Galloper Wind Farm Project - National Infrastructure Planning

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Suffolk Coast and
Heaths
Key Characteristics
● Geologically different from the rest of East Anglia;
Crag deposits form deep free-draining acidic sands
and gravels, easily worked, giving rise to distinctive
topography and landcover.
● Largely unspoilt mosaic of estuaries, saltmarsh,
grazing marsh, reedbed, river valleys, arable,
heath and woodland, with strong coastal influence,
eg shingle spits and ridges resulting from
longshore drift.
● Large commercial ports of Harwich and Felixstowe
and seasonal influx of yachts to the rivers and
harbours provide interest and variety of scale along
the estuaries, with influence of seabirds, wind and
intertidal mud flats.
● Large conifer plantations, closely associated with
heathland and birch scrub.
● Sparsely settled, with small nucleated villages and
isolated farmhouses. Brick buildings with colourwashed
walls and pantiles as typical features.
● Coastal towns and villages form the focus of tourist
activity, especially where combined with sailing.
● A string of landscaped parkland along the A12 in the
west, and along the Stour and Orwell estuaries.
● Impact of major development: Felixstowe docks,
Sizewell nuclear power stations and the associated
infrastructure, and military bases.
Landscape Character
The Suffolk Coast and Heaths is a tightly-knit mix of
landscape types, which gives it a very varied character
within its narrow, linear compass. It extends along the east
coast in an open but narrow band of sand and shingle from
Great Yarmouth, where it borders the Broads, to Harwich
and the south bank of the Stour. Its western boundary with
the boulder clay plateau of central East Anglia crosses
several small east-west river valleys.
Character Area
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In the northern part of the area, such as at Covehithe, the sea
eats inexorably away at the land, the low, crumbling cliffs often
dramatically retreating in a single winter storm.
The northern part of the area, around Great Yarmouth,
Gorleston, Lowestoft and Kessingland, is heavily influenced
by the resident urban population and the seasonal influx of
tourists. Nonetheless, within the predominantly arable
landscape around these towns there are important features
such as Fritton Lake and Somerleyton Park. To the south,
it is a land of lonely estuaries, mudflats and marshes, of big
skies over arable fields lacking hedgerows to contain the
light, sandy soils. Inland are the ‘Sandlings’ a land of pine
forests, within which mixed areas of heathland grass, gorse,
bracken and birch have been carved out. Ancient woodland
is not common in this area so Staverton Park is the more
remarkable, with its medieval oaks, huge hollies, rowan
and birch.
It is not flat land although changes in relief are slight. These
are still enough to provide an intimate scale and generally
limited views, although long views are possible in more open
areas. Slightly higher land on the edge of the clay plateau to
the west is incised by the rivers Blyth, Deben, Alde and
Minsmere (Yox), to create intimate, twisting, narrow,
wooded, pastoral valleys. The settlements have little impact
JOHN TYLER/COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY