Now is a time of significant landscape change driven by climate change, the biodiversity crisis, new environmental and agricultural policy post Brexit, the drive for Net Zero and responding to the needs of a growing population. It is a critical time to think strategically about the future of our landscapes, what we want them to provide and how and where these targets should be delivered. There is an urgent need to articulate a vision for the outcomes of change, showing how different demands and land uses will work together in future multi-functional landscapes. Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) can offer a means of guiding positive change, rather than being perceived as a means of preventing change.

This hub seeks to:

• Provide a collaborative platform to guide the forthcoming update to the 2014 An Approach to Landscape Character Assessment (LCA Approach document).
• Invite you to participate and provide a location for your responses to online surveys and workshops.
• Provide a platform for research or topic papers on LCA, including our scene setting paper on ‘Future Landscapes‘. This paper provides an important context for the update to the LCA Approach document, aiming to stimulate thought and ideas around the future of our landscapes.  We would encourage you to read it to prior to filling out the survey.
• Remain a long-term resource for anyone who wants to use LCA.

The key aim of the project is to ensure that the LCA Approach document is fit for purpose and that LCAs provide sound evidence for managing change and strategic thinking about our future landscapes. The project provides an important opportunity for a collaborative approach, engaging all those with an interest in landscapes, their distinctiveness and how they may change.

There are 3 main components to this project:

• Considering any changes needed to update the ‘Approach to Landscape Character Assessment’ (2014) document and the previous edition of the guidance published in 2002.
• Focusing on the application of LCA to aid judgements and how it can integrate with other tools and processes.
• Building long-term collaboration between all those who work in landscape and land management, using LCA as the means of drawing them together.

Use the links below or in the header to access our scene setting paper on Future Landscapes, to take part in our short online survey, or to get information on upcoming workshops.

There is also a link below to register your interest in the project.