Landscape Character Assessment
Landscape character assessment is a technique that has been developed for the systematic analysis, description and classification of the landscape. This helps develop appropriate recommendations for its future conservation and management.
It involves identification of those features or combination of elements that contribute to the character of the landscape. This enables the special character and qualities of an area to be understood.
Landscape character assessment can make a valuable contribution to the formation of planning policies, to the allocation of land for development, to development control activities, and to processes such as environmental assessment.
The Council has undertaken a borough landscape assessment to:
- Contribute to the evidence base of Rotherham's Local Development Framework
- To meet national and regional planning policy requirements that its preparation is based upon an assessment of landscape character
- Inform core strategy policy on landscape protection and enhancement including recommendations for policy wording and supporting justification
- Provide an assessment of broad landscape character, capacity and sensitivity by locally distinctive individual character areas or character types
- Inform further assessment of possible land use allocations as currently identified to inform preparation of the site allocations development plan document, particularly within or affecting the urban fringe of the borough's settlements
- and to justify the retention, deletion, or amendment of the areas of high landscape value designated in the unitary development plan (Policy ENV1.1) by a formal and robust assessment of the qualities of the landscapes concerned, as required by government guidance.
More information on Landscape Character Assessment is available on the Natural England - Landscape Character Network website.
All documents related to this page can be found via the "Downloads" link in the "Related items" area below.
For further information, please contact us.
updated 11/07/2011