APPENDIX A
DESCRIPTION OF LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AND VISUAL
QUALITY
Table of Contents
Page
Coastal Plains and Terraces ................................................................... .3
Basins and Valley Floors .......................................................................... 6
Hill Country ............................................................................................... 9
Rugged Hills and Low Mountains ........................................................... 12
Photographs
A1. Coastal Plains and Terraces landscape type. Looking
northeast towards Motunau Island from Tiromoana Bush
Walkway .......................................................................................... 4
A2. Steep-sided gorge as viewed from the Tiromoana Bush
Walkway........................................................................................... 4
A3. Looking down from the project site onto the Basin and
Valley Floor landscape type of the Omihi Stream valley .................. 7
A4. Vineyards in the Waipara Basin ....................................................... 8
A5. Hill Country landscape type. The gentle northwest facing
slopes below Mt Cass ridge ........................................................... 10
A6. Looking north-eastwards over hill country from Mt Cass Road ...... 11
A7. Limestone forest on Mt Cass ridge ................................................ 12
A8. Rugged Hills and Low Mountains of greywacke looking northeast
from SH 1 towards the project site ................................................. 13
A9. Rounded ridge crests (in the foreground) on the project site ......... 14
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A10. Rugged Hills and Low Mountains type landscape, comprising the
north-eastern end of the project site, showing scattered blocks of
exotic trees – viewed from above Motunau Beach Road ............... 15
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DESCRIPTION OF LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AND VISUAL
QUALITY
1.
The following description of landscape character and visual quality
is based on four geomorphic landscape types identified in “Project
Hurunui Wind: Assessment of Effects on the Geomorphic
Environment.”1
Coastal Plains and Terraces
2.
Coastal plain landforms are present along the entire length of the
southeast part of the Hurunui District‟s shoreline. In the south,
around the Waipara River, is a very young plain of gravels and
sand within 5 m of the sea level backed by a former coastal cliff 10
– 15 m high some 1.2 km inland.
3.
North of the coastal plain are terraces (Photograph A1), which are
generally 60 – 100 masl but sometimes are 200 masl. South of
Motunau Beach the terraces occur in a strip less than 1 km wide
but north of the settlement the coastal plain, which is described as
a wave-cut bench, is some 3 km wide.
4.
The Coastal Plains and Terraces landscape is dissected by steep
gorges up to 60 m deep (Photograph A2) and the Coastal Plains
and Terraces seaward edge forms a dramatic coastal cliff, which
varies in height depending on the underlying rock‟s resistance to
erosion.
1
URS (2011). Report prepared for Meridian Energy Limited.
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5.
Photograph A1.
Coastal Plains and Terraces landscape type. Looking
northeast towards Motunau Island from Tiromoana Bush
Walkway (26.01.2010)
Photograph A2.
Steep-sided gorge as viewed from the Tiromoana Bush
Walkway (26.01.2010)
The varying width of the Coastal Plains and Terraces landscape
type (narrow south of Motunau Beach and wider north of the
settlement) is indicated on the Sheet 3 map in my graphic
attachment. The relatively flat plains and terraces, the dissecting
gorges and the coastal cliffs are the landform features that most
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strongly define the character of the Coastal Plains and Terraces.
There is a strong visual contrast between these features, which is
exacerbated by vegetative cover and land use.
6.
Development of most of the coastal plains and terraces for
pastoral farming has resulted in the loss of most of the original
native vegetation. Native vegetation is now principally confined to
the gorges and gullies that traverse the plains and terraces
(Photograph A2) and it tends to visually emphasise the physical
difference between the flat, pasture-covered, landforms and the
gorges and gullies that incise them. Remnant coastal vegetation
occurs and some (mostly cabbage trees and flax) is protected in
the Motunau Beach Clifftop Coastal Reserve, which is a narrow
strip of land containing a public walkway that runs along the
coastline in the vicinity of the mouth of the Motunau River.
7.
Landforms of the Coastal Plains and Terraces principally have a
cover of pasture although, as is evident in Photograph A1, darkcoloured pine shelter belts and small pine woodlots occur on these
landforms. Motunau Beach is a relatively discrete settlement and
place of human interest within the Coastal Plains and Terraces
landscape. It is the only settlement on the coast of the southeastern part of the Hurunui District but north-east of Motunau
Beach, farm dwellings are to be found scattered on the coastal
plain.
8.
Areas of highest natural character in the Coastal Plains and
Terraces landscape occur on the coastline and in the bush-filled
gullies that incise the terraces and plains. While the terraces and
plains are natural landforms, as a result of farming their cover is
highly modified and their overall degree of natural character could
be described as moderate.
9.
