development of a country park in the eastern section of the Water Park is also an aim of the Joint Committee.

11.1.15 A variety of sports clubs operate in the Water Park, with a range of activities, including coarse and game fishing, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing and, jet-skiing. Gloucestershire County Council Education service has developed a training centre lake where children and young people can receive instruction in a variety of water-based recreational activities.

11.1.16 Development can be a source of concern for the residents of settlements within the area. Originally an agricultural area, the rich upper Thames valley meadows supported numerous farms and small villages. As the farmland has diminished, the settlements have remained, in parts seemingly isolated amid a sea of water-filled pits. The impact of change, including the concerns of those who live in the settlements, must be taken carefully into account when development proposals are considered for these lakes.

11.1.17 The need for investment in the area should not be an excuse for allowing unacceptable developments, but it can bring opportunities and benefits, and these too, must not be overlooked. The environment of the Water Park, so much valued by local people and visitors alike, is essentially man-made and requires long-term investment in management to sustain and enhance its ecological and recreational value. To assist in achieving these aims the Joint Committee includes specific projects in its Strategy for the Water Park, which this Council has adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance.

11.1.18 One of the intentions of the Joint Committee has been to seek to raise quality standards of new development in the Water Park. Recent developments have shown what can be done when there is a commitment to quality on the part of landowners, developers, local authorities and the Environment Agency. Some developers, recognising the need for countryside management in the Water Park, have been willing to enter into planning obligations to contribute towards this. Restoration and habitat creation techniques are now much improved, with advice available in the Cotswold Water BAP and from the Water Park Society. The importance of establishing adequate lake margins, suitably graded and planted to suit the needs of wildlife, is widely appreciated, adding not only to the visual improvement of sites, but also to their potential for informal recreation.

Water Park Policies

11.1.19 Gloucestershire Structure Plan Policy NHE.8 requires proposals for development in the Cotswold Water park to be considered in the context of all the relevant objectives. These include: natures conservation interests; minerals extraction and beneficial after-use of worked sites; facilitation of a wide range of recreation and tourism opportunities; and protection of the integrity of existing villages and rural communities.

11.1.20 The Gloucestershire Minerals Local Plan, which has county-wide coverage, was adopted in April 2003. It identifies Preferred Areas for sand and gravel extraction to the north of Shorncote, at Cerney Wick, Kempsford/Whelford and west of Fairford. The Cotswold District Local Plan provides the planning policies for after-use, recreation, tourism, water-sports and nature conservation.

11.1.21 Cotswold District Council has adopted a two-part approach to deal with the highly complex, and often conflicting, after uses following mineral extraction in the Water Park. This requires all development to comply fully with policies, which consider various, but equally important, aspects of the potential impact of proposals. Particularly important is the need for development:

• to meet certain, broad, Water Park principles, including: nature conservation; protection of settlements; landscape enhancement; sport, recreation and tourism; design; and the role of the private sector; and then
• to be broadly compatible with the Water Park zones, published separately as Supplementary Planning Guidance, which define levels of intensity of use based on ease of access, proximity to settlements and the protection of quieter areas.

The Broad Principles

11.1.22 Throughout the Water Park, any development that takes place, and any use of water or land that is proposed, must comply with certain basic principles.

(a) Nature Conservation

11.1.23 The Cotswold Water Park is an extensive system of man-made habitats. There is the capacity for like-for-like habitat replacement on a limited, and strictly controlled, basis, habitat enhancement, and the creation of new habitats not yet represented in the Park. The latter is especially relevant in the central section.

11.1.24 The whole of the Cotswold Water Park is acknowledged to be a key site for nature conservation. English Nature has defined precisely the area of national importance for wintering birds and breeding birds, to be safeguarded through Local Plan policies. The aim must be to at least maintain, and preferably increase, the total sum of wildlife and natural features in the Water Park, so that future generations can benefit from a wildlife resource that is equivalent to, or greater, than that which we now enjoy.

