Appendix One Table 3: Examples of Typical and Significant Sounds Landscape Characteristics Example of Characteristic Reason for Significance Activity Types Having Greatest Potential Impact Prominent headlands • Provide a point of focus and visual presence Form and texture changes: (a visually sensitive area); eg structures, pylons, land • Contribute to enclosure of landscape units; disturbance, vegetation • Provide distinct division between landscape units; clearance, vegetation changes Spurs, ridges, and steep hillsides • Provide the backdrop to landscape units and Form and line changes: contribute strongly to visual enclosure; eg structures, pylons, land • Give strong lines to landscape; tracks and roads, • Define the shape of the cross-section of valleys; vegetation disturbance, • Provide the pattern of hills and valleys in the clearance, utility landscape; network lines, shelterbelts Significant landform peaks • May be visible from long distances and from many Form and line changes: angles; eg structures, pylons, land • Define the cross sectioncross-section of the broader disturbance, tracks and landscape; roads, vegetation clearance, • Strongly define the shape of the landscape unit; utility network lines, • Contribute to the natural pattern of the landscape; shelterbelts Skylines • Define the predominant line of the landscape; Line changes: • Are highly visible and dominate the landscape such eg structures located on that contrasting land use changes visible there skylines, utility network significantly deviate from the natural line; lines, pylons, shelterbelts, • Colours at the skyline edge are consistent either vegetation clearance side of the line and contrasting colours which are at skyline visible there significantly interrupt line and colour coherence; Horizon/water interface viewed • Define a strong line to the waterscape; Line changes: to open sea • Are highly visible and dominate the landscape eg structures in coastal such that contrasting land use changes visible marine area, utility there significantly deviate from the natural line; network lines • Colours at the horizon are consistent either side of the line and contrasting-coloured structures which are visible there significantly interrupt line and colour coherence; • The horizon defines the clear flat plane of the coastal element of the landscape; Water surface • Defines the flat plane cross sectioncross-section Texture and colour of the coastal element of landscape; changes: • Provides a mirror to the land; eg structures in coastal • Provides variety and changing colour and light marine area, reflection; disturbance of seabed • Its texture varies with tide and weather and seabed and tidal areas, changes but is generally consistent over large areas floating structures on such that changes which introduce contrasting texture water surface (fixed structures) can significantly interrupt the coherence of natural texture; • Variations in seabed, tide, weather, and light create water patterns which are vulnerable to change by contrasting structures or features; Shorelines • Provide a point of intense interest at the water/ Line and form changes: land interface and are visually sensitive areas; eg structures in coastal • Highly visible from usual vantage points; marine area, structures • Highly accessible from water therefore highly visible; on land, utility network • Strongly defines the linear edge of the landscape’s lines, vegetation clear- coastal/land interface; ance, land disturbance • Establish pattern in the regularity of the curve or straightness of the shore edge; Water based activities App One - 7