Holywood Hills - Landscape

Key Characteristics

• Hills rising to 200m, with steep, wooded escarpment slopes.
• Windswept summits with conifer plantations and gorse scrub.
• Large upland reservoirs and sandstone quarries.
• Rolling pastures divided by hedgerows and shelterbelts with scattered farms and isolated houses.
• Historic estates contribute a strong woodland structure.
• Important recreational resource for surrounding settlements.
• Views over Belfast Lough to the north.

Landscape Description

The Holywood Hills extend across west North Down Borough, forming an area of undulating upland in the centre of a ring of settlement which includes Belfast, Holywood, Bangor, Newtownards and Dundonald. Proximity to these settlements makes the area an important recreational resource and its easy accessibility, rural identity and exposed, wild character are important characteristics. The plateau drops steeply to Belfast/Lisburn to the south west, and to the Bangor Coastline to the north.

A landscape of undulating pastures, conifer plantations, deciduous shelterbelts and estate woodlands creates a well wooded character; views are short and there is a sense of enclosure, except on the highest summits. The numerous large reservoirs add an extra visual and recreational element to the landscape. The hills retain a relatively undeveloped, rural character. This is, in part, a result of the undulating landform and tree and hedgerow cover, which provides a visual screen, but strict planning policies which require proof of 'need' for new development have also helped to conserve landscape character. Scattered housing is rarely dominant along the network of small roads. The Ulster Way cuts across the hills, increasing public access into the landscape and the edges of the hills create settings for the surrounding settlements

Landscape Condition and Sensitivity to Change

The landscape has a good hedgerow and woodland network as well as a diverse range of vegetation cover from sheltered to exposed slopes. The presence of estates and managed recreational areas ensures it is in relatively good condition. This rural area is sensitive to changes which may affect its function as an important wildlife haven and valuable recreational resource close to a large urban areas. It is this proximity to large residential districts which renders it particularly sensitive to development or change. However, the undulating landform and extensive woodland network may provides some opportunity to accommodate very small-scale development. The exposed summits are vulnerable to change as they are most visible from surrounding landscapes.

Principles for Landscape Management

• The extensive hedgerow and woodland network should be conserved and managed to maintain the robust landscape framework and well wooded character of the hills; care should be taken to ensure that coniferous plantation does not replace semi-natural deciduous woodland.
• The provision of car parks, picnic facilities and marked footpaths will encourage recreational use of the landscape and its many features without detriment to landscape condition, provided they are designed to reflect the character and scale of the surrounding landscape.
• There is potential for the restoration of abandoned quarries and provision of access to provide opportunities for recreation and habitat creation.

Principles for Accommodating New Development

• The wooded character may be used to integrate development into the landscape and contain built edges; this may be particularly important on the outskirts of settlements such as Bangor and Newtownards where the settings of towns are concerned and urban sprawl may be a problem.
• The density of development in the countryside should not be pushed beyond its limits; the area should remain predominantly rural in character.
• There is a threat of encroachment of housing development from nearby settlements, especially on more accessible ground on the edges of Bangor and Newtownards; a buffer zone between the two settlements in this area should remain undeveloped, providing a rural resource and setting for the nearby settlements.