Landscape and Visual Impact (Operational Phase)
Good Practice
The ideal strategy to counter identified adverse effects is avoidance. If this is not possible, alternative strategies of reduction, remediation and compensation may be explored 247.
Good practice measures can therefore be divided into two categories:
- primary measures that intrinsically comprise part of the development design;
- secondary measures designed to specifically address the remaining (residual) adverse effects of the final scheme.
In situations where a new operation opens in an area of derelict land, or where the visual impact of a long-standing operation is blighted because of previously lax controls, opportunities should be sought to improve the situation wherever possible.
Design Issues
An iterative design approach enables the site planning and detailed design of the mineral working to be informed by and respond to the EIA process. It should facilitate a high degree of mitigation, in the form of landscape proposals or a landscape strategy. This should be built into the scheme from the outset so that the potential for adverse effects is substantially reduced. If consideration of mitigation measures is left to the later stages of scheme design, it can result in increased mitigation costs because early opportunities to avoid the need for such measures have been lost. In general, primary mitigation measures are likely to be more effective and less likely to cause secondary adverse effects (i.e. the mitigation measures themselves may in turn cause adverse effects, e.g. screening bunds can have secondary effects on landscape character and visual amenity).
Initially, broad parameters are set, such as the available land and resource,; potential access points, and annual production targets. The assessment team can then identify the main constraints, such as water table, ancient woodland and local properties, with the criteria necessary to protect them. The mineral operator's objectives are then combined with the site's opportunities and constraints, to develop an initial project design. That design is then assessed, to further reduce impacts whilst continuing where possible to meet commercial objectives, in order that the development remains viable. This iterative process of assess-design-assess-design enables the main environmental impacts to be avoided by project design - much more satisfactory than having to deal with them later. An example would be staying beyond a natural barrier such as a ridge, rather than breaking through and having to add tree belts or visually prominent bunds.
Considerate development
The Environmental Impact Assessment regulations require the Environmental Statement (ES) to demonstrate how significant environmental effects have been avoided, reduced or remediated. That means landscape must be an integral part of the project design process, with the quarry extent, form and design emerging from local assessment. Having "landscaping" added at the end as mitigation or for screening inappropriate development does not meet the EIA Regulations.
| A landscape assessment of the setting to the proposed quarry will identify features such as landform, vegetation, settlement pattern and visibility. If the quarry can be designed within that framework, respecting local features, then it will be more successfully accommodated (Figure 6). |  |
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Figure 6. Landscape analysis drawing. |
Having achieved development in the right place and of an extent and form related to the site, the next objective is development with the least achievable adverse impacts. In minerals development, the greatest environmental impacts are during the working period, as compared with most permanent developments, where it is long-term impact that has to be considered. Again, landscape issues should be considered as an integral part of project design. The direction of working; the location, alignment and height of plant and soil storage mounds and the phasing of restoration need to be carefully integrated so that visual impact is minimised.
Matching the local landscape
Restoration design should also be considered at the earliest stage. There are an enormous variety of options which can be considered as part of a restoration scheme, which will be agreed between the operator, the MPA and the local communities and interest groups. It will need to fit in with other development plans as part of the overall Spatial Plan. For example there may be a need for residential housing or an industrial estate. Restoration to include some aspect of public amenity is possible, and most schemes now contain elements of habitat conservation or creation, to enable Local Authorities to fulfil some of the objectives in their Biodiversity Action Plans. In rural setting the most successful restoration schemes are those that look to be part of the local landscape. They need to emerge from the right extent of working and a working method that allows appropriate landforms, water areas, soils, vegetation and land use to be implemented (Figures 7 - 10).
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Figure 7. Site to be restored |
Figure 8. Restoration design in visual harmony with local surroundings |
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Figure 9. Site to be restored |
Figure 10. Restoration design in visual harmony with local surroundings |
Local landscape assessment will identify the landforms, land uses, and vegetation patterns that are locally characteristic. Restoration can then be designed to introduce appropriate land uses and vegetation into the site. The restoration does not have to replicate exactly the previous appearance of the site; but it should respect local characteristics. In some cases entirely new elements, such as water or rock faces, may be introduced. If the shape of the water body, the new landform and vegetation respect local character, then that degree of change can also be accommodated.
