Landscape Character Assessment - Chelmsford Borough Council

173F6 WOODHAM WOODED FARMLAND (shared with Maldon District)Key Characteristics Sands and gravels over London Clay. Broad wooded east-west ridge descending fromDanbury. Distinctive small rounded hills visible whereridge has eroded in southeast. Open landscape of arable farmland framed bywoodland and hedgerows on the lower ground. Enclosed to semi-enclosed commons, smallirregular fields and pasture on the wooded ridge.Overall CharacterThis character area encompasses the gentlyundulating wooded hill and ridge landscape southwest of Maldon and south of Danbury. Part of theDanbury Hills, this ridge landscape runs above the Chelmer Valley and stretches south from CurlingTye Green to Cock Clark’s. The southwestern portion of the area centres on Bicknacre (outside thedistrict boundary), and extends across Hyde Chase to Rudley Street in the east. The distinctivelandform of nearby Danbury, with its very large gently domed hill, is often visible on the horizon. Aconnecting ridge runs southwest from Danbury across this character area, and erosion has created somevisually dramatic small rounded hills in the southeast, at Hazeleigh. This heavily wooded landscape ischaracterised by trees: tree-lined roads, lanes, and tracks, tree-enclosed fields and many dispersedfragments of ancient oak-hornbeam woodland that merge with newer plantings. Hedgerows andhedgebanks are often lined with oaks along the lanes, and in some field boundaries. Small to mediumscaleirregular arable fields, some pasture and wooded commons on the slopes are interspersed amongthe woodland south of Danbury. More open medium- to-large scale arable farmland is visible to thesouth in adjacent area F12, around Bicknacre, and in the northern parts of this area. Here thehedgerows are more gappy. The busy A414 winds through this countryside, as well as many lanes andsecondary roads including the B1010. Pylons march across the landscape from Cock Clark’s in anortheast direction towards Maldon. Settlement pattern consists of small villages, hamlets anddispersed farmsteads, with larger settlements in adjacent areas. Traditional colour-washed plaster orhalf-timbered buildings are noticeable in the old villages, but most settlements have predominantly 20 thcentury buildings. Historic churches are visible on higher ground, as at Woodham Walter. Many11100101R Final LCAs_09-06Section 5.0 – Landscape Character of Chelmsford Borough