Landscape impact assessment - Planning validation requirements

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Planning document information

Description 

A landscape impact assessment must demonstrate how your development will impact upon the character and appearance of the surrounding area. It should take account of: 

  • topography 
  • site levels 
  • impact on the skyline 
  • existing landscape features 
  • habitat 

Guidance 

The assessment report you submit should include an executive summary and be clear, easy to read and jargon free. 

You must submit a landscape impact assessment if your proposal is for; 

  • a major development in the countryside 
  • a major development on the edge of an existing residential development 
  • a minor development in a particularly sensitive area (defined in our New Local Plan Evidence Base) 

If your proposal is for a minor development, you can include your landscape impact assessment in your design and access or planning statement 

If your proposal is for a major development, your report must include a landscape and visual Impact assessment. These are more technical and should be carried out only by a suitably qualified landscape architect in line with current guidelines.  

You can get help and advice from our Duty Planner on landscape impact assessments and planning applications. 

You can get detailed feedback on your proposal by using our pre-application advice service. 

Personal and confidential statement 

We may publish any information you submit as part of your application. You must tell us if there is any information you do not want us to publish when you submit your application.  

If however, we believe that this information is in the public interest, we reserve the right to publish it.  

We may also decide parts of your submission are not in the public interest and may redact this information. This information may include telephone numbers, email addresses and signatures. 

When you need to submit this information

Depending on the details of your application, you may have to submit a landscape impact assessment when you are making an application for: 

If your application is for one of these types of planning permission, you need to submit a landscape impact assessment if your proposal is for: 

  • a major development in the countryside 
  • a major development on the edge of an existing residential development 
  • a minor development in a particularly sensitive area (defined in our New Local Plan Evidence Base) 
Validation requirements

Required by 

  • National requirement. You can find details of this requirement in section 15 of the National Planning Policy Framework 
  • Local requirement. You can find details of this requirement in: 
    • Local plan policy - LPP38
    • Local plan policy - LPP37
    • Local plan policy - LPP39
    • Local plan policy - LPP36 
    • Local plan policy - LPP33
    • Local plan policy - LPP41
    • Local plan policy - LPP40
    • Local plan policy - LPP63
    • Local plan policy - LPP67
    • Local plan policy - LPP65
    • Local plan policy - LPP69
    • Landscape Character Assessment  

These policies can be found in the Local Plan 2013 - 2033 document