A number of examples of landscape replication in restoration design can be found in the literature, for chalk 325, sandstone 326 C0015 and raised beach sand and gravel deposits 328 C0016. In the sandstone example a sensitive design was required for an extension within a Special Landscape Area. A conventional quarry would have been an alien landform and visually intrusive due to breaking the skyline. A new quarrying area was determined on the concept of extending the existing valley length. Local valleys are remarkably uniform in their morphology as measured by side slope, floor width, gradient and crest to crest distance. Working rock to a specific configuration and replacing overburden and production discards progressively, enables the establishment of a restored slope identical to the natural valley sides.
It should also be noted that landform replication requires careful attention to the sources and supply of waste materials and to the stability of replicated slopes 327. Indeed, it is important that safety aspects of final slopes and landforms are taken into consideration at the design stage. A number of ALSF L0056 and other projects 325 326 327 have discussed this aspect in some detail, including the desire to leave final faces and slopes which meet geoconservation objectives.
Mitigation Strategies
For landscape proposals to be a long term success it is important that they meet environmental objectives, together with any technical, financial or location development constraints. In addition, long term control and management should be secured.
Landscape measures that may be used under a number of different strategies are outlined below.
Screening
Screening will be mentioned a number of times in the following sections, but attention is drawn here to an ALSF project ("A Guide to the Visual Screening of Quarries" L0092) which looked in detail at the current and innovative approaches to site screening, and the use of soil bunds. The guide considers the need for screening, how this need can be reduced or removed, and the different methods of screening and their implications. Excellent photographs and diagrams are used to illustrate many of the points.
It also approaches regulatory and technical issues, such as construction materials and stability/safety, but its main focus is to help the mineral industry as well as MPAs to understand the practicalities and implications of the various techniques.
The need for visual screening should be negated whenever possible (e.g. through the positioning of the quarry or the direction of working) so that there is no view of the site from the outside. Where this is not feasible, a wide range of screening techniques exist, which can be used either alone or in combination with others. They include the use of landform, bunds, planting, fences and walls, and buildings and structures. Where possible, the mitigation elements should be included in the final restoration.
Site Layout/Planning
Wherever possible, site plant, haul routes, soil stockpiles etc. should be located away from sensitive landscape and visual receptors. Where appropriate, visually intrusive material should be located at the base of extraction, and it is usually preferable to work towards visual receptors to minimise the visibility of the quarry face.
It may be possible to benefit from screening potential of deciduous vegetation by phasing development such that majority of work in sensitive locations takes place prior to leaf fall.
Safety and security means that lighting of parts of the quarry is unavoidable. However, efforts should be made to ensure minimal upward and lateral light spill and to employ timing systems to reduce the duration of any effects.
Retention of Landscape Features
The retention of existing features, including woodland, hedgerows and ridgelines for example, will help to substantially reduce adverse effects. There needs to be an adequate standoff, with protective fencing if necessary, to avoid damage to these important features.
Hedgerows should be allowed to grow in height to increase their potential for screening and, although difficult, hedgerow translocation can provide a means of retaining an important hedgerow (at least in part).
Features that are locally typical may be used to provide screening, e.g. straw bales, fencing and walling, so long as costs are not prohibitive.
Land-raising and ground-modelling
Where appropriate, permanent land-raising can be used to screen working with minimal visual intrusion once complete. This is often a more effective solution than using screening bunds for example (Figure 11).
Soil stockpiles should be located such that they also provide screening, and their profile and planting should be designed to give as natural an appearance as is practicable in relation to timescale to minimise visual intrusion. Use of shallow gradients on outer faces of temporary land-raising/bunds can allow for continued cultivation/grazing, thereby reducing visual prominence where bunds are required for a number of years. |
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Figure 11. Undulating land-raising in keeping with the surroundings. |
Restoration
Although it is not restricted to considering landscape and visual impact issues, the ALSF Review "Creating Environmental Improvements through Restoration" L0115 contains useful information, and summarises the aspects of landscape and visual impact which are raised in other ALSF projects.