In terms of its visual quality this landscape type is relatively high
as there is a certain aesthetic appeal in the contrast between the
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flat, pasture-covered plains and terraces and the often bush-filled
gorges and gullies terminating at dramatic cliffs on the coastline.
Furthermore, this landscape is invariably viewed in the context of
the vast and contrasting expanse of Pegasus Bay with the small
Motunau Island providing a focus of interest in many seaward
views. In essence it is a memorable landscape valued for its
natural features, dramatic views, expressiveness and ephemeral
qualities associated with constantly changing coastal conditions.
Basins and Valley Floors
10.
In the south-eastern part of the Hurunui District areas of lowest
elevation comprise generally flat or gently sloping terraces,
floodplains and alluvial fans in the floors of the larger valleys.
These areas are delineated on the Sheet 3 map and include:
Waikari River valley and its tributary, the Greta River. The
valley is traversed by SH 1 from the vicinity of Greta Valley
settlement
Motunau River, which flows to the coast from east of Centre
Hill
Omihi Stream valley (also traversed by SH 1), to the west of
Centre Hill and which runs southwest to join the Waipara
River
Waipara Basin, which encompasses an extensive area
surrounding the settlement of Waipara
11.
Since the arrival of European settlers the areas of Basins and
Valley Floors landscape type have traditionally been utilised for
pastoral farming and cropping. A generally rectangular pattern of
paddocks has been superimposed on the landscape and this
pattern has sometimes been accentuated with the planting of
hedgerows and shelter belts (Photograph A3). Willow trees
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invariably draw attention of the presence of streams. Farm
dwellings and farm buildings are scattered across the basins and
in the valleys.
12.
SH 1(Carters, Glasnevin and Omihi roads), SH 7 (Waipara Flat
Road), Scargill Valley and Motunau Beach roads, and Main North
Railway have been constructed on the relatively easy topography
afforded by the basins and valley floors and settlements such as
Amberley, Waipara, Scargill and Greta Valley have developed
adjacent to the road and/or the railway. Away from the
settlements farm dwellings and other farm buildings are scattered
over the basins and valley floors. The dwellings are invariably
close to SH 1 and other roads that have been constructed in a
network on the Basins and Valley Floors landscape type.
Photograph A3.
13.
Looking down from the project site onto the Basin and Valley Floor
landscape type of the Omihi Stream valley (11.09.2009)
In the vicinity of Waipara, land formerly utilised for pastoral farming
and cropping has, in relatively recent times, been converted into
vineyards with approximately 80 vineyards covering more than
1500 ha.2 Waipara is now the main wine making area in
Canterbury (Photograph A4).
2
Waipara Valley Winegrowers Inc. (2007), viewed 22 January 2010,
http://www.waiparawineco.nz
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Photograph A4.
14.
Vineyards in the Waipara Basin3
The use of the Basins and Valley Floors landscape type for
pastoral farming and vineyard development has resulted in this
unit becoming a generally picturesque one of moderate to high
visual quality. Considerable visual interest is afforded by the
pattern of development resulting from pastoral farming with its
paddocks, which are often enclosed by trees or shelter belts,
willow-lined rivers and streams, and scattered dwellings and
stands of trees. And there is also considerable visual interest
generated by vineyard buildings and the pattern and texture that
vineyards impose on the landscape. Settlements and groups of
community buildings scattered along the road and rail routes
afford additional visual interest.
15.
The relatively intensive and generally aesthetically pleasing
development that has occurred on the Basins and Valley Floors
landscape type contrasts with the more open, simple, land cover
that occurs on the hill country that surrounds and generally
encloses the Basins and Valley Floors landscape.
3
Ibid.
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Hill Country
16.
In the south-eastern part of the Hurunui District low hills rise above
the Basins and Valley Floors. Typically they rise 200 – 300 m
above the low-lying landforms but there are some ridges
associated with limestone outcrops (such as Mt Cass in the
southwest) that rise 400 – 450 m above the Basins and Valley
Floors. The Sheet 3 map shows that there are relatively extensive
areas of hill country lying between the Coastal Plains and
Terraces and the Omihi Stream valley and between this valley and
Waikari River valley.
17.
The Hill Country landscape type consists of conglomerate,
sandstone, mudstone, limestone and other sedimentary rocks
from the Tertiary and Cretaceous periods. The rocks have been
folded and faulted by tectonic activity. In places tilted beds that
comprise resistant rock such as limestone form ridges and cuestas
(Photograph A5), which have a gentle slope on one side,
conforming to the dip in underlying rock, and a steep face on the
other side. Hummock landslide terrace and slope failures are
common in the Hill Country.
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Photograph A5.
18.
