Non-Technical Summary - Chiltern Evergreen3

EVERGREEN 3Landscape and Visual ImpactsThe Scheme has the potential to cause impacts on thelandscape of the surrounding area. These impacts will belargely limited in the long term to the period of operation.ConstructionDuring construction the general construction activity andcompound areas will cause major but temporary landscapeand visual impacts over the construction period. Thesignificance of the impacts will be reduced with increasingdistance from the works.An adverse impact in the range of minor to moderate,will affect the settings of four sites, including Garth Park,Islip Mill (a Listed Building), Islip Conservation Area and aScheduled Ancient Monument at AlchesterRoman Settlement.With regard to visual impacts, the assessment indicatesthat there will be impacts of major significance at oneviewpoint location; moderate to major at two; moderateat two and minor to moderate at four viewpoint locations.Impacts at the remaining four viewpoints are considered tobe not significant.Following construction the restoration and replanting ofland will take time to establish and these re-vegetatedareas will be visible from viewpoints close to the Schemeas relatively bare areas in the early years of establishment.These effects may last up to five years but will decline overtime as the mitigation planting becomes established.OperationGiven that the Scheme comprises an upgrade of anexisting railway corridor, permanent landscape and visualimpacts from new structures will be limited to specificlocations along the route where station improvement worksand rail bridge crossings are proposed.Direct adverse impacts on the landscape will arise from theloss of undeveloped land and mature vegetation, and theintroduction of railway features including bridges, approachroads, earthwork embankments etc. Indirect adverseimpacts on the character of the wider farmed landscapewill arise from the visibility of the Scheme, particularlythe proposed bridges and roads. Adverse impacts onlandscape character are generally predicted to be eitherminor or not significant. Mitigation measures in the formof proposed native species planting is proposed.Beneficial impacts are predicted to arise in Bicester,Islip, Water Eaton and Oxford and these impacts arederived from the proposed station improvements whichare expected to improve the urban fabric of the stationenvironment in each location and remove worn out and insome cases, derelict structures.Badgers are a key focus of the EIAGathering data on the great crested newt12 EVERGREEN3 WWW.CHILTERN-EVERGREEN3.CO.UK