This is a landscape of rounded hills which link to form a gentle, rolling ridge, with wooded fringes on the steeper slopes giving way to lower lying farmland within the Lim valley to the south and the Axe valley to the north. The higher hills form an important backdrop to the valleys below and to the valley settlement of Uplyme. The area has an intimate and tranquil quality and from the higher hilltops e.g. Whitty Hill there are coastal views eastward particularly on the upper slopes which are open and exposed and where beech hedgebanks are often windswept. These lofty locations contrast with the more intimate and sheltered valley landscapes which have a small scale and strong time-depth particularly in the woodlands.

This area comprises an elevated rolling ridge comprising discrete conical hills which extend into Dorset to the east and are associated with wooded slopes and lower lying valley farmland. Located at the south-east border of Devon, this area shows similarities with the Blackdown ridges to the west and north but has gentler, smoother topography and is lower lying with coastal influences. Its eastern boundary is marked by the county boundary with Dorset; to the south it is flanked by the Sidmouth and Lyme Bay Coastal Plateau and to the north and east by lower lying farmland within the Axe Valley.

https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/east-devon-area/wootton-hills  

https://www.devon.gov.uk/planning/planning-policies/landscape/devon-character-areas 

http://map.devon.gov.uk/dccviewer/?bm=Aerial2015Onwards&layers=Landscapes;9&activeTab=Landscapes&extent=322577;89673;342659;103021 

Planning Strategy

To protect the landscape’s distinctive, scenic rounded hills and the interrelationship between the open tops and the intimate, wooded valleys. Field patterns are reinforced through the restoration and management of distinctive hedgebanks. Scarp woodlands are managed and valley-side springline mires and wetlands are expanded to help prevent downstream flooding and protect water quality. The landscape’s time-depth continues to have a strong influence, whilst opportunities for sustainable recreation and limited low-carbon development are sensitively accommodated.

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