Somerset Landscape Character Assessment

Landscape Character Assessment can be undertaken at a variety of scales and levels of detail. The Somerset Landscape Character Assessment is part of a hierarchy of Landscape Character Assessment information cascading down from the national to the local level.

At a national level, England is divided into 159 distinct National Character Areas (NCAs). Each is defined by a unique combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity, history, and cultural and economic activity. There are descriptive profiles available for each NCA setting out information on landscape character, changes in the landscape and an assessment of ecosystem services delivered (Natural England, 2024).

Within Somerset there are twelve NCAs as described briefly below (with their boundaries visible on the Interactive Map)

• NCA 107: Cotswolds – a steep scarp slope backed by a high open wold and a rolling dip slope incised by wooded valleys, with small settlements concentrated along the spring line at the foot of the slope, and scattered farmsteads on higher ground. Locally quarried limestone is used in buildings and walls, bringing a distinctive unity to the area.
• NCA 117: Avon Vales – an undulating clay vale with a mix of arable and pasture with small limestone-built towns, cut by the (Bristol) River Avon and its tributaries. The area’s rich agricultural past is reflected in its fine late medieval churches and merchants’ houses in market towns and in its many stream-side mills.
• NCA 118: Bristol, Avon Valleys and Ridges – an area characterised by complex geology reflected in alternating ridges and broad valleys, with some steep, wooded slopes and open rolling farmland, with the Cotswolds to the east and the Severn and Avon vales to the west. Varied settlement pattern has been influenced by the geology and geomorphology and the expansion of the City of Bristol at its centre.
• NCA 133: Blackmore Vale and Vale of Wardour – a broad, low-lying clay vale, dissected by a broken ridge of limestone hills and flanked by Upper Greensand hills and scarps. This diverse geology supports mixed farming and a fragmented mosaic of semi-natural habitats, contributing to its distinct character. Small villages and hamlets, reflecting varied vernacular architectural styles, are situated at scarps, river crossings, along the Greensand springline, and atop the limestone ridge.
• NCA 140: Yeovil Scarplands – a series of complementary arcs of broad ridges and steep scarps separating sheltered clay vales. A remote and predominantly pastoral landscape with small villages and hamlets contrasting with the urban area of Yeovil. An important underlying resource of Jurassic geology is located within this NCA.
• NCA 141: Mendip Hills – a dramatic limestone landscape featuring an open plateau and a series of prominent hills extending inland from the Severn Estuary, rising sharply from the surrounding lowlands. A predominantly pastoral landscape with a rich industrial past and ongoing limestone quarrying. Springs at the foot of the plateau give rise to several significant rivers, including the Cheddar, Yeo and Axe.
• NCA 142: Somerset Levels and Moors – a low-lying, predominantly pastoral and wet landscape surrounded, divided and punctuated by low hills, ridges and islands (within NCA 143) forming distinctive skylines. This landscape has been artificially drained and modified to allow productive farming. The coastal Levels exhibit meandering rhynes and irregular fields, reflecting the former river courses. In contrast, the inland Moors display a chequerboard-like pattern of rectilinear fields, ditches and engineered waterways, creating an open, treeless landscape.
• NCA 143: Mid Somerset Hills – a series of low hills, islands and ridges contrasting with the flat open landscape of the surrounding Somerset Levels and Moors (NCA 142). Predominantly pastoral land use with major rivers like the Brue, Axe and Parrett dissecting the landscape. Expansive views over the flat Somerset Levels and Moors (NCA 142) to the west.
• NCA 144: Quantock Hills – Hills rising inland from the Bristol Channel, featuring a diverse landscape of heath-covered upland plateau, wooded valleys and rolling fields. With 96% of the area designated as the Quantock Hills National Landscape, ecologically valuable heathlands, oakwood forests and steep, wooded combes form a distinctive contrast and skyline to the surrounding lowlands.
• NCA 145: Exmoor – a diverse landscape of uplands, plateaux and coastal vales rising dramatically from surrounding lowlands. Sparse settlement patterns with villages and farmsteads are tucked into sheltered valley bottoms, often located near river crossings. The area is home to red deer, Exmoor ponies, and trout-filled rivers and streams that flow swiftly over stony and pebbly beds.
• NCA 146: Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes – a large, rolling lowland farmed landscape transitioning from the lower-lying Levels and Moors to the upland backdrop of Exmoor and the Quantock Hills. This settled agricultural landscape features a dispersed pattern of small villages, hamlets and scattered farmsteads, with a vernacular architectural style using sandstone in the west and grey Lias in the east. Larger settlements include Taunton and Wellington.
• NCA 147: Blackdowns – a striking landscape of flat-topped Greensand ridges offers sweeping views, contrasting with steep-sided valleys and the broad floodplain of the River Axe. Beech hedgerows and avenues enclose fields of a regular pattern, with extensive woodland on north-facing scarp slopes forming a prominent background of dark ridges from lower-lying landscapes. Historic settlements, distinctive local architecture, and opportunities for recreation enhance the area’s character.