Hill Country landscape type. The gentle northwest facing
slopes below Mt Cass ridge (24.01.2008)
Although limestone outcrops and ridges, such as that on which Mt
Cass is located, are distinctive features of the Hill Country
landscape type, much of this landscape type comprises smooth,
rounded, downlands-like topography. The Hill Country has been
extremely modified for farming (Photograph A6). Pasture is the
predominant land cover but shelter belts, stands and forest blocks
of exotic coniferous trees are present. Steep slopes often show
signs of erosion and gullies often contain exotic scrub and/or
remnant and regenerating native bush.
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Photograph A6.
19.
Looking north-eastwards over hill country from Mt Cass Road
(26.01.2010)
The ridge associated with Mt Cass is the site of MainPower‟s
proposed and now consented Mt Cass Wind Farm. Mt Cass ridge
has been described as supporting “the most intact and natural
limestone ecosystem remaining in Canterbury” 4, and containing
“the largest and most diverse limestone forest and shrubland
communities remaining in Canterbury.”5 The Ecological
Assessment for the Mt Cass Wind Farm application asserted that
this area has high ecological significance because it contains a
relatively rare example of distinct plant communities associated
with limestone landforms, and provides a habitat for threatened
and uncommon flora and fauna (Photograph A7).
4
Arnold, A. and Head, N. (11 June 2007). The recreation, amenity and ecological values of the
Mt Cass Ridge. Department of Conservation, p.10.
5
Ibid.
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Photograph A7.
20.
Limestone forest on Mt Cass ridge (24.01.2008)
Overall, the visual quality and associated visual amenity value of
the Hill Country is variable. Although it provides an important
backdrop to basin and valley floor areas much of it (particularly the
lower slopes) is of relatively low visual value. This landscape
type‟s areas of highest visual quality and visual amenity value are
undoubtedly associated with its limestone features but often these
need to be experienced at relatively close quarters to be seen and
appreciated.
Rugged Hills and Low Mountains
21.
The higher parts of the landscape in the south-eastern part of the
Hurunui District comprise northeast/southwest trending Rugged
Hills and Low Mountains which rise steeply above the valley floors
and basins. They consist of greywacke rocks and are the oldest
elements in the landscape. The Sheet 3 map shows several
Rugged Hills and Low Mountain areas with a significant area
extending from southwest of Centre Hill to northeast of Pendle Hill.
This area incorporates the Project Hurunui Wind site (Photograph
A8).
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Photograph A8.
22.
Rugged Hills and Low Mountains of greywacke looking northeast
from SH 1 towards the project site (09.02.2010)
Another area lies northeast of Scargill between the Waikari and
Greta rivers, and a third area lies north of Waikari River and trends
northeast and southwest of Mt Alexander which, at 748 m, is the
highest point in the south-eastern part of the Hurunui District.
23.
The Rugged Hills and Low Mountains comprise strongly rolling to
steep, moderately dissected, stable, lowland hills of low elevation,
with rock outcrops especially on spur and ridge crests. Many of
the Rugged Hills and Low Mountains ridges display gently
rounded ridge crests. Where such crests occur they have
generally been eroded to smooth broad surfaces that contrast with
steep slopes of hillsides below (Photograph A9). Rounded ridge
crests are a feature of the Project Hurunui Wind site and, where
they occur on the site and on other greywacke ridges in the southeastern part of the Hurunui District, they have been delineated on
the Sheet 3 map.
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Photograph A9.
24.
Rounded ridge crests (in the foreground) on the project site
(05.08.2009)
The vegetation on the Rugged Hills and Low Mountains has been
considerably modified from its original, and probably once
consistent, cover of indigenous forest to a cover of predominantly
improved pasture, but with some areas of exotic forest. Lower
slopes are mostly over-sown and top-dressed but frequently have
a high scrub component including matagouri, manuka, some gorse
and broom with some minor remnants of native forest and with
mixed native scrub in gullies and around rock outcrops.
25.
Farm roads, water tanks, fences and some trig and
communication facilities are apparent on the hills and mountains
but these are relatively minor human elements. The highly
modified land cover, and lack of built structures, results in areas of
Rugged Hills and Low Mountains having moderate natural
character. The hills and especially the highest peaks have visual
significance in providing distant points of visual focus and like the
lower hill country they provide an important backdrop to much of
the basin and valley floor areas. At close quarters their visual
amenity value tends to be low as the aesthetic coherence of the
hills tends to be diminished by the somewhat random shape and
location of small blocks of exotic forest on hillsides and ridges that
are otherwise devoid of trees (Photograph A10).
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Photograph A10. Rugged Hills and Low Mountains type landscape, comprising the
north-eastern end of the project site, showing scattered blocks of
exotic trees – viewed from above Motunau Beach Road (09.02.2010)
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