The
landscape character of Streatley is of a settlement, set below the
wooded downs and at the edge of the Thames floodplain. The village
lies generally on the lower slopes, rising from the river and in
strong contrast to the adjacent higher downs, which provide the
dominant setting to the village.
The village itself is focussed around The Bull crossroads, with
the main axis extending from the lower slopes of Streatley Hill,
east to the river, shorter development lengths to the north and
south, and areas of more recent infilling development. The natural
landscape penetrates to the heart of the village at the High Street
Field, next to the church, and along the floodplain margins on the
river. To the north of the village are relatively open agricultural
fields while to the west is the wooded and pastoral land of Lardon
Chase. To the south are wooded and enclosed fields and large gardens
and to the east is the willow-edged landscape of the Thames and
its islands. The larger settlement of Goring lies across the river
to the east.
Arboricultural
Forbes
Laird Arboriculture Consultancy Ltd (FLAC) were appointed to the
design team at an early stage in the process. Their brief was to
identify a responsible level of tree retention, and to define tree
root protection areas for
retention trees. In other words, the coverage of the developable
area
in relation to the trees was led by arboriculturalists not by developers.
A realistic appraisal of the tree stock clearly indicates that,
although the site boasts many fine trees, there are a considerable
number presently in poor condition.
Our approach is to retain the vast majority of the former and replace
the latter with high quality new planting.
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