Landscape does not stop at administrative boundaries but continues into surrounding districts. This assessment therefore sits alongside the Landscape Character Assessments of the adjacent authorities (North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, East Devon, Mid Devon and North Devon) which have been reviewed to inform this study. Cross-boundary relationships in terms of landscape features have been noted in the study (e.g., a ridgeline which continues into neighbouring local authorities), as well as intervisibility (e.g., views to landforms, landscape features, and notable landmarks within adjacent authorities).

Exmoor National Park is a designated area that extends across the west of Somerset and North Devon. Exmoor National Park has published its own Landscape Character Assessment which includes landscape guidelines (published 2018). Exmoor National Park also has its own Local Plan (adopted February 2017) and Partnership Plan (adopted April 2018). This landscape character assessment does not include the area within Exmoor National Park, but sits alongside the Landscape Character Assessment for the National Park, which has been reviewed to inform this study. As for the Landscape Character Assessments for adjacent local authorities, cross-boundary relationships in terms of landscape features have been noted in the study, as well as intervisibility.

The following National Landscapes are located within Somerset:

• Quantock Hills National Landscape;
• Mendip Hills National Landscape; and
• Blackdown Hills National Landscape.

Small parts of the Dorset National Landscape and Cranborne Chase National Landscape are also located within Somerset.

Developers should consult the Somerset Landscape Character Assessment, in combination with the Landscape Character Assessments and Management Plans for these designated areas, when considering potential development sites or land use change. The Management Plans for the National Landscapes contain additional landscape details, special qualities and associated guidance that should be used when assessing landscapes within Somerset that also fall within, or adjacent to, the National Landscapes.

The Somerset Landscape Character Assessment forms an evidence base to support landscape policy in the upcoming Local Plan. A number of studies, strategies and guidance produced by Somerset Council and other organisations are of relevance to the updated Landscape Character Assessment including:

Somerset Climate Emergency Strategy (2020): Somerset Council recognised the climate emergency in 2019. Climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to achieve carbon neutrality, as set out in the climate emergency strategy document, will result in changes to the landscape. Changes will likely include an increase in number and extent of renewable energy installations within Somerset (including new solar PV installations, wind turbines and associated grid connections) in response to the target of maximising energy generation from renewable sources, as well as mitigation measures to improve resilience to flooding.

Somerset Energy Investment Plan: As a supplement to the Somerset Climate Emergency Strategy, the Investment Plan seeks to inform the pathway to net zero within Somerset. The plan presents an analysis of resources and constraints within Somerset and potential opportunities for the deployment of different types of renewable energy projects, such as solar, onshore wind, green biogas, hydropower, geothermal, hydrogen and offshore wind and wave technologies. Changes to the landscape of Somerset will likely result from the deployment of these renewable energy installations and their associated electricity grid connections.

Somerset Tree Strategy (2023-2033): Developed by the Environment Agency, Somerset Local Nature Partnership, Exmoor National Park, Quantock Hills National Landscape, Forestry Commission, Woodland Trust and Somerset Council. The strategy provides specific tree and woodland restoration and creation aims, including measures to ensure the treescapes within Somerset are resilient and adaptable to climate change. The strategy is focused on planting the ‘right tree in the right place’, with an initial aim to plant 240 hectares of trees and woodland per year. The strategy identifies tree and woodland opportunities and priorities for the eight main National Character Areas (NCAs) within Somerset (Blackdown Hills, Exmoor, Levels and Moors, Mendip Hills, Mid Somerset Hills, Quantock Hills, Vale of Taunton and Yeovil Scarplands).

Somerset and Exmoor Historic Landscape Characterisation (2013): Undertaken on behalf of Somerset Council and Exmoor National Park, the Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) provides a classification of historical elements within the present-day landscape, mainly related to field boundaries and patterns of enclosure. The HLC has been used within this assessment to understand how historic patterns of enclosure have influenced landscape character.

Somerset Levels and Moors Phosphate Mitigation Solutions Report (March 2022): Following a letter from Natural England regarding the high phosphate levels within the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site, Somerset Council produced the Solutions Report, outlining potential phosphate mitigation options. Continued phosphate issues within Somerset may potentially change the character of the Levels, Moors and coastal areas and have been considered within the Landscape Character Assessment.

North Devon and Somerset Shoreline Management Plan (SMP2): Produced by the North Devon and Somerset Coastal Authorities Group (NDASCAG), SMP2 outlines future management priorities for parts of the coastline within Somerset, over a 100-year period to manage tidal flooding and coastal erosion risks. Policy and recommendations within SMP2 include the building of coastal defences and managed coastal realignment, which may change the character of coastal areas within Somerset.

Somerset Local Nature Recovery Strategy: Somerset Council is producing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), in collaboration with Somerset Local Nature Partnership, to set out a holistic vision for nature recovery and identify local priorities for nature-based solutions. The strategy is due to be published in 2025.