Back to top

Summary information

Extent of area

This area is located in the south-east of South Oxfordshire Ddstrict. The LLD encompasses the Thames river valley, extending from Sonning Eye to Henley-on-Thames. The administrative boundary with Wokingham Borough forms the eastern and southern boundaries, while the valley slopes of the Chiltern footslopes form the northern and western boundaries. The LLD excludes the settlements of Henley-on-Thames and Lower Shiplake.

 

Landscape character context

The LLD includes parts of the following Landscape Character Areas:

• LCA 4A: Chiltern Wooded Chalk Plateau and Valleys
• LCA 14G: Caversham to Henley Thames River Valley

Location of Henley-on-Thames to Sonning Eye Thames Floodplain LLD - View map full screen

Back to top

Statement of significance

A relatively intact floodplain landscape centred on the meandering River Thames, with mature bankside trees and significant areas of floodplain grazing marsh. The low-lying valley with views to the Chiltern hills to the north and Remenham slopes to the south provides a distinctive sense of place. The riverside settlement of Sonning Eye has a strong local vernacular of flint and brick, and contributes to the sense of time-depth and local distinctiveness. The Thames Path National Trail provides recreational access along the river, while water-based recreation also allows for an important experience of the landscape. The Thames in South Oxfordshire has a strong association with Kenneth Grahame’s ‘Wind in the Willows’. The landscape has a strong rural character, centred on the River Thames, with a good level of tranquillity and few detracting features.

Back to top

Summary of special landscape qualities

• The low-lying River Thames floodplain with gently rising valley sides, linking to the Chiltern hills to the north.
• Wetland and riparian habitats provide ecological value and provide enclosure and visual interest along the river corridor.
• Historic riverside settlements, including Sonning Eye, and large houses along the river provide time-depth and a distinctive sense of place.
• Rural character, with good sense of tranquillity and few modern distractions or developments.
• Recreational value centred on the river, with the Thames Path National Trail, Chilterns Way and water-based recreation on the Thames itself.
• Strong visual relationship with the Chilterns National Landscape, which forms a wooded backdrop to the north, and wooded slopes to the south-east at Remenham (within Wokingham Borough).

Marsh Lock, with wooded Remenham hills in the background

Gently sloping pasture fields and riparian vegetation

Back to top

Full evaluation

Local distinctiveness and sense of place

• Low-lying valley landscape with gently rising valley sides extending north into the Chiltern hills.
• The River Thames, framed by bankside vegetation, confers a recognisable sense of place throughout the area.

Landscape quality (condition and intactness)

• A functional floodplain, with riparian woodland and floodplain grazing marsh along the river course, providing ecological integrity.
• A rural landscape, provided by pasture and arable fields, with few detracting features.
• A working quarry is located in the south of the area, extracting sharp sand and gravel. The past and present quarrying has changed the character of this part of the floodplain, although some areas of extraction pits have ceased quarrying and are being managed for nature conservation.

Scenic qualities and perceptual aspects

• The open river corridor contrasts with the more enclosed character of the floodplain, creating visual interest.
• The River Thames is the focus of many distinctive views. The wooded Chiltern hills and Remenham slopes form a wooded backdrop to views north and south-east.
• A good sense of tranquillity, with some sense of relative remoteness, away from the active quarry.
• Development is limited to small linear settlements and boathouses and individual houses along the riverbank. The working quarry and the railway line reduce tranquillity. There are occasional views to the urban edges of Henley-on-Thames and Shiplake.

Natural and cultural qualities

• Diverse wetland and woodland habitats, including considerable priority habitat floodplain grazing marsh east of Sonning, and riparian woodland including characteristic willows along the riverbank. Small areas of woodland are classified as priority habitat deciduous woodland.
• Historic buildings relate to the river, including the landmark Grade I Listed stone bridge at Henley-on-Thames and varied styles of boat houses. These buildings add to the historic character, and are also aesthetically pleasing.
• Sonning Eye is typical of the floodplain edge settlements further east on the Thames valley, and is noted for the combination of local building materials including flint, warm traditional red brick and tile, with dark weatherboarding. Brick banding and timber-framing with pitched and half-hipped roofs are also features. The village is covered by a Conservation Area.

Recreation value

• A network of public rights of way crosses the landscape, including the Thames Path National Trail along the river and Chiltern Way north of Shiplake. There is also water-based recreation on the Thames, including boating and rowing.

Associations

• The River Thames in South Oxfordshire forms the setting for The Wind in the Willows, a classic children’s novel by Kenneth Grahame (1908).
• The Henley Regatta, an integral part of the British establishment season, takes place in and around Henley-on-Thames.

Tranquil River Thames with picturesque boat houses

Riparian vegetation along the naturalistic Thames

Back to top

Landscape guidelines

Guidance to protect/conserve current landscape character

• Conserve and enhance the pattern of floodplain grazing marsh and riparian vegetation along the river, to enhance their contribution to landscape character and their nature conservation value.
• Protect and manage the valued recreational use of the landscape on public rights of way. Consider opportunities to improve public right of way connections, infrastructure and signage.
• Respect the setting to the Sonning Eye Conservation Area and the sensitivity of the historic settlement edges, by resisting changes to the landscape which are not in keeping with the landscape character, including unsympathetic housing developments.
• Conserve the setting of all listed buildings and boat houses which add to the character of the area.

Guidance to manage landscape character

• Encourage the appropriate management of woodland, including to reduce the impacts of pests and diseases and to increase its age structure and structural heterogeneity. Consider the promotion of natural colonisation adjacent to existing woodland, allowing locally native species to develop resilience to the pressures of climate change through natural processes.
• Seek to prevent further loss or decline in the quality of boundary hedgerows and encourage their restoration/reinstatement; when establishing new hedges, aim to diversify the range of species and select species and provenances adapted to a wider range of climatic conditions.
• Manage arable land to enhance its biodiversity value and connectivity, by maintaining and expanding the area of land available for uncultivated arable field margins; seek to maximise the diversity of margins to provide a range of habitats and to assist in the movement of species through the landscape and include species and cultivars that are able to tolerate and flower under hotter, drier summers.

Guidance to plan (enhance, restore, create) landscape character

• Explore opportunities to expand and connect existing woodland and tree cover through natural regeneration or small-scale planting. This will strengthen the landscape character and bring benefits for biodiversity as well as natural flood management.
• Explore opportunities to expand and connect areas of priority habitat floodplain grazing marsh and other wetland habitats along the river corridor. This will benefit biodiversity an ecosystem services, including flood management.
• Ensure any future expansion of the mineral extraction will be screened from public view by appropriate vegetation, and does not impinge on the enjoyment of the rural character of the Thames Path.
• Consider views to and from the Chilterns National Landscape and the Remenham Hills when planning any new development. Avoid development which breaks the treeline to retain the often enclosed character along the Thames.
• Retain the small-scale, linear settlement pattern. Ensure any linear extensions to existing settlements do not create coalescence, or perceived coalescence between settlements.
• Retain the naturalistic character of the riverbanks, avoiding a proliferation of boathouses.
• Any new development should consider using materials in keeping with the local vernacular of flint, warm traditional red brick and tile, with dark weatherboarding.
• Consider the impact of lighting on dark skies, both locally and on views from higher ground (refer to the guidance in the Dark Skies / Light Impact Assessment for South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse).