Martock Neighbourhood Plan - Natural environment
Looking North across the village from Ringwell Hill. Little can be seen of the village other than the church as it sits in the bottom of a shallow valley. The rising land around Foldhill Lane can be seen to the right and, in the distant haze in the centre, the Mendips
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Our Natural EnvironmentThe countryside around Martock Martock is on the edge of where the Yeovil Scarpland to the east joins the Levels to the west. A typical English village, it was built in the valley enclosed by a few hills and hugs the bottom of the valley between them. The houses were built close together with a church, a school and an inn in the centre. The hills rise typically to around 60m and most of the village is between 10 and 20m. It is divided by Hurst Brook which drains from the east down to the Levels. The houses traditionally have had long thin gardens, many on the sides of the hills. These used to be plots for vegetables and chickens and further up the hillside were orchards with pigs and the family cow, all enclosed by ancient hedges, a few of which remain. Further out on level land there are the medieval communal strip fields, many of which can still be seen. The larger farms were built mainly further up the hillsides and larger fields were created on the tops. This pattern is clearly visible today. The higher land around Martock and Bower Hinton provides an important undeveloped edge to the settlement. This edge creates some fine views looking across the village, down into it, up from within it, and also looking down on the village from Ham Hill. What is often surprising about these views is how well hidden the 2000 or more houses that make up the village are. All this is clearly described in detail in the Martock Peripheral Landscape Study which is described here and can be downloaded. What will be in the Neighbourhood Plan? The Neigbourhood Plan will have policies on the following themes:
Follow the links on the right. The Martock Environment Manual The Neighbourhood Plan makes reference to the Martock Environment Manual wherever further information is required. This is a working document that will be continually updated and provides data on the natural environment of the whole parish, including a Phase 1 overview of the most significant habitats. It also contains further destails on the more significant views around the village. The Environment Manual can be downloaded here
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Landscape Study Flooding and drainage. Green Spaces Biodiversity conservation Landscapes around the village The landscape around the village is described futher here The Martock Environment Manual Views Some of our finest views are shown here. Cartgate Nature Area
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