Restoration design should always fit in with the local landscape character. The restored area should be designed with appropriate landform, water areas, soil profiles, vegetation patterns, species mixes and land uses that are locally characteristic. An ALSF report L0028 shows that many silt lagoons on sand and gravel sites can be restored to natural, appropriate land forms and habitats through natural regeneration, although they need to be designed and managed correctly.
Progressive restoration should almost invariably be the objective, as it reduces the extent and duration of adverse impacts on landscape and visual amenity by reducing the area of the site that is active (disturbed) at any one time (Figure 12). This is usually quite easy to achieve in sand and gravel quarries, but can be more challenging in hard rock quarries, where the workings are usually considerably deeper.
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Figure 12. Progressive restoration at a sand and gravel quarry. |
Figure 13. Advance planting of hedgerows. |
Reclamation planning in hard rock is the subject of an ALSF report L0126 which includes consideration of the effects on the final landscape and visual amenity. Restoration blasting in hard rock quarries can improve the appearance of the quarry faces through the creation of a more natural profile and appearance. This, together with the geoconservation and safety aspects of the final slopes and faces, are considered in another ALSF project L0056.
Planting
Planting can be a useful means of screening the site, but care is required to ensure that the planting width, density, species mix (some evergreen) and establishment are sufficient to achieve adequate screening. Where possible, advance planting should be carried out several years ahead of extraction (Figure 13).
Planting can also help to integrate the development with the surrounding landscape so long as it reflects local ecology in species and distribution. The choice of seeding or using natural colonisation for bunds and land-raising, needs to be appropriate for the location and the desired purpose.
Problems may arise where the quality of restored soil is not of the same quality as the surrounding area. This can be a particular problem with legacy sites. A number of ALSF projects have investigated and reviewed how the remediation of these soils can take place. One project L0123 looked at the use of steel slag fines and limestone dust (thereby utilising what are usually waste products) to remediate colliery spoil material. Another L0025 has considered the use of a novel growing media (a combination of compost with quarry fines) for both horticulture and land restoration.
Processing and Mobile Plant
Careful consideration should be given to the appropriate form, materials and design of built structures, where once again location on the skyline should be avoided wherever possible. There are a growing number of examples in which the need to replace old processing plant has given the opportunity to locate the new build or mobile plant within an area of the excavation, thus reducing a wide range of environmental impacts, including visual. In many cases, mobile crushing and screening equipment, is being chosen for new sites, and can be located within the area of excavation and easily moved if necessary.
It is not always practical to screen the processing plant or buildings and so the design of the structures themselves (height, colour, textural finishes) needs to ensure that they fit comfortably with the surrounding landscape. In some cases, use of camouflage or disguise may be considered. |
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Figure 14. Conveyor located alongside field boundary. |
Public Rights of Way
Permanent/temporary closures or realignment may sometimes be required to facilitate mineral extraction. Alternative provision should be designed wherever possible to retain the landscape and visual amenity that existed before the change.
Community Engagement
It is vital that operators engage fully with the community and take account of their views in the design of the restoration plan, which will have to be agreed before permission is granted to start operations (although adjustments may subsequently be agreed).
A website called Explore Quarry Restoration has been designed by the BGS and partners as part of an ALSF project L0141 to develop a tool to aid community engagement. This website (also available as a CD) uses three virtual quarries to explore the effects of different types of restoration, with 3-D models allowing the user to examine a landscaped area from different viewpoints. In this way, it aims to educate the user in the techniques of restoration, which includes matching the landscape and visual character with the surrounding area.
A number of ALSF projects L0116, L0117, L0130, L0134 have engaged with various communities surrounding operational and post operational sites through the arts. Not all of these projects have taken place within the sites themselves, nor are specifically related to the landforms and visual aspects, but they have all encouraged people to experience different aspects of quarries and the materials they produce , including the sense of space and the visual.
An educational resource L0132 L0136 aimed mainly at Primary age children (Virtual Quarry) also has an element of restoration in it, which makes the students consider the desired outcomes at the end of the operational stage of a quarry.
Other projects L0129 have explored the exceptionally wide number of educational opportunities which are offered by mineral sites. Many of these will help quarry visitors to understand why they take the form they do, and how the excavation interacts with the geology and the surface landforms.
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