Where could a landscape-led approach add value to the planning process?

Alongside the climate and biodiversity emergencies, current housing delivery in the UK is significantly below the Government’s target of 300,000 homes built per year. As such, there is growing pressure on Authorities to deliver new housing in a manner that does not contradict climate emergency declarations.

This Practice Note identifies six themes on landscape-led approaches to planning and provides a list of key considerations and practical resources for each.

• Sustainable Growth: The relevance of landscape to the strategic and local context of a site and how can it influence site selection.
• Landscape & Historic Character: Consideration of the main tools available to understand character and how they can influence design decisions.
• Green Infrastructure: Exploring how a multi-functional Green Infrastructure network can provide a variety of open spaces and movement networks.
• Blue Infrastructure: The importance of natural drainage as a tool for flood risk mitigation and remediation of water systems.
• Biodiversity & Ecology: Discussing methods of quantifying, enhancing and managing nature, ecosystems and wildlife movement.
• Grey Infrastructure: Considering how nature-based solutions can add value to grey infrastructure.

This Practice Note is based on Raúl Bielsa, Paul Evans, and Sean Rushton’s placements in St Albans City and District Council, Bedford Borough Council, and East Herts District Council. Read it to learn ways to generate discussion on integrating nature, planning, data, and people and place across all stages of the planning process.