Landscape character assessment (planning boundary) naturescot - open data Edit

What is Landscape Character Assessment?

Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is the process of identifying and describing variation in the character of the landscape. LCAs identify and explain the combination of elements and features that make landscapes distinct from one another by mapping and describing Landscape Character Types and Areas. The associated description of their distinctive characteristics shows how the landscape is perceived and experienced by people.

LCA analyses in detail the three main physical landscape components of:

landform (e.g. hills, straths, glens) – such as, are hills rounded or angular?
land cover (e.g. rivers, lochs, woodland, farmland) – such as, what is the dominant type and pattern of woodland?
settlement (e.g. towns, villages, farmsteads) – such as, what is the pattern of settlement?

It then looks at how all these combine to form the landscapes we see and experience. Areas with similar patterns of components are mapped together as a particular Landscape Character Type. These can occur in more than one location, for example, “Rugged Massif” occurs in all different areas of Scotland, such as Inverness District and Skye & Lochalsh; and “Rocky Moorland” in Lochaber, Argyll and the Outer Hebrides.

LCA provides baseline information – including a shared written understanding of the key characteristics of a landscape – that can be used to guide landscape change. For example, such information may inform:

development plans
sensitivity studies
decisions on development proposals
land management plans
forestry and woodland strategies
agri-environment schemes
landscape designations

LCA is also the baseline for, and informs the use of, many landscape tools and techniques, such as Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA).

Resources

Additional Info

License	UK Open Government Licence v3.0
Category	Food and Environment, Housing and Estates, Parks / Recreation, Planning and Development
Maintainer	Stirling Council
Date Created	2025-03-30
Date Updated	2025-03-30
Original dataset link	https://data-stirling-council.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/stirling-council::landscape-character-assessment-planning-boundary-naturescot-open-data