Lagan Parkland Landscape

Key Characteristics

• Deep narrow valley of the River Lagan on the edge of the urban area.
• Historic parkland with important stands of mature beech and oak.
• Parkland golf courses, ornamental grounds and playing fields.
• Rolling farmland enclosed by dense hedgerows and belts of mature trees.
• Winding linear woodlands along small streams.
• Significant archaeological sites and industrial archaeological features.

Landscape Description

An amenity parkland landscape set within the historic, designed landscapes of a series of 18th and 19th century estates. The undulating, steep slopes of the narrow river valley are well-wooded, with a variety of formal designed landscapes, commercial forests and natural habitats. There is a linked sequence of wooded spaces and the deep river valley seems remote from its immediate urban surroundings. Golf courses, public open space and playing fields dominate areas of flatter land on the upper fringes of the river valley. To the south of the river, a neat, rolling agricultural landscape of estate farmlands has belts of mature trees. Winding, linear woodlands follow the local streams and narrow roads which characterise the landscape close to the foot of the Castlereagh Slopes. The river corridor is characterised by its early industrial heritage. This is reflected in the surviving mill buildings, the disused canal and by numerous minor artefacts such as the weirs, sluices and other ruins along the canal towpath. The Giant's Ring is a dramatic Neolithic site of national significance. It consists of a high circular earthbank enclosing a megalithic tomb on a flat site beside the River Lagan. The Park also contains a number of raths and two defensive mottes on the riverbank at Belvoir and Edenderry.

Landscape Condition and Sensitivity to Change

Much of the area is under active management as amenity parkland, although in many areas, the distinctive character of the river corridor and parkland landscapes are threatened by a standardised approach to management, with regeneration of trees/scrub on the open floodplain meadows and the gradual decline of over-mature trees. Visitor and recreation pressures may cause `honey pots' of activity, where erosion and visitor damage are concentrated. Vandalism is also evident in some areas. Built development is not likely to be encouraged under current planning restrictions but the landscape is sensitive to extensions and conversions to existing buildings and to the impact of infrastructural improvements. The historic character of the landscape is particularly vulnerable to the impact of small scale, cumulative change. To the south, the farmland landscape is in relatively good condition, although much of the woodland suffers from a lack of management. The entire area is sensitive to change as it is an important recreational, heritage and landscape resource for the adjacent urban areas of Lisburn and Belfast.

Principles for Landscape Management

• There is scope for management, selective felling and replanting of small woodlands, in combination with new woodland planting, particularly on local ridges where it could be designed to enhance the enclosed character of the landscape and to screen some views to surrounding urban areas.
• The heritage and recreational value of the area could be enhanced by new management plans for historic estates and country houses which have been converted to other uses; the objective should be to retain the integrity of the original design while introducing new elements and patterns to meet the needs of new uses, such as car parking, recreation and services.
• The introduction of new planting, particularly towards the margins of the park, would help to soften hard, homogeneous urban edges and to create a striking contrast between the designed parkland landscape and urban areas.
• Public access to the area could be enhanced by improvements to existing routes and access points into the park from adjacent urban areas. There are opportunities to provide well-marked public footpaths (both short circular paths and longer cross-country routes) using existing public rights of way and without disrupting agricultural holdings.
• Conserve, restore and manage existing hedgerows, allowing regeneration of hedgerow trees and planting new trees, both singly and in groups to maintain, and in places restore, the characteristic farmland pattern.

Principles for Accommodating New Development

• The sensitive use of building materials in undertaking projects for the conversion and modernisation of traditional buildings will be an important influence in some areas