Barton Stacey

In 1996 Test Valley Borough Council conducted a landscape assessment which identified Landscape Character Areas of particular value which were considered worthy of additional protection. One of the areas identified was the Dever Valley, which falls largely within Barton Stacey.

The Dever Valley is formed by a small tributary of the River Test which cuts through the chalk downland to the north-east of the district. The Dever Valley Character Area is defined roughly by the top of the valley sides.

The area has a wonderful charm with the rural, unspoilt character of the river valley combining rivers, meadows and woodland to provide a rich habitat for a range of animals, plants and trees. It is not surprising that the assessment identified this as an area of high quality landscape.

In more detail, the area includes parts of the parishes of both Barton Stacey and Bullington. The part within Barton Stacey is bounded in the north by the A303 main road, stretching from 0.1 mile west of Bransbury, then east almost as far as the minor road leading from the A303 to Bullington Lane. The western end of the area extends beyond the parish boundary, taking in most of the parish of Bullington.

The southern boundary of the area runs roughly 0.1 mile south of Bullington Lane, heading west to include much of Barton Stacey village itself, then turning northwards just 0.1 mile west of the village main street, the boundary follows first the line of the drainage gulley as far as the Newton Stacey road, then continues northward along the Bransbury road, curving back to the western tip of the area just beyond Bransbury bridge.

The best places within the Barton Stacey to appreciate the landscape are:

• on the Bransbury bridge, where you can look to both west and east to see the river activity
• on the Bransbury road as it turns towards Barton Stacey, where there is a wonderful view across the meadows down in the valley
• on the bridge at Barton Stacey, where you can look east into the more densely wooded area.

Following Bullington Lane west into Bullington parish, the woods drop back a little so more of the valley can be seen, with the river flowing up to and beyond to the now defunct Bullington railway viaduct.

The landscape assessment report had this to say about the Dever Valley.

The landscape of the area has the following defining characteristics

• A distinct valley landform which divides Chilbolton Downs from an area of chalk downland to the north around Drayton
• Small-scale valley form, with steeply sloping sides and a confined valley floor, creating a sense of enclosure and intimacy
• A relatively unspoilt landscape with few human influence, save for the intrusion of the A34 corridor which has a major impact upon the integrity of the valley landscape at the eastern extremity of the district
• Typically a mosaic of small-scale pasture and carr woodland in the valley bottom with a mix of small and larger scale arable fields and occasional pasture on the valley sides
• A relatively diverse landscape incorporating almost all valley landscape types, predominantly enclosed valley floor and enclosed valley sides but with smaller areas of open valley sides
• Vegetation in the valley floor typically of riparian character, with substantial areas of willow and alder carr woodland and a dense hedgerow structure
• Unusually sparse settlement within the valley, with only the small hamlets of Lower Bullington and Bransbury in its bottom, but with more recent housing devlopment associated with the village of Barton Stacey located prominently along the valley side
• Road network spares and fragmented, following the valley floor for short distances only and crossing at intervals, and lined extensively with hedgerows, reinforcing the sense of enclosure and intimacy within the valley.

The priorities in this area should be to maintain and strengthen the rural, unspoilt character of the river valley and, in particular to manage and enhance its characteristics mosaic of riparian habitat and landscape features.

Management priorities should be to:

• Encourage and promote environmentally sensitive farming practice within the valley, in particular the maintenance of riverside pasture and meadows and water-cress cultivation
• Encourage the conservation and management of features of ecological importance, including aquatic and riparian plant and animal communities
• Encourage retention of trees, hedgerows and woodlands along the valley sides and encourage planting of an appropriate character t reinforce the sense of enclosure
• Discourage further conversion of grazing land to arable and encourage reversion to pasture where possible
• Encourage measures, such as new planting, to reduce the impact of the A34 which crosses the valley and to screen other intrusive or urbanising features.