11.1.25 This does not require that all features of nature conservation importance remain the same, or necessarily in the same location, but the level of nature conservation value as a whole must at least be maintained. Implementation will involve assessing the potential impact of a development proposal on the existing wildlife resource, particularly wintering and breeding bird numbers. Mitigation measures may include zoning development in time and space and, in exceptional cases, provision of alternative habitat. Most development proposals will require a full assessment of the nature conservation value of the site and the possible impact of the development in order to guide and inform this process.

(b) Protection of Settlements

11.1.26 The protection of the appearance and environment of settlements within the Water Park is a fundamental consideration. The impact of development, whether individually or cumulatively, in areas where people live, will therefore, be evaluated in order to safeguard settlements.

(c) Landscape Enhancement

11.1.27 The landscape of the Water Park has changed from agriculture, through mineral-winning, to a pattern of lakes and intervening dry land, with hedgerows and regenerating vegetation. The improvement of the appearance and landscaping of the area, and creation of a new landscape character, paying particular regard to topography, indigenous species and the setting of the lakes and settlements, is an important benefit to be obtained from any development. This will play an essential future role in the success of the area for recreation, tourism and nature conservation.

11.1.28 Development of land areas needs to avoid over-development and landscape denigration. By keeping a sensible, reasonably generous, proportion of land within sites free from development and dedicated to landscaping, the improvement of the appearance of the area will gradually occur.

(d) Sport, Recreation and Tourism

11.1.29 There is a requirement for the continuing provision of appropriate and sustainable sport, recreation and tourism in the Water Park, which is both quiet and non-polluting. An example is a water ski tow facility, for which there is a well-defined need.

(e) Design

11.1.30 New land and water-related uses may require new buildings. The existing villages and farmsteads display traditional Cotswold architecture, but there is no strong architectural tradition for the lakeside landscapes of the Water Park itself. The opportunity should be taken in every development to raise the standards of layout, design, materials and landscaping. New buildings for recreation, tourism and water sports must be of a high standard. They could begin to develop their own style - not necessarily in the Cotswold idiom - suited to waterside locations and set in extensive landscaping.

(f) The Role of the Private Sector

11.1.31 The Water Park continues to evolve, with development tending to be led by the private sector. Because of the differing timescales of mineral working operations and subsequent after-use developments, the opportunities for large-scale comprehensive development are limited. It is important that attention is paid to the areas between the individual development projects and to the care and image of the Water Park as a whole, including the road verges, overall maintenance, signing, interpretation, ranger services, footpaths, bridleways and publicly accessible areas. In the Water Park, which functions as a single entity, development for recreation, leisure and tourism should be considered in the wider context of the Park as a whole and not just individual sites. The environmental impact of increased numbers of visitors to the Water Park, created by such development, requires environmental management and improvement. Each development should contribute to the overall vision for the Park and its day-to-day maintenance.

11.1.32 The success of leisure, sporting and tourism businesses will, to a large extent, depend on, and benefit from, the image, appearance and management of the area as a whole. Development and new land uses which are acceptable will, therefore, be required to contribute towards the overall management of the whole Water Park area. Some operators and prospective developers have already acknowledged this concept. Management of visitors and wildlife habitats will need to be co-ordinated, and the Joint Committee's activities should be developed to achieve this with help from the private sector. It requires a long term financial commitment.

POLICY UT.1: COTSWOLD WATER PARK

(a)

the provision of appropriate contributions towards the maintenance of the nature conservation importance of the Water Park, habitat enhancement and the creation of new habitats, and the overall management of the Water Park.

NOTES FOR GUIDANCE:

1. Nature Conservation Importance: Development proposals must demonstrate that they will not reduce wintering and breeding bird numbers, or adversely affect any other important wildlife or natural feature. Alternatively, development proposals must compensate for any potential reduction in wintering and breeding bird numbers, or loss of wildlife and natural features. In such cases, it will be necessary to ensure that new or enhanced areas of replacement habitat are provided, such that the nature conservation value of the area as a whole will not, at any time, be diminished by the proposed development.