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Visual and Landscape Impact Assessment

The European EIA directives and UK environmental regulations state that the impact of a development on the visual aspects of a landscape should be assessed. Guidance comes from the Landscape Institute amongst others.

The Landscape is described as encompassing the following features:

-Natural Factors such as geological features, land, air, soils, flora and fauna.
-Cultural / Social settles, enclosures, structures
-Aesthetic and Perceptual factors such as colour, texture, sounds, and smells.

So is the area you are planning to build an areas which is visually sensitive? A map has been published by the Countryside Commission and English Nature called The Character of England Map.		 somerset levels
map The Character of England Map for which we are viewing the southwest quadrant can be visited here.

If we were to click on a segment we would be shown a list of the landscape characteristics;

  • -Rolling, locally steeply-undulating open, pasture separated by many small valleys.

  • -Heavy, poorly-drained soil supporting rushy pastures of low agricultural quality but high nature-conservation interest.

  • -Wide views across a remote landscape.

  • -Little tree cover except occasional wind-shaped hedgerow and farmstead trees, conifer blocks and valley woodlands.

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    Reading of such characteristic can help envisage a development that might make use of the landscape in the area to minimise its visual impact.

    Assessing Impact on a quantitative basis is accomplished using a ZTV (zone of theoretical visibility), and is present on a OS map base, zones on the map are presented as a % of the structure visible from that particular point.

    These factors and others will be assessed in the visual impact component of an environmental impact assessment.`

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