Landscape Character Assessments
Specific types of development can leave the key characteristics of the landscape in a different condition after the planning project is complete. In rural or semi-rural settings, development proposals that have the potential to change landform, historic features or vegetation can significantly disrupt the unique combination of elements and features that make landscapes unique to begin with.
If the development site in question contains rare, valuable or sensitive features, a Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) would be needed to gather a better understanding of the area. In addition to that, it will help to avoid going against any county-level or even national-level conservation laws and strengthen planning applications associated with the development scheme.
What Does Landscape Character Assessment Mean?
A landscape character assessment (LCA) is the title of a professional study used to identify and explain the unique features of a rural or semi-rural landscape. Through extensive mapping and describing of the chosen area in a comprehensive report, a landscape surveyor will be able to inform the landowners or developers looking to enhance, restore or build on the chosen site of where the objective aesthetic value lies.
That said, an LCA is about more than just what a location looks like, as the landscape consultant will dig deeper into describing character types and areas. Many different factors will be considered – such as the relationship between natural elements such as rivers and hills and human influences like agriculture, ancient tracks and stone walls – and the results will guide responsible development and land use.
It shares a lot of similarities with a townscape character assessment (TCA), which is effectively the same type of land survey except it focuses on urban areas instead of rural areas.
Why is a Landscape Character Assessment Important?
With elements that make it possible for developers to recognise the impact on the existing landscape and enable a development to move forward, a landscape character assessment passes a lot of requirements and provides numerous gains, including:
- Appreciating the natural value and cultural identity of the area
- Boosting design proposals based on trustworthy evidence
- Corresponding with local planning policy based on landscape sensitivity
- Mitigating for exercises that would otherwise damage recognised landscape features
- Playing a role in biodiversity, landscape quality and placemaking
Landscape Character Assessment Methodology
Landscape Character Assessment
Split between a desk-based research activity and a field survey of the site in person, the landscape consultant will start by learning about the existing landscape character by researching it online from local authorities and Natural England, and from available aerial photos, historical land use records, ordnance survey maps, soil and vegetation samples, and geological and topographical data.
A site visit will then be used to witness physical features of the land, such as hedgerows, slopes, waterways and woodlands, as well as access routes, human influences, key landmarks, visual characteristics, land use, settlement patterns, and the transition between landscape character types. Data collected from the site will then be recorded as GPS mapping, photos, notes and sketches.
Landscape types will be used to categorise the nature of the site based on a consistent pattern that indicates landform and land use, helping to group them together and set them aside from others. Landscape character areas will also be an important part of the process of mapping and describing the character of the landscape and what specifically makes the landscapes distinctive.
Landscape Character Assessment Report
In the corresponding report, specific details from the assessment, an explanation of the LCA methodology and recommendations from the landscape consultant will be provided. It will also break down key elements of each character area, including any forces of landscape change, principal characteristics, land cover and vegetation, natural and cultural influences, and perceptual qualities. With more detail from the site, the decision-making process for the local authority will be simplified.
A concept known as ‘one landscape’ will be used, which recognises how even one change to the landscape can impact all others around it. By following this approach and identifying and describing variation in relation to the visual appearance of a location, an LCA makes it possible for developers to see a correlation between their development projects and the impact on the surrounding area.
Locations with especially sensitive spots – such as areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and national parks – will be seen as a particularly dominant type of landscape with an important sense of place and a lot of formal protections surrounding it. As an important part of strategic framework and land management, the report from an LCA will support applications for planning consent and fall in line with local planning policies and legislation on a regional scale.
Landscape Character Assessment Guidance
To put your mind at ease before committing to Arbtech as your provider of landscape character assessments, we’ve detailed how much you’re likely to pay for a survey and report, and we’ve also explained how you can begin the process of planning a desk study and site visit executed by one of our team.
Landscape Character Assessment Cost
The price we charge for an LVA isn’t fixed, and there’s a really good reason for that. Every development site has its own unique mix of natural features, levels of landscape diversity, and scales of planning sensitivities. Due to this, we need to ensure that our offerings match the specific requirements of the planning project and the developer. It could be that the size or complexity of the site, for instance, requires a far more extensive investigation.
Instead of insisting on flat fees for our services, we would rather take down all of the details about your development site and use that to create a fair and accurate quote. That way, developers of small developments aren’t forced to pay the same as developers of large developments. We start with a baseline cost of the assessment and only add on additional fees based on the size of the site, the scale of the project, and the number of surveyors needed.
Plan a Local Landscape Character Assessment
Contact our team by calling us, emailing us or considering the selection of communication options on our website. Once we’ve taken down your details, we will be able to send you a free quote for a landscape character assessment on your development site. Alternatively, you may need a different type of survey in addition to or instead of an LCA, and if that is the case, we will be able to confirm that after we’ve spoken to you.
Our team has become recognised for a multitude of different surveys and reports that are designed to support planning permission and enable developments to continue into future stages. Whether you need a landscape character assessment, townscape character assessment or something completely different, we will be able to help you with or – at the very least – pass you on to a company we’re associated with that can complete the necessary inspections.
